Elk scouting

[TAGPUNCHER]

Hey fellows hope all is ready for 9-1. I don't have any archery plans this year. I thought about going on a scouting trip to WY. I have hunt planned for 2025. I have narrowed my unit down pretty well. I already have plan A-G. I was gonna go at end of august,but I did the same in New Mexico a few years ago. I went 2 weeks before season and found Multiple bulls in a very small area. I also got a lay of the land and the road system.. now fast forward to hunt and everybody and there brother had found them as well. So I had to start from scratch. I think for WY I will go the same dates as I planned to hunt. I think that would give me Aleg up. It would give me a better grasp of where the pressure will be.and get a layout of the roads as well. I have a few hikes planned to glass. I will not have any calls or bugle just glass. Does this sound like a decent plan to you Elk guys? Do you feel like pressure in areas are habitual enough to warrant this type of approach? I Know certain places in CO traditionally will be slammed and others not So much. Thanks always guys for the advice and help I have STOLEN from Many of you.

 

[dtrkyman]

Good plan to be there at that time frame, however consitions typically change each year so expecting to find elk in the same place may be a little optimistic.

If there are Elk that are visible from somewhere somebody will find them most likely!

Best thing is being somewhat familiar with getting around and access points, it is a good head start!

Nothing like boots on the ground and laying eyes on things ahead of time.

 

[TAGPUNCHER]

Kinda what I was thinking. Certainly rainy spring VS a drought and so on will affect the elk. The hikes I have planned to glass are all a mile or so and can't seen from a road. At least that is what it appears on Google earth.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

I have an outfitter in the Lower-48 and he does all his scouting post season, because preseason scouting only tells you where the animals were prior to when humans started pushing them elsewhere.

 

[TAGPUNCHER]

I scout deer after season a ton,while the same time turkey hunting...

 

[cnelk]

In Colorado, I do my scouting for elk during the ‘quiet time’ - The 2 weeks between archery and 1st Rifle.

That gives me all the information I need.

 

[Jaquomo]

Prehunt scouting is good for learning how bad the deadfall is in any given area, which doesn't show up from satellite views, and how to get from point A to point Bon foot (or in a vehicle of some sort). Checking out water sources too, but if you know about them from escouting, everybody else does too. Those are valuable variables. Beyond that, everything changes from day to day and week to week once the season starts.

My friend and I run cameras all summer in one of our primary areas, since it is only an hour from home. Kind of cool to see what is there in August, but it rarely correlates to where those elk are come September 1.

Scouting during season, as you suggest, shows you who is hunting where that given day, but everything changes constantly with pressure and natural elk movement.