willhunt4food

I've been elk hunting for the last few years and have been marginally successful. I've taken a 5x5 with my bow 2 years ago and a cow with my rifle this past year. This year I'm hunting the second rifle in an area with lots of elk and lots of people. There's not alot of extreme elevation in the area (very few peaks over 11,000 feet). Cover is a mix of dark timber and aspen with lots of open areas and lots of water. There are some fairly large expanses of roadless areas with a wilderness area in the center (with lots of trails through it).
Here's my question:
I plan on hiking 3 miles in (2 along a trail and then bushwacking cross country for a mile) to hunt.
In an area that recieves alot of pressure do you try to hunt the open areas in the mornings or go still hunt through the dark timber on the north slopes along the creek drainages (or neither)?
thanks in advance for your information, suggestions and comments.
will

rather_be_huntin

Boy elk just don't like pressure. The first morning and maybe the first evening depending on amount of pressure in the area I'd say the elk will still be in their routine and not spooked. You can expect them to come out to feed and water in the wee light of the morning and evening. But once the shells start flying they will become nocturnal in a hurry and you'll have to sneak in the timber after them in most cases. Maybe you've read BeaverJacks and a few others timber sneaking techniques?

Most elk leave heavily pressured areas and usually keep on the move until they find an area where they feel comfortable. But if you're hunting Colorado they've got so many elk maybe they behave a little different, I don't know. I've read stories of the lead cow taking the herd 15 - 20 miles before stopping after being pressured.

Steven Ashe

Okay, I too have read that, but I do not have any experience seeing that, since I have only observed elk on four hunts. Living in Baltimore County, I see few elk at home. In your opinion, how long would it take for the elk to return to their home range? Would they come back between the first and second rifle season, for instance? Or, would they simply keep moving, looking for a quiet area. Where I hunt, there are hunters on the next mountain, all the way around, so there is always the chance that the hunters over "there" will drive elk to me, or vice versa. No? I have heard shots fired and when I glass over that direction, have twice seen elk moving away from the shooting.
In 2002 the small herd that moved uphill toward me, turned at the first shot and headed back down, toward the hunters that I believe moved them toward me in the first place! I am not convinced that they knew from where my shot came, but they certainly did a 180 and keep moving at a trot. It was not a sharp 180, as they made a 90 degree left, moved into the Aspens, about two hundred yards, and then another 90, back down the mountain.

dbcooper

Steven I think your confusing immediate response to being bumped with longer term response to being bumped (high pressure) in an area. Topography and the elk's perception of where the pressure is coming from will determine their short term response. If elk get bumped a couple of times - they leave the country. That is not to say that other elk won't get bumped somewhere else and come in behind them. In Colorado - the only break between seasons is a five day break between 2nd and 3rd. Elk may settle down a little during that period but weather is more of a factor as to whether they would move back to an old area or migrate downhill.

rather_be_huntin

Steven I've heard it said that 80% of the elk only live in 20% of their habitat at any given time. My experience has supported that idea. An elk's home range is huge. If they are pressured from an area by shells flying you can pretty much bet you won't see that herd back in the same general area any time soon. They are pretty much gone to the next mountain and if not pressured and if they have adequate food, water and cover they'll stay there. But they typically will just keep moving until they feel comfortable. Somteimes between seasons another herd will move in from another area though.

The first and sometimes the second day you can catch elk being pushed by other hunters if the area is being somewhat highly pressured. I got a cow 2 years ago that way. We spotted a herd in the distance, maybe 1000 yds out. As we were devising a plan we noticed some other hunters were coming down on them from the other side. We could see the herd was probably going to go into a drainage down to our left as an escape route. We postioned ourselves and stayed quiet the hunters spooked the elk and soon the elk were within 80 yds and we had our tags filled. This is actually a great technique if you know the area you're hunting in well enough. If hunters around you are stirring up the elk an ambush technique will work great. You just have to stay quiet and be very careful about your movements because the elk will already be spooked and have a hightened state of alertness.

