Timber Hunting For Elk
- Thread starter Muley_Stalker
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GASoline71
Member
I hunt in the Central Cascades of WA State... it's almost always wet. LOL. I'd prefer the snow, but most years we don't have much dry terrain.
Gary
Caseknife
Well-known member
Fresh snow is great, but after a cold night that fresh snow can get real crunchy, not good. I have always hunted timber, again in Central Washington, but on the east side of the Cascades, no Devil's Club! One of the things my dad told me, many decades ago, about still hunting, "every step the picture changes", very true.
GASoline71
Member
Just got home from our hunt in Eastern WA (Spike only... ugh). I hunted the timber pretty much every day. I just love being in there. Jumped some cows and even came upon a cow nursing a calf. But alas... no spikes afoot. I dont usually take pictures of anything on my hunts. But snapped a couple just for this thread. =) Until next fall...
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ntodwild
Guest
Great pics of Eastern Washington Alpine timber. Still hunting in this stuff is a game of patients and many times frustration, getting close enough to blow animals out or bump animals, sometimes not even seeing them but hearing them as they scamper off.
Dougfirtree
Well-known member
Thanks for posting the articles. I've only been elk hunting a few times, but it seems like each time, I hope to see elk in the open, try to see elk in the open, fail(mostly) and then end up going into the timber and finding them there.
Snow for me! If you can find those coveted same-day tracks, there is nothing like a ninja stalk through the timber when you know you'll encounter them eventually...
MTelkHuntress
Well-known member
Interesting articles and it puts some things into perspective. I've only hunted elk in thick timber my whole life except for once for a cow. Being able to see elk a couple miles away was a really nice change because thick timber hunting can get so frustrating (especially when you always hunt units with low elk numbers). I'm still learning to slow down in the trees as I have been busted by a bull or two who saw me first. One thing that has always gotten me into trouble is knowing which elk tracks to follow and misjudging the age of tracks in the snow. I've seen tracks in the snow that didnt look very fresh at the time only to come back 4 hours later, follow them "just to see where they go" and get busted by a bull that I thought was long gone. Glassing in thick timber is definitely very helpful.
Aussie_hunter_JD
Well-known member
You guys have so many different names for the same thing, we call it all stalking. The main method of hunting in this part of the world, you learn a lot about the animals, how to track, etc. Great way to hunt.
westbranch
Well-known member
I went out and to hunt some dark timber this past Saturday, should have taken pics of the woods. But I added an aerial pic, I have been in several spots that look similar to this on the topo/imagery hybrid and find good sign and see some elk.
It was a spot I knew elk like to hang out in the general area and I had hiked around the general area for about 2 days last year. Also, only a 1 hour drive from the front door to my access point. Everything was a bit wet from melted snow and some rain, which made things very quiet even when moving faster. It seems like elk in this area like to hang out in draws shortly after sunrise from what I have seen. So my plan was to approach several draws from an angle that I can see in without spooking elk. Checked out several different spots with no elk, then finally found the freshest poop/tracks when I got to the yellow mark on the pic. Started going slower and stalked in on 6+ elk close to the red spot. Just tried to follow the biggest game trails.
The first elk I saw was about 50 yards moving between trees, I stopped and then was able to spot several more. I saw cows and calves, but there were several further up the hill that I was not able to see their heads as they were moving into thicker brush. This was bulls only 6 inch minimum. I had no binoculars, so I was using my rifle scope to look for antlers. Definitely not ideal. This was at 10am, so I watched the remaining elk move uphill for about 30 mins slowly feeding along. I did some dry runs of resting on a tree and also free standing of pulling up the gun and getting in position for a shot since I am still new to this whole elk hunting thing. But then backed out without spooking them and tried looping around for another look at the elk to see if there was a legal bull. But I did not like the approach from the north as it was steeper and thicker, so I felt like I would spook them all out of there. So I just moved on to check out some other spots. Overall a fun morning hunt.
I had achilles rupture surgery last January and climbing 1k ft from the road in 1/2 mile is a bit much and it gets sore. So it felt good to see some elk on a quick hunt.
GASoline71
Member
Thanks! As we sat in one spot we always sit at for a spell, a cow elk appeared out of nowhere at about 60 yards from us. She craned her neck around some small cedar trees and I whispered to my wife that there was an elk peeking through the trees. The cow never saw us, but she instinctively knew something wasn't quite right. She then turned around and went back the way she came. We never heard her come or go as she slipped away through the timber. Always amazes me at how a 400 pound animal can slip through the woods as silent as a church mouse.
