Escape Routes

[jgilber5]

I see a lot of mention of escape routes, especially in pressured areas. Some escape routes are obvious. A saddle up and out of the basin. A sheltered draw, or timbered bench giving way to new country. Some are not. In the less obvious cases, I have trouble visualizing how they are used and would love to hear some other perspectives.

What are escape routes to you? Are they one way streets elk flee through on opening day? Are they more like sanctuary zones the elk get pushed to as the season progresses? Is it more just a funnel point that elk use as they bounce from area to area in either direction whether on the run or as part of their circuit? When and how do you go about hunting them when you find them. Are you posting up early on opening day hoping they run past you on their way to private? Do you sit there for days knowing eventually the pressure will funnel them through? Do you check it like its a collection zone, knowing the pressure would have concentrated them later in the season?

 

[Falro]

A saddle dumping from one valley into another is perfect to sit and wait for elk to get pushed to you. You need something like a saddle or a cut in a cliffed out hillside or a flat area between rockslides to be able to guess where they’re going to ruin through. Otherwise it’s just a guessing game.

 

[Laramie]

What are escape routes to you? Are they one way streets elk flee through on opening day? Are they more like sanctuary zones the elk get pushed to as the season progresses? Is it more just a funnel point that elk use as they bounce from area to area in either direction whether on the run or as part of their circuit? When and how do you go about hunting them when you find them. Are you posting up early on opening day hoping they run past you on their way to private? Do you sit there for days knowing eventually the pressure will funnel them through? Do you check it like its a collection zone, knowing the pressure would have concentrated them later in the season?

Yes and No to all.... nothing is black and white with elk imo.

My best description of them is they are routes that elk prefer to travel by. When they are scared, they travel through them faster.

Any obvious routes you find by internet scouting will be pretty much overrun by hunters. To find productive ones that produce regularly, a person needs to invest time with boots on the ground.

 

[Crowmangler]

Sometimes there may not be a "route" to get from one place to another. It may just be a relatively small area that is thick as crap & basically impassible by hunters that elk will hold tight in & move during night time.
Same concept as big whitetails who live in suburban areas. Try to locate their trail into it & be there the last half hour before shooting hours end