Camp set up. Where to camp in the back country

[Conrad101st]

I think a lot of it depends on how you camp too. If we are back country camping, we generally run a cold camp, talk quietly and don’t make a big scene.

Some may disagree but being just below the ridge in a bowl makes sense to me because the wind will hopefully carry your sent up an over most critters on both sides. Obviously I prefer to camp on the back-slope of the side I primarily intend to overwatch during hunting hours.

And yes I’m uber paranoid about getting squished by a tree. Primary concern after finding a flat spot near water is widow makers.

 

[JordanH]

For back pack camping, I like to have an idea where the elk are (or I plan to hunt them) and where they come from and plan to camp where the wind (prevailing) won't mess them up with my scent. This usually means ridges for me. From there it is look for widow makers, I use a hammock so don't care about flat or not ground, access to water, and a good spot to safely cook and store food away from camp. Close access to glassing is also nice.

Truck camping......first best spot available.

 

[deerkiller]

Are dead trees really a concern? Im 43, been elk hunting 20 years, back packil mule deer since 1990, never had a tree fall ever. I wouldn't set my camp under something obviously getting ready to fall, but would not hesitate otherwise.

I really like to set up where I'm either hunting first thing, glassing or near water. Sometimes a combo of the 3. I've killed deer and elk from camp, but normally am pretty darn close to where I will kill them.

we've had a dislocated shoulder from one, a tent crushed by one, a horse killed in a camp not 100 yds from ours …. YES it is a "concern" but nothing to run you out of the country

 

[LongWayAround]

I heard one tree go down while I was setting up camp yesterday. No idea where it was from me either...

I've had two different times where trees started falling within sight of the trail I was on. I'm pretty gun shy of them.

 

[njdoxie]

I heard one tree go down while I was setting up camp yesterday. No idea where it was from me either...

I've had two different times where trees started falling within sight of the trail I was on. I'm pretty gun shy of them.

Durn, I gotta find a new camping spot, all these stories are spooking me, with all the dead aspen I camp amongst, and I was nervous to start with.


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[wind gypsy]

Depends on tactics. I haven't planned an archery elk hunt where spot/stalk was likely. In general, camping lower near water and hunting up against the morning thermals is usually what happens.

 

[loblolly7]

On my first and only elk hunt, I camped really high. It was great in the mornings to have easy and quick access to good glassing locations, but it was a pain in the butt having to hike all the way back up to camp after a long day of hunting. I just feared if I camped too low then I'd bust all the elk out of the area.

 

[Bdub85]

Great suggestions! Thanks!

 

[1shotgear]

heading out to MT this and plan to spike tent a few days. Where is the best place to set up camp? What should I avoid doing?

Never camp on the same side of the hill as the elk. During the night wind likes to blow hard and up and down every hill so if your in the same valley or draw the elk will be pushed out during the night for your odor. Also don't camp close to water the temp will drop about 15 degrees more and animals might also like to come in at night and could wind you as well. If you hear wolves at night just pack out and leave. Wolves will run elk for miles and will do it all night so if you hear them howling hick out and drive to another tail head and start over.

 

[trophyhill]

I do a cold camp and enjoy listening to the night. I've had elk in or around camp at night. Listen to them bugle all night. Hunt them in the morning. If they aren't feeling threatened, they just don't seem to care that im sharing their turf......

 

[Rizzy]

Trees are the biggest factor in the burn areas I hunt. It can get hard to find an area that are not surrounded by standing dead. You can more or less tell what wind direction tends to take them down by the way the ones that are already down are laying. It's best to set up in a pocket of live trees that didn't get burned. I hear at least 2 trees a day fall in some areas. The scary part is they make no sound until they hit another tree or the ground. So I give consideration to dead timber when I sit down to glass too.

 

[Buglebrush]

I carry camp with me on most trips. Usually 3 days. Sleep wherever I am when it gets dark.

 

[Kimber22]

After scouting does anyone have a "safe" distance as an average they would set up from elk routes?

 

[Indian Summer]

I like to camp high. My goal is to be at my hunting area at first light which is really hard to do from my base camp. Also I want to be able to stay late instead of thinking... hmm maybe I should start hunting my way back to a spot that’s a little easier to drop out of in the dark. I only share my area with a couple other people. Guides who bring a client. They get up darn early to catch feed and saddle then trailer horses before riding an hour and 45 minutes to get to the area. So I’m hoping that when they see my camp there this year (the first year I’m camping there) they’ll feel like all the effort isn’t worth it if someone else has not only beat them there but is also spending a lot of time in the area.


Will I spook elk? Probably a few. But there are elk everywhere so I’ll have to be happy that the pros outweigh the cons of having hunting not far from the front door.

I’m setting up about 100 yards below the lip of the ridge. There is a lot of grass up top so it takes the elk awhile to work their way over to where the hill drops. By the time they get there there thermals will be dropping AND that’s the same direction as the prevailing wind.

Not only do I like being able to hunt not far from camp but I like that I get more sleep and I’m not soaked with sweat or wore out when I get there.

If you’re not stepping on elk a little bit either there aren’t enough in the area or you’re not close enough to make the camp worthwhile. A little sacrifice is worth being able to access great hunting easily which gives me the ability to hunt it long and hard.

 

[Alegault]

Corey Jacobsen and Randy Newberg hit this question in one of the old episodes of elk talk. I think it’s this one or the one before it:

EP 12: More Listener Q&A with Corey and Randy

Listen to this episode from Elk Talk on Spotify. In this episode (12) of the Elk Talk Podcast, Corey and Randy are answering more questions from listeners. Topics covered include picking a general unit to hunt, glassing in archery season, movement during peak rut, late season tactics, weekend...

open.spotify.com

Corey says backside of the ridge and Randy says down low with a bunch of caveats IIRC.

As many others have stated above and everything I’ve heard and read is all over the place so I think really it’s a trade off between convenience and potential to spook elk. I’m planning to prioritize not spooking elk this season so camp will be dictated by wind, away from travel routes, etc.

 

[Indian Summer]

I have a base camp down low. You’re just not going to get where you need to be when you need to be there. I can’t even ride a horse there two days in a row. Their legs are quivering at the top on day 1 and if I try turning them up that way the next day they flat out refuse to go. So camping high isn’t a convenience it’s a necessity. There are tons of different scenarios and variables so no real rules that apply everywhere. Some places have elk that drop down low onto private at night. In the Missouri River Breaks they come up out of the canyons. Etc etc. You really need to know the area and some things about what the elk are doing to make the call. As always knowing an area well is priceless. Like I said I do like camping high. Even if I have to cover ground to get to elk at least I don’t have to pound out a thousand feet in elevation first thing in the morning. Plus from up high you can see and hear elk. There’s a really good thread over on Bowsite right now from a Wyoming hunt where a guy camped up in the elk and listened to them every night. But he had hunted the area for 6 years and knew what he was doing. He saw lots of elk throughout his hunt right from camp.

 

[jog]

Well, to beat the dead tree horse a little deader: I have been near 3 dead tree falls. Two were wind events and not too close by, but one was about 20 feet away. No wind. Just BAM!!! I had the notion that you would have time to jump aside if one started to go and you heard it, but no effin way! That tree was on the ground quick!


Don't pitch camp on that majestic meadow. I see guys do it all the time. Like they are in an old western hunting magazine set piece. Stepping outa their tent I fully expect them to pull out a pipe and tamping down a wad of tobacco, look up at the sky with furrowed brow and predict the weather. Drives me nuts.