Would you rather?

[Niceandkozy8]

Hey folks,

I have started to do some planning for the upcoming 2020 archery elk seasons. I would love to hear people's opinion and reasoning for picking a unit when presented with the scenario and information I outline below.

Question
Would you rather hunt a unit with a high population of animals, high hunter density and lots of road access or a moderate to low population of animals, low hunter density and limited road access?

Additional information
Primary objective is have a great experience and harvest any legal animal
3 year archery hunter - 0 elk killed with a bow (1 killed with a rifle)
Both units are close enough to scout equally
In good shape with the appropriate gear to backpack if required

If you were in my shoes, which unit do you spend your time researching, boots on the ground scouting, etc?
If you have any questions that might help make the decision easier let me know and I can provide that info. Appreciate anyone that is willing to give me their 2 cents.

 

[adieatrick]

What state? I was in the same dilemma last year and ended up opting for the lower herd density and low access. We were the only ones back in there and on the 1st morning saw a nice herd with lots of animals. That night, a sheep herder moved in with over 1500 head and blew out every drainage and we were screwed for the remainder of our hunt. 7 days and didn't see an animal after the 1st morning and couldn't move units due to not having the ok for the llama rental.

Just curious, as we have been on both sides of the fence. I hate running into other groups and dealing with pressure, so I will choose the lower density and less hunters 100% of the time. For me it is about quality of the hunt. It is just something to think about when putting all of your eggs in one basket.

 

[Calbuck]

You didn’t specify if hunting archery or rifle..that said, if you can scout both areas equally well, I’d go with the lower hunter density unit. The probability of finding a larger bull will be better there. If you know where the animals are you’ll be ahead of the game and should make for a great hunt..
On the other hand, hunter density is something I’ve dealt with a lot and you can use that element to your advantage if you know where the pressured animals go during the season. If you’re just looking to connect with any bull, you can usually get away from the majority of the hunters by heading uphill from the road..most people don’t get terribly far off the beaten path. The main thing I always consider is the fact that I’m out hunting and that beats work any day

 

[Ucsdryder]

I don’t care what state. I’m going low hunters. Nothing worse than running into people, calling in people with elk calls, etc. I’d rather see a rag horn in a week than combat elk hunting 300” bulls.

 

[Werty]

I personally would go with more opportunities than less.

 

[Niceandkozy8]

I’m hunting in Oregon during the archery season. This is OTC unless I get lucky and draw one of the best units which makes this question irrelevant at that point.


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[Calbuck]

Wow lot of well thought out responses so far..

 

[Niceandkozy8]

Calbuck- that’s kind of my thought as well. The only downside to the backpack style hunting is you can put all this effort into getting back into a spot only to not find elk or have something very unlucky like you experienced happen and mess up the hunt. Guess that’s where plan b,c,d etc comes into play.


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[Calbuck]

Agree..you’re limited to a few drainages if you’re committed to a backpack style of hunt. In either scenario you can benefit from being very flexible on location..the elk are where they are. When you’re hunting in a high pressure area you have to realize those herds can move several miles in a hurry. In a less pressured area they may only move one canyon over or so.. but...the elk ultimately determine that so you need to be able to find em and get where they are

 

[Niceandkozy8]

Thanks for the replies so far. Let me throw out a couple more additional items. How do these change your opinions if at all.

The high pressure unit is only 30% public land but I’ve hunted it for 4 years (rifle and archery) and know a lot of the unit. It has an estimated 3x the number of elk vs the low pressure unit.

The low pressure unit I have only scouted and hunted a couple days in total. We got into a few elk each time we have scouted and hunted but we have limited knowledge of the area.


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[Calbuck]

I think with your current experience only you could answer your own question..not
knowing where you’re hunting and what your experience so far is, that makes it tough for anyone to give their thoughts..too specific of info.
Personally, if I know an area and feel comfortable hunting it, I’ll stick with it, especially if I’ve had success before. Your opinion of the benefits of each hunt take precedence there.

 

[Indian Summer]

I’ve hunted both. A lot. Read the threads about the Selway with low elk densities and fewer hunters. No elk is no elk. If you do see an elk you better make it count since it could be the only one you lay eyes on.

I’ll take more numbers of elk. You just have to be ready to out hunt most others. Those elk will have found the safest place possible to hide. Your job is to find that spot. But when you do you should have good hunting. You might even get another chance if you miss the first time. I only need one but I need to have elk to hunt!

