Love this answer...now whatYes.
You bring up an interesting point. I have two area that are 20 miles apart one as close to roadless as it gets without wilderness designation, the other is a patchwork of clear cuts of varying ages, closer to humans and generally would be considered whitetail habitat vs elk.I was about 20 years old when the elk numbers plummeted in the areas i used to hunt, and had no clue how to kill elk with a bow. it haunts me today the opportunities we let slip through being idiots and not having a clue. I wish every year i could roll back the clock, and go back and hunt that stuff when it was good. i have no doubt i would kill a 320 plus inch bull every year. i will also echo Ross in that some of the country i used to hunt is nearly inaccessible anymore due to lack elk trails, and the old elk trails have all been brushed in. i hope one day elk will return to my old hunting grounds, but I'm not very optimistic. there are less wolves (no elk left) now, but 10 times the grizzlies. personally I think there are enough grizzlies to keep the cow calf ratios low to where a recovery of the elk is very unlikely until serious predator control measures are taken. I hunted the great bear wilderness a lot between the southfork and middlefork of the flathead. after seeing the true lack of animals left it makes me wonder why hunters should have any support of wilderness and roadless areas. especially when i can drive roads in southwest montana and hear more elk in a hour of road bugling...than an entire season of hunting in NW montana.
Cody Carr says their are PLENTY of elk in those areas. Its the lazy hunters that wont go after them. Elk populations are as strong as they ever were, just gotta know how to hunt them. Its a myth that the wolves have killed all the elk.
*sarcasm