Heading out scouting this weekend... some thoughts i have every year

Gerbdog

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Gonna head out to do some scouting this weekend and have a few thoughts that i have basically every year....

How far out and how close to the season (dates, archery in this case) should i scout my favorite places? I dont wanna push the elk out... but i still wanna check that they are still in the area..... and would feel like an @ss if i bump them out and they dont come back... probably over thinking it.

Which brings me to the second thought i have... should i use my scouting time this weekend to locate other elk spots in new areas? I still want to get into some of my favorite areas, check wallows, and explore some of them more to see where other elk features are in those locations....

What approach do the elk slayers on this forum take?

Gerb
 
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Gerbdog

Gerbdog

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Bumping elk right now means nothing to me. I don't really scout any more as the elk I hunt are in the same areas year after year, decade after decade.
My "old favorites" seem to be that way also... so your advice would be locate new "old favorites" with my time instead of going places i have a good idea there will be elk anyway?
 
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Are you looking to kill an elk or kill a big bull? Like, are you likely to be passing smaller 6 points and holding out? I’m far from an elk slayer but I’d approach those two scenarios differently.
 
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Gerbdog

Gerbdog

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Are you looking to kill an elk or kill a big bull? Like, are you likely to be passing smaller 6 points and holding out? I’m far from an elk slayer but I’d approach those two scenarios differently.
Meat hunter, I cant eat the antlers sadly, the only thing ill pass on is a cow this year and maybe not even then in the moment

follow up on this: My hunting spots are all deep timber, there isnt much to be had for glassing except getting up above the timber and seeing elk across the valley up above the timber line on the other side
 
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From my experience, yes. Go check new areas. I know I don't waste time in the areas I hunt year after year. No need. At full disclosure, I've never arrowed a big bull, but have arrowed 20ish, maybe if I scouted more I could get one.
 
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Unless you're looking to pattern something big then you're better off scouting new areas.
If you already know there's elk there during the hunts then it's worth finding backup areas instead.
 
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Meat hunter, I cant eat the antlers sadly, the only thing ill pass on is a cow this year and maybe not even then in the moment

follow up on this: My hunting spots are all deep timber, there isnt much to be had for glassing except getting up above the timber and seeing elk across the valley up above the timber line on the other side

The above being said, I'd probably check on your known spots and make sure they're hitting the same wallows and such right before season, but I'd personally branch out. I kinda think this year's water situation could have them doing different things than a normal year.
 
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Gerbdog

Gerbdog

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The above being said, I'd probably check on your known spots and make sure they're hitting the same wallows and such right before season, but I'd personally branch out. I kinda think this year's water situation could have them doing different things than a normal year.
Appreciate the advice, the rain and weather is always on the back of my mind too and i always wonder if the wallows will be there or not
 

5MilesBack

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I don't like scouting for elk. They'll be there come September so not really needed to scout them now IMO. But I do enjoy getting up in the mountains during the summer, so I tend to go to places that I don't generally hunt, or I go to places I want to check out for future seasons and fallback plans potentially.
 
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Gerbdog

Gerbdog

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I don't like scouting for elk. They'll be there come September so not really needed to scout them now IMO. But I do enjoy getting up in the mountains during the summer, so I tend to go to places that I don't generally hunt, or I go to places I want to check out for future seasons and fallback plans potentially.
I think i may try and locate some potential new spots in the area, at the end of the day, i'll likely do more fly fishing then elk scouting this weekend, younger brother will be meeting me and that guy could catch trout from a puddle on the side of the road, always a treat to watch him do what he was born good at. We will see though, could wake up saturday morning and decide its put miles in on mountain sides day and just scout elk from sun up to sun down. The other issue is that the area (as is all OTC areas in CO) gets heavily hunted, all my best plans usually get adjusted due to hunting pressure anyway
 

