PSA: yes, you have a sweet new hot tent, now please stop camping in the elk...

I don't hunt where there's elk (cause I suck at finding them), but when I do, some guy has set up his permanent camp above the field and on the spring that the elk frequent. Those elk quickly find elsewhere to be. Some people are lucky though.
 
My brother and I rode up a couple of days before the season opened to a saddle where we have killed a couple of elk. There were two horses hobbled when we reached the saddle, so I knew someone was camping nearby.

There were two young, to me, men setting up their teepee, very close to where my brother killed his bull. One of the men had been hauling water up to the saddle, so that the horses had access to it. Since they were obviously intending to hunt the spot, I told them, we would be somewhere else on the opener.

The weather turned brutal, it had to be kinda miserable camping up there, but one of them killed a very nice bull. So it does work for some people some of the time.
 
A few years ago in Idaho I arrived 4 days early. The night before season some bright guy set up camp right in the middle of where the elk came into public. This being wide open country it spooked every elk in the country. But I killed him. 😀
See, easy fix.
 
It gets worse. I was in my underwear, drinking a cup of coffee when I saw him. I had to put pants on just to go after him. Then I called him in, across that grassy draw, with one squeeze on a Hoochie Mama. 25 yds. How do you like me now?
Love it!

I tell my sons now that the Hoochie Mama is no longer popular, I can use mine again because I’ll be retro with it.
 
It gets worse. I was in my underwear, drinking a cup of coffee when I saw him. I had to put pants on just to go after him. Then I called him in, across that grassy draw, with one squeeze on a Hoochie Mama. 25 yds. How do you like me now?
This hunttalk, you can’t fool us. We know you didn’t put pants on but simply locked your house crocks into 4 wheel drive and hustled out the door.
 
I spotted a big herd one evening with one really great bull constantly screaming his lungs out. It was getting too late to try to go after him, so I went back to camp. I started cooking something to eat when I heard that bull bugle again less than 100 yards from my camp. Then the whole herd started milling around, talking and making a big racket for about an hour before quieting down. I woke up about 4:30 with that guy bugling again practically right in my camp. They left just before daylight and I followed them around all day but never could get to where I could get a shot.

Didn't seem to bother them at all that I was camped right in their bedroom.
 
I think its very dependent on the elk in your hunt location, the terrain and herd population. During archery season we camp right smack in the middle of where the elk are every year. There's been elk killed 400yds from a tent, elk walking through the small meadow we camp in, elk hitting the wallows in said meadow, commonly elk are bugling 360 degrees around us within few hundred yards. We can go any direction any day within few hundred yards and expect to find elk, rarely are we ever hunting more than a mile from our camp, or you can lay in your tent unzip door and glass from your sleeping bag sipping on coffee, while devising your evening ambush plan. To me it's totally situational, of course I've hunted in places where this approach is not ideal, but man I love our annual spot and the overall experience it lends!
In our case it sure as heck beats hiking 4 or 5mi out at dark, up at o'dark thirty to hike in again, that crap wears me out. I can only say; I hope any of you who hasn't had the luxury of this type of scenario gets to experience it at least one season. Best of luck to you!
 

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