Elk in past burn areas

[GarnerAF1]

Anyone here have experience or success utilizing areas that have recently burnt to their advantage with Elk?

I’ve heard that Elk and other animals enjoy the charred remains of burnt areas

Thanks!

 

[SoCalHunter]

Glass the edges of 2 year old burns in the early morning and late afternoon. Good luck.

 

[bbkick25]

Not just burns, but past mudslides. Good regrowth and grass opportunities on wet years.

 

[GarnerAF1]

Glass the edges of 2 year old burns in the early morning and late afternoon. Good luck.

Good advice! Thanks!

 

[TheTone]

I’ve had some good luck hunting burns, but can’t truly say it was that much better than the unburned. Avoiding burns is a good way to avoid people I’ve found, anymore they seem to be a magnet for hunters

 

[Djergensen]

My understanding is that burn areas tepidly regrow undergrowth - which provides a lot of food for elk. But the cover they like to bed in usually isn’t found in burn areas, so I would focus my energy on areas that provide the thick new food, near good bedding areas. Those transitions points are money


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[Dos Perros]

You'd be surprised how little feed in a burn is still enough to attract elk. We found 100+ elk in a burn with very little feed, like one forb per 10 square yards, yet they were in there all day feeding and humping.

 

[Dos Perros]

Added photo. Not much to eat but enough apparently.

 

[GunsAreFun]

Personal experience no but saw a recent post on FB from a wildland firefighter saying he regularly sees elk just days after the fire has gone through an area and has pictures to prove it.

 

[Laramie]

Ehhh.. they are ok. Biggest advantage is you can see better. Biggest disadvantage is the elk can also see better. I know of one larger burn area that we all thought was going to be amazing 2-3 years after. In reality, most of the areas elk relocated 5+ miles away.

 

[SoCalHunter]

Not all burns are the same. If a burn is too close to civilians then the elk will relocate due to hunting pressure because every Tom, Dick and Harry will be traipsing through the area as soon the the smoke clears.

2-3 years old burns as far away from roads as possible. Then look for seeps within the burn. That is where the undergrowth will likely begin and provide significant food first.

 

[Hoyt Ag]

Not all burns are the same. If a burn is too close to civilians then the elk will relocate due to hunting pressure because every Tom, Dick and Harry will be traipsing through the area as soon the the smoke clears.

2-3 years old burns as far away from roads as possible. Then look for seeps within the burn. That is where the undergrowth will likely begin and provide significant food first.

I agree 1000%. There was a burn 5 years ago in an area that I like to ride ATVs in the summer and also rifle hunt OTC if I do not draw a tag. What makes it nice is the seeps that have shown themselves the last few years and are hard to miss with the amount of foliage and succession taking place. Its those little things to look for to make you successful.

 

[GarnerAF1]

Thanks for all the info guys. This helps paint a better picture if I choose to utilize all the burn areas I hunt near.

 

[Wrench]

Everyone should hunt burns. Ask randy or the other 8k web pages. By all means, please hunt the burns.

If you could start in the middle and circle out to the edges....that would be great.

 

[Hondo0925]

 

[Dos Perros]

Everyone should hunt burns. Ask randy or the other 8k web pages. By all means, please hunt the burns.

If you could start in the middle and circle out to the edges....that would be great.

We tend to kill one before we get to the edges.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Burns can be interesting, I think it depends on the intensity of the fire, one of fires by my place burned dirty ie left some islands of unburned in some spots and in others it moon scaped. The less intense dirty burns are best when it completely kills everything it takes a long time for stuff to come back

 

[Indian Summer]

Some good pictures of dead bull in burns and bulls bedded in burns.

Hunting a burn takes practice like anything else. The first thing is to realize that elk can hide in burns. So you have to take glassing as seriously as you would anywhere else. Little curves and dips in the lay of the land and thicker spots in burnt trees are all it takes for them to go unnoticed.

Yes there is feed in burns. It’s not always the amount but what exactly it is. There are mushrooms that pop up pretty quickly right in the ashes that elk love. You’ll see lines of tracks in the ashes going from stem to stem or hole to hole where they just plucked them one after another. They can’t resist them.

If you find patches of grass within a burn there is probably moisture there. So that means food and water. Any patch of timber in a burn in a spot flat enough to lay can hold bedded elk.

I like the edges. It’s like fishing a weedline. Bulls will make rub lines along the edges. They are spending time there before and after going out into the open burn. They may very well be bedded just a finger or two away into the timber.

These are all things you can find on Onx or GE. I wouldn’t hunt an area that recently burned white hot for a big vast area and looks like the moon. But a burn that left a few things in it’s path that’s surrounded by timber is a great place to hunt.

Note: If there were firefighters on the ground and choppers flying super low dumping water and retardant just this summer go pick another spot. That’ll displace elk for awhile.

 

[Coveyleader]

We tend to kill one before we get to the edges.

That's a pretty hard burn right there! Nice bull.

 

[Dos Perros]

That's a pretty hard burn right there! Nice bull.

We were avoiding it because we didn't think there was any food in there. Hunted adjacent drainages and then heard elk in there on our way out in the dark. Would have never messed with it otherwise. Was pretty surprised to find so many elk in there considering what the ground looks like.