5MilesBack

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i'll likely do more fly fishing then elk scouting this weekend, younger brother will be meeting me and that guy could catch trout from a puddle on the side of the road, always a treat to watch him do what he was born good at.
My dad (John) was born a fly fisherman. My uncle described it best, he said "we all fly fished from the time we could walk......but John took it to a whole other level......he was a true professional". I grew up spending every early September in WY and MT on our fly fishing trips, but what always caught my attention were the bugling elk outside of our tents every night. Before my dad died I told him......."Dad, you made me a fly fisherman.......but I was born to be an archery elk hunter". (y)
 

arock

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Not having a lot of experience in the mountains (just moved out to CO from the midwest - one of those city slickers ruining the back country 😁) I've found taking trips up to the area that I will be in just to know where to park, where to back up park, the condition of the roads and getting an idea of where I'm going without having to worry about the animal portion yet has made the camping part significantly less stressful.
 
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Gerbdog

Gerbdog

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Not having a lot of experience in the mountains (just moved out to CO from the midwest - one of those city slickers ruining the back country 😁) I've found taking trips up to the area that I will be in just to know where to park, where to back up park, the condition of the roads and getting an idea of where I'm going without having to worry about the animal portion yet has made the camping part significantly less stressful.
I bet it has! that's still scouting, and even having the basic plan laid out ahead of time removes a good bit of that "what if" from the back of the mind. Seeing the lay of the land up close also removes a lot of the "what if" and adds the "i better get my ass into good shape" factor haha. I cant imagine what its like coming west to elk hunt for the first and seeing your first elk mountain up close..... i grew up with them so that "oh dang" factor was never there
 

arock

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I bet it has! that's still scouting, and even having the basic plan laid out ahead of time removes a good bit of that "what if" from the back of the mind. Seeing the lay of the land up close also removes a lot of the "what if" and adds the "i better get my ass into good shape" factor haha. I cant imagine what its like coming west to elk hunt for the first and seeing your first elk mountain up close..... i grew up with them so that "oh dang" factor was never there
The oh dang factor is 100% still a thing and we're in the foothills or front range 4-5 days a week just soaking it in. Things look so dramatically different from winter to summer as well. In shape vs in shape at 8-10,000 feet is not the same. That is really tough to describe to people.

Being able to drive into a national forest, walk in, throw up a tent and sleep wherever still blows my mind.

Its been a great change so far.
 
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Gerbdog

Gerbdog

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The oh dang factor is 100% still a thing and we're in the foothills or front range 4-5 days a week just soaking it in. Things look so dramatically different from winter to summer as well. In shape vs in shape at 8-10,000 feet is not the same. That is really tough to describe to people.

Being able to drive into a national forest, walk in, throw up a tent and sleep wherever still blows my mind.

Its been a great change so far.
Glad your enjoying being out west, im biased, but, i sure do enjoy it and have lived in other parts of the country... always end up back here pretty quick
 

Hoyt Ag

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Bumping elk right now means nothing to me. I don't really scout any more as the elk I hunt are in the same areas year after year, decade after decade.
Agreed. I would give these areas a onceover, make sure they still seem to be in the area and then maybe go find backup areas B and C. I have 5 areas we are targetting for our 2 week Sept hunt. 2 are always good for a decent bull, but I want to find muy grande this year so I have a few areas we will try first. I pulled cards this weekend and bumped 30 head in various areas and didnt give it a thought. They actually ran towards a buddy on the next ridge where he likes to post up and he said they bedded down between us, about 400 yards from me.
 

Poser

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Summer elk scouting is the following:

1. Entertaining yourself by glassing elk above treeline.
2. Studying general elk behavior (gets boring pretty quickly).
3. Exploring new terrain
4. Getting in shape for hunting season
5. Enjoying the mountains
6. Testing and dialing your gear and food.
 
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Gerbdog

Gerbdog

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Yea this year im taking your approach Poser, going to check out some new country, do some hiking, and be happy if i run up some elk sign.

Half of my season's going to be down in NM helping out other hunts so some of the scouting pressure is on other shoulders this year.
 

bz_711

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For me I would just try to get up high and look for elk numbers...mostly just to have an idea if particular areas have more or if some areas have none at all.

And - I'd probably be trout fishing most of the scouting trip and just loving my time in the mountains...elk scouting is a great excuse:)
 
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