Big Timber/ Thick country tactics?

[RidgeRebel]

Hey Fellas,
I am hoping for some advice on hunting elk in thick county where glassing from afar is not possible. I have an elk unit near my home that I was able to tag a bull in last season, but I was pretty lucky to find him because the county is thick with timber. The unit is much like a plateau and it is not possible to glass to locate elk. As I explore the unit, I find elk sign all over, but there does not seem to be a rhyme or reason the where the elk go and there are not many defined trails. I was hoping you guys who hunt thick timber could share some strategies for locating elk in these areas.

Thanks
Bob

 

[Muley_Stalker]

Now you're talking about my style of hunting. I don't even own any binos. I still hunt the timber. It takes a lot of scouting to find areas that elk are in, but the actual hunt is sneaking in on them. It sounds like you know where they hang out. That should make it easier.

Read up on still hunting and work at getting good at it. I'm still considering writing a book on still hunting, but i'm not writer. I can't tell you how to do it in a post. It will take quite awile to get good at it. I've been doing it for 60 years and still learn something new now and then. It's very rewarding to take game with this method. It's not for everybody. You'll need infinant patience.

 

[Addicting]

I've alway envied my Dad, in his younger days before Father Time took his endurance away he was a master still hunter. I tried to learn it but simply don't have the patience. He could spend all day on his feet walking and only cover a mile. Take a step and wait, even the wariest whitetail never knew he was there all without camp and no scent control. Most of his shots were under 50 yards. It was quite the site to see when I would go high and sit and he worked the bottoms.

 

[Muley_Stalker]

I could get along with your dad. Unfortunately, we seem to be a dying breed. Most hunters want to take the easy way now.

 

[Muley_Stalker]

Ridge............Here's one of my hunting areas for elk. Is this what you're talking about?

 

[squirrel]

Ever get snow?? track them. Is it a bugle hunt? all that thick cover can help you.

If none of the above then you have to go extra passive or ultra aggressive (wait em out, or run em down...) depending on what you enjoy. I'm a run em down guy but some enjoy waiting more. Either way you will become a very good elk hunter if you are able to consistently score using those techniques. Steeper country can actually help as it defines bedding areas better where you can slow down and concentrate intently for more limited durations.

 

[BuzzH]

Still hunt mature whitetail bucks in the timber of NW Montana for a couple decades...hunting elk the same way will be a whole lot easier.

Be mindful of the wind, pay attention to details. Its impossible to move too slow...and real easy to move too fast in the areas you expect elk to be. Things that matter: Conditions, time of the year, where on ridges, things like that.

 

[Muley_Stalker]

No, it's not easier. I've done both.

 

[Pagosa]

I've been hunting a unit in SW Montana for 3 seasons that has some smaller open areas up high and lots of open lower country, which is typical of Montana. I'm still learning lots about the unit each season. The higher country is 90% lodgepole, fir, and spruce. This area was logged fairly heavy in the 70's and 80's, so regrowth is thick in spots. From what I can tell the elk don't seem to move much in the open areas during the daylight, after the first few days of the rifle opener. But they travel/feed a lot in the heavy timber eating beargrass that stays green into December.
A couple things I found that work is hunting in fresh snow conditions, and covering lots of ground until you find tracks. Always try to hunt into the wind. Different than what the other guys said, I cover ground fairly quickly in the morning and evening hours, since I know that elk are up feeding and will not spook as quickly. I sit downwind of saddles and other travel areas during the midday, and maybe only move a couple times during the day. I do spook elk, at least half I don't even see, but the other 50% to 25% provide plenty of good shots. I using carry my rifle like I'm bird hunting, take quick off-hand shots, and I don't carry a field backpack like a Marine expedition patrol. Quick and light. Elk in Montana are still very vocal in late October, so you can often hear them. And since I'm limited on time with a young family/jobs I only hunt a few days at a time, so I hunt all day.

 

[MTGomer]

If you can do it when there is snow that will help. Bring binoculars. Five slow steps, stop pick everything apart as deep into the timber as you can see looking for an ear flick or a patch of hair, five more steps, repeat

Every few sets of steps, just stand still for four or five minutes or so to look and listen, really listen. It is surprising what you can pick up on.

 

[mtmuley]

Yep, binoculars in the timber. You"ll be amazed at how much they will be used, and the things you see. mtmuley

 

[Muley_Stalker]

Since binos keep coming up. Let me give my opinion.

I've tried still hunting with and without binos. I agree they help you see more. However, they have one drawback that I think is more important than the advantge they have. Movement! Movement is the death of a still hunter. Game will pick up on it more than anything else we can do. You can wear a clown suit is you stay still. The best camo in the world won't help if the game see's you move. I make sure nothing I wear can move in the wind. No slings of course. Never use one. Training to be still is the sign of a good still hunter. Even when you move you need to look still. Sounds odd, but can be done.
So, wit that said the movement of looking through binos all the time is way too much movement for me. I find not using them is more successful for me even though I can't see the game as well.

Hunt like a cat. Sneak up on them even when they're looking at you. That's hunting.