Gary
rideold
Well-known member
Prefer snow if it is fresh and cold (i.e. quiet). Otherwise a bit of moisture on the dry litter is a gift. The conditions for me really dictate how fast I can move. The area I usually hunt is prone to some pretty fantastic days of wind so the dark timber is where I head when that happens. I like to follow game trails more because of noise than anything else. If it's too noisy I just try to sit at each meadow I come to. I've never been sure if this is the right thing to do but since I can see a good ways I figure it ups my odds of seeing something. Always bust an animal out of their beds at some point and then curse myself for not being more careful!
ida homer
Well-known member
The guys that kill big bulls seem to do it in the timber. I'm not sure about all the other states, but around here it seems like a majority of the rut
takes place in the timber or thick ass brush. And especially post rut, when the 6 points are back in their sanctuaries. I'm lucky to get a glimpse of the
big bulls past say October 15th ish (+/- 2 days). Until they're on the winter grounds in November.
Last year how I killed mine was in the timber. We saw them walk into an isolated timber patch at 10am where they bedded for the day. We got into
position with our bipods and whiz bang magnums where we thought they would feed out in the evening at 300 yards. With 5 minutes left until it was dark
dark we realized they weren't coming out so we still hunted our way in and shot him bedded at 30 yards.
It's not very romantic to still hunt thick timber, especially when guys just want to glass the open sage brush with the 15's and shoot long range.
I'm guilty of it. But around here, 5+ year old bulls don't feed out on nice open south facing hill sides for the last 3 hours of light (during 10/15 - 10/31 ish).
In the draw units they do, though.
Timber pounding wears me out , sometimes I can't do it. I'm a whippersnapper and prefer to glass, I like to see critters. Even if they're 2 miles away.
But sometimes timber pounding is the only game in town for elk.
takes place in the timber or thick ass brush. And especially post rut, when the 6 points are back in their sanctuaries. I'm lucky to get a glimpse of the
big bulls past say October 15th ish (+/- 2 days). Until they're on the winter grounds in November.
Last year how I killed mine was in the timber. We saw them walk into an isolated timber patch at 10am where they bedded for the day. We got into
position with our bipods and whiz bang magnums where we thought they would feed out in the evening at 300 yards. With 5 minutes left until it was dark
dark we realized they weren't coming out so we still hunted our way in and shot him bedded at 30 yards.
It's not very romantic to still hunt thick timber, especially when guys just want to glass the open sage brush with the 15's and shoot long range.
I'm guilty of it. But around here, 5+ year old bulls don't feed out on nice open south facing hill sides for the last 3 hours of light (during 10/15 - 10/31 ish).
In the draw units they do, though.
Timber pounding wears me out , sometimes I can't do it. I'm a whippersnapper and prefer to glass, I like to see critters. Even if they're 2 miles away.
But sometimes timber pounding is the only game in town for elk.
bpeay4
Member
Timber creeping is effective just play the wind right when you do it
diamond hitch
Well-known member
I've killed over 50 head in the thick timber/jungles. Patience and learning the land, trails, bedding areas is critical. Then it is praying for the weather to assist. Wind and snow is critical for much of it. Much of the wind has a differant direction in each draw. Pay intense attention to it. Don't go cross grain to the travel paths.
Nothing is more satisfying than killing a nice elk in its bed - sleeping at 20-30 yds.
Nothing is more satisfying than killing a nice elk in its bed - sleeping at 20-30 yds.
mxracer317
Well-known member
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Hunting in the dark timber of SE Idaho scares the hell outta me because of the grizzlies. But I agree, it’s where the elk are.
I know this is an old thread, but I'm glad to see it pop up. On our first ever elk hunt a couple of weeks ago, we were very discouraged to find that the area we were in didn't have those magical glassing knobs overlooking hundreds of acres of thin timber to glass for a small herd like we had seen on all the YT videos. We ended up defaulting to timber hunting which I thought was a no-no for elk based on all the YT vids you see of folks making multi-hundred yard shots on them. It was really enjoyable to be in the thick of it (literally) seeing tracks and sign knowing that if you played your cards right, you might jump a snoozing animal just over the next blowdown.
Some of the different terrain I covered - it all looked 'elky' to my uneducated self, though nothing ever showed itself.
Some of the different terrain I covered - it all looked 'elky' to my uneducated self, though nothing ever showed itself.
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noisy
Well-known member
Anybody timber hunt reeeeeaaaalllly thick beetlekill downfall? The kind that's damn near impossible to find a way through?
Nameless Range
Well-known member
It’s practically all I hunt anymore. I’m still trying to learn how the landscape has changed in the last 15 years, and how that change has been dynamic over that time span.
The Boulder mountain range is basically 500,000 acres of contiguous beetle kill, with healthy stands of timber being in the minority.
It was different five years ago than it was 10 years ago, and after the wind event of June 13, 2020, it is different today than it was two years ago.
I’m fascinated by it, and I hate it, and I love it.
