Things you wish you knew about elk hunting

[Erussell01]

Never found a spot to thick to hunt elk. If there's a will, there's a way.

How do you find them in there when they are bedded? That was such a big struggle for me. I just could not see the other elk and would get busted. Some of the stuff we were in was really really thick and the elk would just disappear in there.

 

[go_deep]

How do you find them in there when they are bedded? That was such a big struggle for me. I just could not see the other elk and would get busted. Some of the stuff we were in was really really thick and the elk would just disappear in there.

This is going to sound a bit rough, but you probably could have killed most the elk you bumped, your eyes just didn't know what they were looking for trying to pick out parts and pieces of the elk laying in front of you.
Anyone can see an elk standing in the wide open in front of them, you need to see the little piece of elk out in the brush before it see you.

Years ago a guy told me, you don't look where you can see while your hunting you look into where you can't see to spot them, before they spot you. It made a ton of sense to me and hopefully you get something out of all that.

You may need to slow down a bit when you start getting in close too.

 

[Maverick1]

Never found a spot to thick to hunt elk. If there's a will, there's a way.

Well, there are areas where you may choose to hunt elk, but your success rate as a hunter may not be very high as the elk may choose to spend their time elsewhere. Beetle kill or blowdown areas, for example.....kind of hard to kill elk if they aren't spending much time there....


From a Journal of Wildlife Management article titled:

Multi-scale habitat selection of elk in response to beetle-killed forest​

"At the study area scale, elk avoided beetle‐killed forest during nearly all parts of the day and selected for intact conifer forest during the day. At the micro‐habitat scale, as canopy cover decreased in beetle‐killed areas, there was a concomitant increase in grass biomass and downed logs. Nevertheless, while in the forest, elk did not alter resource selection relative to changes in understory vegetation or downed logs. The boost in forage abundance within beetle‐killed areas was insufficient to overcome the presumed increases in energy expenditures associated with locomotion and thermoregulation in beetle‐killed forests."

https://www.themeateater.com/conser...-elk-hate-bark-beetle-deadfall-as-much-as-you

https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jwmg.21631

 

[go_deep]

Well, there are areas where you may choose to hunt elk, but your success rate as a hunter may not be very high as the elk may choose to spend their time elsewhere. Beetle kill or blowdown areas, for example.....kind of hard to kill elk if they aren't spending much time there....


From a Journal of Wildlife Management article titled:

Multi-scale habitat selection of elk in response to beetle-killed forest​

"At the study area scale, elk avoided beetle‐killed forest during nearly all parts of the day and selected for intact conifer forest during the day. At the micro‐habitat scale, as canopy cover decreased in beetle‐killed areas, there was a concomitant increase in grass biomass and downed logs. Nevertheless, while in the forest, elk did not alter resource selection relative to changes in understory vegetation or downed logs. The boost in forage abundance within beetle‐killed areas was insufficient to overcome the presumed increases in energy expenditures associated with locomotion and thermoregulation in beetle‐killed forests."

https://www.themeateater.com/conser...-elk-hate-bark-beetle-deadfall-as-much-as-you

https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jwmg.21631

All I'll say is there's some elk that haven't read that study yet I guess.
As long as I find fresh elk sign I'll hunt there, don't care what some generic study says.

 

[Erussell01]

This is going to sound a bit rough, but you probably could have killed most the elk you bumped, your eyes just didn't know what they were looking for trying to pick out parts and pieces of the elk laying in front of you.
Anyone can see an elk standing in the wide open in front of them, you need to see the little piece of elk out in the brush before it see you.

Years ago a guy told me, you don't look where you can see while your hunting you look into where you can't see to spot them, before they spot you. It made a ton of sense to me and hopefully you get something out of all that.

You may need to slow down a bit when you start getting in close too.

Not rough at all man, I think you are totally right. I was in too big of a hurry and wouldn't see them until it was too late. By the end of the trip I was trying to pick apart the brush and find them, I just ran out of time after wasting good opportunities. I wish I could say I was a good elk hunter but man I proved last year that I am not. I know I can become a good elk hunter. I just need reps

 

[Erussell01]

Well, there are areas where you may choose to hunt elk, but your success rate as a hunter may not be very high as the elk may choose to spend their time elsewhere. Beetle kill or blowdown areas, for example.....kind of hard to kill elk if they aren't spending much time there....


From a Journal of Wildlife Management article titled:

Multi-scale habitat selection of elk in response to beetle-killed forest​

"At the study area scale, elk avoided beetle‐killed forest during nearly all parts of the day and selected for intact conifer forest during the day. At the micro‐habitat scale, as canopy cover decreased in beetle‐killed areas, there was a concomitant increase in grass biomass and downed logs. Nevertheless, while in the forest, elk did not alter resource selection relative to changes in understory vegetation or downed logs. The boost in forage abundance within beetle‐killed areas was insufficient to overcome the presumed increases in energy expenditures associated with locomotion and thermoregulation in beetle‐killed forests."

https://www.themeateater.com/conser...-elk-hate-bark-beetle-deadfall-as-much-as-you

https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jwmg.21631

Interesting read. Thanks for posting. We didn't have any beetle kill in the area we hunted, at least not anything new. I did however find less elk where the blow down was really bad in one draw. They just seemed to not be in there and the only difference was that every other tree was tipped over. It might not be the reason why they weren't there but that might have been part of it.

