Summer Scouting

[Bugle]

Hoping to get some advice from the more experienced elk hunters out there;

2021 will be my 3rd year elk hunting CO. I have flights booked in July for what will be my only opportunity to scout the unit before the season starts in October.

What is your summer scouting strategy?
What should I be looking for in the summer that may indicate elk in the fall?
Elevations? Sign? Etc etc? Just looking for some wisdom to make the most of my only shot at getting boots on the ground pre-hunt.


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[Beendare]

No roads and difficult to access.

Hunter pressure is the #1 factor in elk hunting a general unit....hard to tell what that is in the summer.

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[Idaho4x4Bronco]

Creatures of habit. Find areas with several years of sign, rutting areas with feeding areas within 1.5 miles of the rutting area has served me VERY well. I never look for animals themselves until season, just need to know where they'll be during rut.

Creatures of habit tend to leave patterns.

Fwiw, I killed my 6x7, 5x5, and first spike within 100 yards of each other within 20 minutes of the same time each year, following this routine.

 

[Wassid82]

I tend to do several hikes in the summer to look at terrain, vegetation, and water sources. If the country is sufficiently rugged it helps me to know how likely I will be to running into other people. The vegetation is important for feed and cover. I also look water. Both for the animals as well as what I might need to carry as the hunter.

 

[cnelk]

When I summer scout, I’m not so worried about seeing elk but learning the terrain and how long it takes me to get to spot A to spot B.
Seeing some old rubs is a good sign. You may not see wallows but finding seeps with a trickle of water could be a good thing.

Finding a mix of timber and aspen seems to always hold elk in September.

 

[Aaronpaul14]

We are doing the same this summer. Keep em’ coming!

 

[GunsAreFun]

Finding a mix of timber and aspen seems to always hold elk in September.

I’ve heard a lot of people say this but never explained why. Is it because there tends to be forest floor growth that is a good source?

 

[cnelk]

I took this pic at 5:18pm and shot my bull 45mins later.

A mix of timber and aspen is like crack to elk.

 

[Huntnnw]

best time to elk scout is to arrive 4 days or so before it opens and find elk. Finding elk 1-2 months before you hunt is almost pointless. If I am in a unit in the summer its checking out road systems, trails, camping areas and just generally getting a feel for spots I have looked at on a map

 

[Gerbdog]

I do the same as others have mentioned here, i dont look for elk themselves during the summer, im looking for a bull's hangout spot during the rut, i'm looking for rubs from multiple years prior and wallows, something that tells me they come this spot to hangout for the rut year after year and hopefully all the bulls making those rubs werent killed last year. If theyre hanging out there during the rut theres a good chance the cows are also hanging out there during the rut (quite the logical leap there i know /s) so im also looking for some heavily used game trails. Bonus points if your elk hunting spot is near a good trout fishing spot, can knock out some scouting and get some fishing in on your scouting trips.

 

[Lexus423]

Following

 

[Emanon]

First post for me!. Been hunting white tail for 10+ on the East Coast but want to go for Elk out west. This is great info. I have a summer scouting trip planned already. This is a big help!

 

[scalxndr]

Trying a new unit this year, great advice here. Thanks for sharing.