NVMIKE

if the elk aren't in the meadows then they are in the timber and good luck. If they are in cover its easiest to hunt them in poor weather. wind and snow eliminate their sight,sound smell advantage over you.

cherokee_outfitters

Will,

Your plan of walking in a few miles seems like a good one where theres lots of elk and people for the reason of most people won't go three miles on foot to a area to hunt. Unless you see alot of hunters on horses you will probally not see as many hunters. Hunt the meadows or open areas in the morning, but wait a few days to start hunting elk in their beds or you may be the one pushing elk to the next hunter. In open areas that have pockets of timber scattered throughout it are nice places to sit and watch during the midday lulls in hunting. Most times elk will get up stretch or move to another spot to get out of the sun as it moves. Most hunters will walk through an area and miss tracks ten feet from them and think there's no elk there. Elk have large areas and unless you spend weeks out there watching them before you go hunt them it may appear to you that there is no elk in the area. Elk may use the same area day after day but you will hardly ever see them bed down in the same spot or use the same trail day after day. Terrian that is very rough will cause an elk to use the same trails more often.

Elk that are used to seeing traffic become more like whitetail deer when being harassed by sliping around but not going that far away. Less than a mile and a half most times is as far as they will travel. My little pet elk I watch from the house all summer long will get shot at then return in about 5 to 7 days. Not the big bull if the hunter misses him he'll stay in the trees till dark to feed from then on.

The elk away from traffic people and hunters after being shot at tend to travel for many miles. Sometimes far enough where they are actually in a whole other unit. The guys saying that they can travel 15-20 miles after being spooked is true for those elk the live wild and don't see alot of people. No man or horse will catch up to these elk after they have the mind to travel for days. But mostly I see this kind of activity from elk the live way back in the high country. Will they come back maybe not in that season. Could they just go over the mountian into heavy cover and stop yes. Best way to prevent this is not to walk around in the woods like your carrying a rifle but do it as if your were bowhunting. Slow, steady, and look at every little thing in the woods.

Always remember there's elk on every mountain, its not finding that perfect trail to sit on but that main area that they are feeding into. I have a lot better success utilizing strips of long clearings were elk will pass through going in and out of bedding areas vs. trying to actually hunt the elk in its bed. Spot and stalking elk at timberline were the tress are sparsely scattered allows you to keep your eye on the animals as your sneaking in on them. Very high success on shot percentage. If you a intent on hunting the dark timber your chances will be better if you just hunt one area instead of changing areas everyday. Other elk may move in or be coming through right where you are on that particular day. But roaming the hills searching for elk the entire time will boil down to you having a lucky day or not.

The main thing enjoy what you learn each trip you get to make elk hunting. Good luck

Boobzilla

WillHunt,

I hunt in a similar area. Lot's of water, lots of elk and lots of hunters, but we have done surprisingly well over the years. Once the big guns go off, the elk are going to become nocturnaland will seek the sanctuary of the dark timber. Despite being in the nasty stuff, lots of animals get taken out of the timber. Learning how to read tracks in old, refrozen snow has helped me alot. Take into effect that the elk still need to feed. If you can identity a possible feeding area between bedding areas and benches in the timber, you have part of the battle already one. When hunting in the timber, everyone has their own way of hunting. I like to sit down and glass, looking over every square inch of the immediate surronding area. If I don't see a thing, i move slowly through the timber while softly using a cow call and move about anopther 100 yds or so.
If the area you are suggesting has alot of elk and hunters, the number of hunters will undoubtedly keep the animals on the move. Hunting the timber really isn't easy at all, but if you play your cards right and with a little luck, you'll do well. Patience, patience, patience.

Popere

Are you the same Boobzilla from the Fox?

Boobzilla

No, thank God. I know who you're refering to, unfortunately I was pegged with the monikor in college years before the fox was even a pipedream. Sheer coincidence, I guess.