 

[Drift-Less]

Man, this is a great thread, I'm hoping on doing my first elk hunt this coming fall and all this stuff was great to read and think about!

 

[Still Hunter]

The 1 Thing You Learned- ELK

I think most of us make a mistake over and over again. We go on a hunt, but don’t make the effort to think critically about 1 thing we learned and will do different next time. Think about it, how often do magazines write about a hunt, but fail to single out an action item to change in the...

www.rokslide.com

Read this one...

 

[Erussell01]

Man, this is a great thread, I'm hoping on doing my first elk hunt this coming fall and all this stuff was great to read and think about!

After just one trip out west I felt like I learned a ton. Where are you hoping to go?

 

[Erussell01]

The 1 Thing You Learned- ELK

I think most of us make a mistake over and over again. We go on a hunt, but don’t make the effort to think critically about 1 thing we learned and will do different next time. Think about it, how often do magazines write about a hunt, but fail to single out an action item to change in the...

www.rokslide.com

Read this one...

Awesome read man! Thanks for sharing that!

 

[Indian Summer]

Never found a spot to thick to hunt elk. If there's a will, there's a way.

I’ve punched my share of elk tags in timber country. The goal is to work smarter. No need to worry so hard and even if you don’t mind. Being consistently successful just isn’t as easy. Elk have the advantage in that kind of country. In there you don’t pass up a legal bull. Out here you can. You have the advantage.

 

[go_deep]

I’ve punched my share of elk tags in timber country. The goal is to work smarter. No need to worry so hard and even if you don’t mind. Being consistently successful just isn’t as easy. Elk have the advantage in that kind of country. In there you don’t pass up a legal bull. Out here you can. You have the advantage.

I guess it's all in what you want out of a hunt. Bet a dollar and a donut the OP would have been ecstatic to shoot a legal bull. I'm not a sit and glass type of hunter, I struggle with it, so I hunt the style that I like best. Killing elk at 7 paces, 8 paces, 13 paces in their bed is a rush, and I'll just keep doing what works for me and the area I hunt.

Back to the OP, One thing that got me some of the spots I've found and killed elk in over the years is that no one else is willing to go in there, for whatever reason, not just because it's a deep steep crap hole, sometimes people think it's too close to the road.

 

[LostArra]

Have a firm grasp on the preference point system, how point creep works and how these things could affect where you hunt.

 

[Drift-Less]

After just one trip out west I felt like I learned a ton. Where are you hoping to go?

Probably Colorado Archery since they have OTC tags, haven’t decided on a place yet but definitely Colorado.

 

[cnelk]

Something Ive learned - Elk aint hard to kill, they are just easy to miss! haha!

 

[ValleyHunter]

Last year I changed some tactics and felt more confident with the areas I was spending my time in as well as elk behavior. That being said I still learned more than any year prior as I was in elk every day.
Knowing when to slow down and knowing when to be aggressive is huge.

Understanding when/how wind will switch and how much time you have to make a move without being busted.
Not being discouraged with other hunters in the area. I had bulls talking within 100 yards of me, bugling very quiet. The hunters on the ridge across the canyon were trying to locate elk and just could not hear the bull I was right next to. Fascinating to hear them being so loud but can also tone it down when the “elk” they are communicating with is near them.
Taking note of what type of terrain you have been finding elk and focusing on similar areas. Every herd i encountered was within earshot of a mainline, just off of trails/closed roads that were not being pressured.

These are the big ones, but there are lots of little things I learned as well.

 

[Erussell01]

I’ve punched my share of elk tags in timber country. The goal is to work smarter. No need to worry so hard and even if you don’t mind. Being consistently successful just isn’t as easy. Elk have the advantage in that kind of country. In there you don’t pass up a legal bull. Out here you can. You have the advantage.

I hope to one day be comfortable enough in my skills to pass a legal bull. That is so hard for me to even imagine haha. I have no trouble passing a small whitetail, but man... Elk meat is too good to pass up.

 

[Erussell01]

I guess it's all in what you want out of a hunt. Bet a dollar and a donut the OP would have been ecstatic to shoot a legal bull. I'm not a sit and glass type of hunter, I struggle with it, so I hunt the style that I like best. Killing elk at 7 paces, 8 paces, 13 paces in their bed is a rush, and I'll just keep doing what works for me and the area I hunt.

Back to the OP, One thing that got me some of the spots I've found and killed elk in over the years is that no one else is willing to go in there, for whatever reason, not just because it's a deep steep crap hole, sometimes people think it's too close to the road.

You would be right on the money. I am in for packing out ANY elk at this point. I also have a hard time sitting still, but I also sucked at sneaking through the timber and bumping elk last year so I am going to try and see if I can't find a way to get better at both. Up close with elk is so amazing.

Speaking of hidden spots near the road.... My buddy got lost last year and I bombed off the mountain to go find him. Ran right through a thick timber hell hole right by the truck and there were warm elk beds within 1/4 mile of the access point. I don't think anybody hunted there so I am absolutely checking that spot next year.

 

[Erussell01]

Something Ive learned - Elk aint hard to kill, they are just easy to miss! haha!

I like that!

They are also not hard to see, but boy they can be hard to find.

 

[Erussell01]

Probably Colorado Archery since they have OTC tags, haven’t decided on a place yet but definitely Colorado.

Nice! Good luck. Should be a good time.