 

[Nameless Range]

I like to hunt thick timber, and very much appreciate the experience of hunting where the long range glassers are inert. I spend a fair amount of my hunting season in vast forests of lodgepole, miles and miles of it, and I am pretty unsuccessful. Even less successful now since the beetle kill. There's elk in those deep woods, and it is an absolute thrill to see a bull slinking away into the dark timber, miles from the nearest meadow. It's even more badass when you get the jump on one, but there are far more elk near the fringes of timber IMO. The same is true for hunters. There's a sort of romanticism associated with hunting the thick stuff, and I get it. I'll throw out another pitch for walking slow and being ready to shoot offhand.

 

[RidgeRebel]

Thank you for all of the responses. A few more details, I will hunt this area during the archery season and I was able to call the last bull that I shot. The unit is an OTC general season unit and get lots of pressure. The way I got into the last bull was remembering where I had seen elk cross the highway and went a couple miles in from there. I have archery hunted for about 10 years now and have killed a few animals while still hunting, but most elk I have been able to call. The unit is large and there are few elk and a guy could spend days still hunting and not see an elk at times. The elk are very call shy as well. The bull I shot last year came in without making a sound. Last year was the first time I had hunted the unit and obviously since I killed, I will be going back. Also like I said the unit is close to my home, about an hour drive. I have a couple game cameras I could set up this summer and I am trying to figure out why the elk go where they go on this unit. I know what they need, but there is food, water and cover everywhere. Is there certain features you guys look for in these types of areas?

 

[squirrel]

I do it differently than elkstalker advocates, no patience. I go fast but once in them might take half a day to go 25 yards if I have a long term friendly wind (rarely do!) When I am in what I call "pregnant inchworm mode" I often wait for a plane to pass over to conceal any crunching, just like Kit Carson and Jim Bridger used to do. This is needed when you are in the girl section of the herd but have a boy tag in your pocket, most of your options at that point are bad and worse, but you can still do it with patience and some luck. If they spook the bull is the most vulnerable member of the group as he wants to maintain possession.

If you are in the herd (3 sides of you) and not a bit jacked up you need to take up another hobby .

That lower pic by nameless range... if that snow isn't crunchy there should be a dead bull before dark.

Time of year and conditions (snow) have so much to do with it. I hunt the same dark timber area with bow (rut) rifle (dry) and rifle (w/ snow). In bow I will see 10-20 bulls/week In dry rifle 1-2/week if I do well. In snow 20+/week Same hunter, same country, same elk, but different techniques.

 

[RidgeRebel]

Here is the bull I killed last year. Not my biggest bull, but definitely my favorite because I got him on and OTC DIY archery hunt. He is my first branch antlered bull on an OTC tag with a bow. I shot him at about 10 yards and he went about 50 or so. I am hoping for a repeat.

 

[Muley_Stalker]

I don't want to give the wrong impression. I don't always move a snail speed. I'd never get far from my Jeep if I did. Through scouting I may have 25 spots I call still hunt areas. Everything else is what I call hunt areas. I move at a normal pace in those, but i'm always headed for a still hunt area. It's rare that i'll get a kill in the hunting areas. If I did my scouting would be worth beans.

Ridge...........Let me throw out something else to you. I never call. The last thing I want to do is tell the elk where I am. I prefer to go to them. They make enough noise on their own. You just have to learn the difference between a hnter calling and an elk. Some hunters calls are comical, but they do make me chuckle.

 

[BuzzH]

No, it's not easier. I've done both.

Hilarious.

Not in my experience...elk are wayyy more predictable, way easier to find, less sensitive to movement and noise when still hunting them, move around a lot more during the day in the timber, etc. etc. All of which make them much easier than mature whitetails in the same type of country.

For the OP, Pagosa offered up some good advice about how elk behave in the timber.

I've had some great days of still hunting elk when its windy, snowing, or raining...you get away with more movement, and noise, which allows you to hunt a bit faster and still kill them pretty easily.

 

[kansasdad]

Movement and noise are important, but you can't fool the nose of an elk (or forty noses for sure).

 

[ORElkie]

This is a pretty great thread. I moved out west from Michigans Upper Penninsula, so glassing for animals wasn't a tactic we did much. It was mostly sitting in a blind and waiting for something to happen. Can't say I ever really enjoyed that. It was ok for early morning, but got really boring after too long. So I decided I was going to figure out how to kill a spooky forest-dwelling whitetail on my feet. This of course meant a several year venison drought while I let the deer educate me, but it eventually payed off. I killed deer in My last couple of years before moving from the area while hunting on my feet (with a rifle). So naturally when I moved out here I started hunting the same way. I've yet to bag an elk this way but I did shoot a young mulie last year still hunting with my bow. And have had close elk encounters for all three years that I hunted. I did mix it up last year and spent some time behind the optics and I do have to say that is also a lot of fun. Learning how to pick out the animals really is a good time. And quality glass sure helps. But nothing is quite as exciting as finding them in the woods. That's just my coupla pennies.