Well hunting unit 102 in Wyoming. Can't find an elk any where. Been hunting all over the unit. From Labarge guard station, Miller mountain, Indian mountain. Got my buddy on his first elk hunt and can't find a elk. Never been to Wyoming before but man about to throw the towel in. Have found only one set of tracks that looks kinda fresh. Sorry guys just venting. If I had any hair I'd pull it out.
Frustrated hitting a wall
- Thread starter sigpros
- Start date
idnative1948
Well-known member
Sorry. Join the fun!
Spent 7 days walking around and sounded like you had cheetos duck taped to the bottom of our feet. second weekend of Oct. Most of it just because of the area we hunt.
Went to OR Sat-Mon to close up our shack until snowmobile season. Arrived on Sat to 8" of snow and raining. Sunday hiked up the ridge back of the cabin and got on the top. If I wasn't so cheap to hunt OR, there would have been blood shed. Spike, three cows and coming out, a nice buck and three does. Go figure. Just the way it goes.
Spent 7 days walking around and sounded like you had cheetos duck taped to the bottom of our feet. second weekend of Oct. Most of it just because of the area we hunt.
Went to OR Sat-Mon to close up our shack until snowmobile season. Arrived on Sat to 8" of snow and raining. Sunday hiked up the ridge back of the cabin and got on the top. If I wasn't so cheap to hunt OR, there would have been blood shed. Spike, three cows and coming out, a nice buck and three does. Go figure. Just the way it goes.
jbozahunter
New member
Elk in 102...
Sigpros,
I hunt that area every year, killed a cow (additional license) with my bow in Sept., then just got a calf with my general license this last friday. Not sure if you've tried Pole creek, specificly the east fork of it, but after the bulk of the hunters are out of there, which I believe they are now, that is where the elk like to hang out. I was actually fortunate enough to get my calf right off of a two track on Friday, not typical, but it does happen.
Not sure if you're familiar with the Pole creek area, but if not, I may be able to get you some gps coordinates to get you close. Also, not sure if you have an atv, or side by side, but it makes it much easier to cover lots of ground in a hurry.
Another option is to hunt off the top of Commissary ridge, enter from blue cattle guard across from Viva Naughton, hunt primarily the west side, facing the Ham's Fork, the elk seem to like those ridges, if nothing else, get up as high as possible to see as much ground as you can, as far as you can see, and just glass alot early in the morning, try to locate them, and then go to them. That's how I found them Friday.
Hope this helps you some, anything else I can help with let me know,
Jbo
Sigpros,
I hunt that area every year, killed a cow (additional license) with my bow in Sept., then just got a calf with my general license this last friday. Not sure if you've tried Pole creek, specificly the east fork of it, but after the bulk of the hunters are out of there, which I believe they are now, that is where the elk like to hang out. I was actually fortunate enough to get my calf right off of a two track on Friday, not typical, but it does happen.
Not sure if you're familiar with the Pole creek area, but if not, I may be able to get you some gps coordinates to get you close. Also, not sure if you have an atv, or side by side, but it makes it much easier to cover lots of ground in a hurry.
Another option is to hunt off the top of Commissary ridge, enter from blue cattle guard across from Viva Naughton, hunt primarily the west side, facing the Ham's Fork, the elk seem to like those ridges, if nothing else, get up as high as possible to see as much ground as you can, as far as you can see, and just glass alot early in the morning, try to locate them, and then go to them. That's how I found them Friday.
Hope this helps you some, anything else I can help with let me know,
Jbo
FishN4Eyes
Well-known member
There's these thingys called PM's........
jbozahunter
New member
FishN4Eyes
Well-known member
Pretty sure it's my information to give, my choice how I do it......
Yes, Sir, you are correct about that for sure.
My apologies, it was just a suggestion.
Rat Fink
Member
Hmmm. Wyoming just got a bit more appealing now that I have a spot to hunt. Who's in for a road trip?
JohnCushman
Well-known member
I'm up for a road trip Rat Fink!!
spook12
New member
John you and Rat Fink set up a nice camp ''Just inside the blue cattle guard'' and get a fire going in the stove and I'm there!
2rocky
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2010
- Messages
- 4,997
From now on when ever anyone asks for a place to hunt the Official Hunt Talk answer will be "inside the Blue Cattle Guard"...
Hes just trying to help someone out why all the grief? Nice of him to help, sometimes I think part of the decline in hunting is successful hunters not wanting to share information with those who wish to be successful.
Good luck to the OP hopefully the tide turns for you.
Good luck to the OP hopefully the tide turns for you.
jbozahunter
New member
X2, thanks for the props ebo, that's exactly why I chose to provide the info the way I did, I could keep it a secret..... but it's really not anyway, trust me there are plenty of people that know about it. It seems like hunting/fishing/snowmachining/hiking/biking/atv-ing/ you name the sport/hobby places have become like gold to some folks. I have helped several people this year to be successful, and I gotta say it feels good to help a fellow whatever they are, to have some fun, or be successful in their endeavors.
