I'm just curious how far some of you are able to get away from roads when hunting? I've been researching a few units for future hunts and after I look at my maps and google earth, I swear there is a road/trail almost every mile everywhere I look. I mean it looks to me like it would be hard to find a spot to hunt that is more than a mile from the nearest road. In theory there are places where guys shouldn't be driving on trails because they'd have to cross private land to get to the public stuff but I'm just going to assume that some guys will cross the private. Wilderness areas are obviously a possibility but with lots of that country being 10,000 feet and higher, I'm going to assume there won't be many elk that high in mid-October for a rifle hunt. I'm just a bit frustrated right now. Maybe I just need to look for units with fewer roads?????
Getting away from roads
- Thread starter Flatrock
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174in
Well-known member
I have had the same thoughts myself.I think its best just to ignore the roads you see on the maps. I think the main roads will be traveld way more than the little two track stuff.
Mudranger1
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If there is a road there will be vehicles on it. IMO and experience
If it is National Forest, take a look at the most recent MVUM. Many roads that show up on USGS topos or older FS maps are now closed. It's also a good idea to make yourself familiar with what is open and closed so you don't make a mistake.
http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/ohv/ohv_maps.shtml
BLM has similar maps, but they might be harder to find. You can search at the state level or field office level on their website.
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en.html
http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/ohv/ohv_maps.shtml
BLM has similar maps, but they might be harder to find. You can search at the state level or field office level on their website.
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en.html
D
Deleted member 18333
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Depends on where you are hunting. Some areas in Colorado have roads throughout, others not so much. Most of the areas in Wyoming that I hunt have very few roads but many hiking trails. Rather than distance, i search for hard to travel areas. Steep, deep, thick timber are better higher on my list than distance when looking for a hunting spot. Most of where I hunt is very popular with the horseback crowd. Since I dont have a horse I look for canyons that don't have a major horse trail or are not easily accessible. Also look for the small side canyons off the major trails. It is interesting how many people will hike or ride a major trail and not check out the side canyons. The bulls will go wherever the people aren't and distance doesn't always determine where that is. I have one area that is a 3 mile hike on a relatively easy trail. At the 3 mile point I pop over a small ridge and have a good vantage point of a basin to the north that the main trial goes around. I can be almost 100% certain that this basin will hold a bull or two and I have never seen another hunter in it for 10 years. From the ridge I can watch the parade of horse go by each morning and evening.
Also don't be so certian that you will not find elk at 10,000 feet in mid or even late October. I took a bull in Wyoming on October 15 last year that had just walked over a 10,000 ft pass and into the basin I was glassing. Once again, the bulls will be wherever the people are not.
Also don't be so certian that you will not find elk at 10,000 feet in mid or even late October. I took a bull in Wyoming on October 15 last year that had just walked over a 10,000 ft pass and into the basin I was glassing. Once again, the bulls will be wherever the people are not.
El Jason
Well-known member
Keep in mind that the MVUM maps are worth about as much as the paper they are printed on. I just got back from a week long hunt in the Umatilla Nat'l Forest. I found many, many roads that were not on the MVUM. Very few of these roads were physically decommissioned, i.e. anyone that really didn't care about closures could drive them at will. It would certainly be worth a phone call to the ranger district to ask them about their travel plan, and how they closed the roads (physically or on paper).
FWIW, some of the best elk hunting I found during the week was within a mile of a major county road.
BuzzH
Well-known member
Just getting out of a truck, off a wheeler, etc. will get you away from about 80% of the hunters...
Walk a 1/4 mile and you've ditched another 10-15%.
Walk a 1/4 mile and you've ditched another 10-15%.
El Jason
Well-known member
Cross a canyon and you've ditched another 4-5%.
Elkmagnet
Well-known member
In early Oct I've seen many bulls at 9000+ so don't rule it out.
Is that high or low?
This one was at 12,200 feet last week. He will probably be there until snow flies. I've killed elk at over 8,000 in December.
idelkhntr
New member
I hiked my butt off Monday night and last night. Didn't see an Elk in my spots that are a good hike from the nearest two track. Monday night I nearly hit a couple of cows driving out. Last night I found a giant heard of Elk and had a bull working until it got too dark less than a quarter mile from a main road in and out of prime Elk habitat. The good part, everyone drives right past this spot. I have seen Elk in there in past years and after looking all around in the normal areas off the road decided to go to this spot. After what I saw last night I am convinced that most of the Elk in the area are condensed into this small spot. I plan on spending most of the day in there tomorrow. I guess to answer your question it depends on the area and hunting pressure.
That last bull was about 2 miles straight line distance from the nearest road. However, I took this photo from the seat of my truck, on a well-used gravel Forest Service road. There were archery and muzzleloader camps within sight of him. The moral of the story is that elk are where you find them.
Dinkshooter
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I call BS
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rmyoung1
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It's been said here before, but don't think elk won't be over 10,000 ft in October. If the feed is there, the elk will stay high until deep and/or crusted snow moves them down.
Mudranger1
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Wife shot hers at 10700 two years ago in October. No snow at all
sbhooper
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I always just took the National Forest or BLM maps and found the farthest area from the road that I could get to. If the weather is warm, the elk tend to stay high. The last time that I hunted in Colorado, I killed a bull right at 10,000 feet. There were very few elk below that in places where they normally were. Just watch for the sign and don't continue hunting in areas that you do not see fresh sign-whether close to the road or not.
passinthru
Active member
That last bull was about 2 miles straight line distance from the nearest road. However, I took this photo from the seat of my truck, on a well-used gravel Forest Service road. There were archery and muzzleloader camps within sight of him. The moral of the story is that elk are where you find them.
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Beautiful photo.
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