 

[bluetick78]

I've always sought out the low pressure areas, no matter what the animal population is. It's always worked well for me, but this year was different. My 10 year old son drew a bull elk tag in a good unit, but I'd never hunted much in that area. We did our scouting and found plenty of elk, but after an OTC archery season and an OTC mule deer season, those elk were nowhere to be found. At the same time my sons bull hunt was running, there was a cow elk hunt and a muzzeloader deer hunt going on. On the first weekend we got acquainted with some guys that had one cow tag and one muzzeloader deer tag between them. We exchanged numbers since everyone was hunting something different, and went our separate ways. A few days later I saw a bomber muley, so I called the muzzeloader hunter and offered to show him where the buck was. He got on the buck and killed it the next day. A few days later he called me with info on a group of bulls, my son shot one of them the next morning. During the pack out I spotted a large group of cow elk 2 canyons over....and of course I called the cow elk hunter and he was able to harvest one. This was definitely out of character for me, but the fact that there were other hunters around ended up causing everyone involved to be successful. This situation is probably not how most hunter-hunter interactions turn out, but you never know. I should also mention that both the cow elk hunter and the muzzeloader hunter were nonresident's....gasp....from California to boot. The fact that we all worked together caused one guy to kill a 180+ muley, my 10-year old son to kill his 2nd, yes 2nd, 330+ bull in his first season hunting, and another guy to punch a cow elk tag. Never would have dreamed that having more hunter pressure than I like could result in so much success.

 

[Dos Perros]

I'd rather hunt with less people myself. Have gone that route 4 out of the last 5 years. The year I didn't I had a really nice bull heading to bed with his cows and we were going to let him. Then, another hunter came out of nowhere and blew them all out. To add insult to injury, on his defeated walk out, he bumped a nice group of mule deer we were going to stalk as a consolation prize.

 

[Wapiti1]

Low elk density means you must be mobile. So backpacking is not a good an option, imo, unless you have them pegged from scouting. Depending on terrain, though, they may be easier to find since low density usually means lower preferred habitat and small home range. You could be looking at small herds spread many miles apart, or very elk dense small areas. The point is, you have to be mobile, or do more scouting.

Higher density, and more pressure also means more elk movement. Especially in a unit with good access. The herds will hole up, get found, move, hole up, get found, repeat, repeat. Or they stay put, and you have to get really creative to call one in, or go to silent tactics. Scouting is good, but it may be fruitless after day 1. Going farther in, may or may not work. You may just get closer to the next road.

Both can be successful. Both are hunted differently.

I tend to to send newer hunters to high population units so they get more encounters. Yes, there are more people, too, but hunting around others is as valuable a skill as knowing how to find elk. You will probably never hunt a place alone (private land is the exception), even on an LE tag, so learn to deal with competition.

Jeremy

 

[mtnbiker208]

I don't backpack for elk. with that said. I have killed 6 bulls in 5 years in a zone, i will see hunters everyday. you just learn to deal with it, and use the other hunters to your advantage. get up earlier and use them as drivers for you.

 

[cnelk]

Ive found that even popular OTC areas can vary with hunter pressure year to year.
I dont mind hunting higher hunter density areas, but it really helps to know the terrain and where the elk will go.

As far as what you should do?
You wont ever kill an archery elk unless you kill the first legal one - go where you have the best chance.
Build on that

 

[Wrench]

High elk numbers and hunters mean you can hunt elk like whitetails....use pressure to your advantage.

I just like mtnbiker have 100+% average in super high pressure units.

If it works on a primos video....forget it in these units.

 

[Marble]

I'm going to scout both areas and then choose based off of what I see then. I know that I have no fear to go wherever I need to kill my bull. This is why 10% of the dudes kill 90% of the animals IMO.

I would consider the animal and hunter numbers. But I depend on out working the other guys.

 

[Wassid82]

i think its a situation of pick your poison . If you don’t care the size of the kill then I would go with a place of higher animal density. I’ve gone into places (including this last year) where we hiked in 8 miles in a roadless area thinking we were going to the perfect place and no one would be there. When we crested the ridge 2 other guys were amazed that we had found that place. I think in today’s age everyone has great access to digital scouting and what not. I think its just the way hunting will be from now on.