More than happy too help anyone else that may be struggling too. Sometimes Karma pays you back in unexpected ways......
JohnCushman
Well-known member
I think part of the decline in hunting is the lack of strip clubs near major hunting areas
FishN4Eyes
Well-known member
Totally agree it was nice to help. I was suggesting doing it in a private fashion out of respect for others that may hunt there.
Cyber-scouting is rather prevalent.
But what do I know, I'm just a dumb azz who never shoots anything.
Maybe there are already thousands of people who hunt by the blue cattle guard, heck a few more won't hurt.
No doubt some helpful info was provide to the OP and that was extremely generous.
gjflyfisherman
Member
I wish more hunters would help out new hunters. You don't have to show them your favorite spot, but help people know where and how an area can be hunted is helpful. There are plenty of elk out there for everyone.
I agree. I try to do that, without giving out specific spots. I think what jboz did was extremely generous. And as some have stated, there are some guys who will make note of that and may hunt it next year.
When helping people, I try to focus on HOW to find elk, not specific locations. It took me many years to figure out how to find elk consistently. Like many here, once I figured it out, it became much easier to kill elk consistently.
Many elk hunters seem to head to the hills full of enthusiasm, but have not done much research about where to find elk in there units. As such, they find themselves frustrated.
In about two paragraphs, here is how I do it. It is what I employ when I show up in areas I have never hunted, knowing I only have five days to get something killed on camera. It usually requires two days of scouting and three days of hard hunting based on what I found in first two days.
First, show up as prepared as you can. Know where elk tend to be based on the time of year. Know where they summer and where they winter. In most hunting seasons, they will be somewhere along the route that goes from summer to winter ranges. Know where their food is. Cows are always looking for food. Bulls, looking for cows early, then food when the snow comes.
Second, when you get there, check out the five to eight spots you have marked on your map. I check high first. If I am not finding any sign or any animals, I then check way low. I then work my way up in elevation until I run into where the bulls are. Note that older bulls will be higher than cows. I keep moving up in elevation until I find lots of sign, or elk themselves. Once I know where they are at, they will stay near there, barring any big weather change or huge increase in hunting pressure.
Last of all, get away from roads and trails. Maps will show you where those areas are. Have some areas marked at all different elevations and check them all out. Once you find where they are, then start hunting.
I know that sounds very elementary, but if you can't find them first, you can't fulfill the next step of killing one. Merely an observation of answering tons of emails, but it seems more time spent studying where to find the elk would result in more hunters studying how to cook the elk.
Very kind of you to share publicly, jboz. Hopefully the karma does return.
Devil Diver Down
Well-known member
This is not meant to be smarmy, but how do you go about that? Every year I've hunted Arizona - I've been into elk and had opportunities (I never cashed in on until this season) but I attributed that more to luck and the relative high number of elk for the relative lack of elk habitat.
When I hunted SW Colorado, I was into Texans every day.
My whole AZ strategy this year was to look for places that had big zones without roads. I was able to chase bulls every morning and evening, plus many in the middle of the day. The problem is I don't know that I'm any further along than I was last year at this time. I don't know how much I learned about how to locate them, where they should be, etc.
jbozahunter
New member
I think part of the decline in hunting is the lack of strip clubs near major hunting areas
Actually, there used to be one of these in Kemmerer, called the Triangle bar......
Pretty sure it scared more people away than it brought in, let's just say they had the same stripper since J.C. Penney's was founded....
Appreciate all the kind words and advice, anyone who treks to the locations I divulged publicly, would soon find out that the areas are very large, and I was only giving general directions, the specific spots were never told. I suspect that most folks from this or any other hunting related forum, would take one look during general season and run away.....
There are roads everywhere, thus the reason I directed sigpros here, he is not familiar with the area, and it opens up some opportunity for him. I spoke with him directly last evening via phone, and hopefully I could help him some.
Big Fin, thanks for your input on finding elk, imo, the biggest issues that many hunters have are the abilities to locate their quarries consistently. I have been fortunate to be raised in a location where the animals that many hunters long to hunt call home. I also believe that even if you can't actually hunt a specific area, if you have the time, get out and just watch them, see how they interact at specific times of year, escape routes, migration routes, etc.. This isn't always possible, but if it is, it sure can help.
Big Fin, you are very often the topic of discussion during my hunting partner and myself's backcountry hunting trips. We often discuss what you would do in a given situation, or if we are considering packing up, think.... WWRD.... Not trying to kiss up, just the simple truth, I think you are an inspiration to many, many folks, and I admire what you stand for.
Again, thanks for the discussion, hope I didn't ruffle too many feathers with my first post on hunt talk....
Jbo
noharleyyet
Well-known member
Ah pshaw, ruffled feathers, tar and feathers, chicken feathers...it's only feathers.
Welcome Jbo.
Welcome Jbo.
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