old man
Active member
You are in a new elk unit, you already did all your home work, the bow season just ended and the weather is still warm. What is your daily routine to find the Elk. from start to finish.
What is your routine?
- Thread starter old man
- Start date
Here's my day-by-day strategy for a five day hunt.
I end up with a lot of tags in units I’ve never been to. Just part of what I have to do to get enough tags for the TV show. Unfamiliarity adds a level of challenge that we do not face when hunting units in our back yard. I cannot rely on dumb luck, so I have to do all I can to make the most of the days I have. Once I am done in this unit, we load up and we are off to the next hunt, repeating the process week after week.
In most seasons, half of our hunts were in places we had never hunted. I’ve developed a system I use for those hunts. Not only a system for finding elk, but a strategy for implementing that system when I get to the hunting area.
I seldom get to hunt the same season, same unit, same time period, same weapon type, year after year. Being forced to hunt elk in so many different situations in so many different seasons and environments forces me to approach this the way I do. The pre-hunt planning is important and I will give a brief highlight below of how it works for me.
For me, cyber-scouting is huge. I only have five days to get there, get some encounters on film, and hopefully fill a tag. I can’t afford to show up and just walk around. The “walk around and see what happens” strategy depends too much on luck and happenstance. Below I explain my day-by-day process I get in the field. You will see how pre-scouting from home plays such an important part in my strategy.
Before I get there, I have called people who might be helpful; DNR, Forest Service, any locals I might be able to contact. This Hunt Talk forum is a great resource, if you ask in the proper manner. Most often my calls and emails are not about where to go, rather where not to waste my time. Wasted time is the biggest reason guys don’t find elk. Eliminate as much of the unit as possible before you get there and your time in the hills will be far better spent.
From my pre-scouting, I need 10 spots on a map that I think are very likely options. Each will have a different reason for being on the map, though all will have a few features in common, mostly distance or topography that will result in less pressure and higher likelihood of elk. With that common thread of distance or topography, the variable will be food sources, bedding cover, water, and what I anticipate the elk’s response will be to variable weather. If turns out to be unseasonably warm, I need some spots that have dark timber. If it is colder than normal, I probably want some south or west facing areas marked on my map.
I want 10 spots, all with a specific purpose and in anticipation of variable conditions. Having that many marks on my map gives me an average of two spots per day on a five day hunt. Most often I never get to them all. Some I can cross off the list based on what I find while investigating some of the other spots. By the last two days, I want one to three spots remaining where I can dial it in with all my effort. With a big dose of good luck I will have filled my tag in the first three days, but not always.
In my schedule, I try to have at least one day of scouting. I use that scouting day to figure out my plan for the first morning. I then hunt that plan the next morning and assess the results. I seldom go back to camp for lunch or naps. That time is too valuable and is used to investigate the next areas on my map that will be my afternoon/evening hunt.
The afternoon/evening hunt is intended to find elk, but also help me eliminate more terrain. And by that I don’t just mean eliminating that particular area, but eliminating similar areas I might have on my map. The reason I like to go into new spots in the daylight, if at all possible, is that I can then mark them on my GPS and have that trail recorded in the event I find elk and need to come in before daylight the next morning.
The night of Day 1 I assess what I have found. That determines what I do on Day 2. If I’ve found elk, I focus more on one of Day 1 locations. If no elk were found on Day 1, I go to some of my other spots and repeat the process on Day 2 and Day 3.
By the end of Day 3, I need to have eliminated most the areas on my map and I need to be dialed in on no more than three specific spots that are the best potential for these last two days of the hunt. When I look at my map on the night of Day 3, I have crossed off most locations and have a few that are still in contention. I then use my last two days to hunt those spots with the best strategies I can think of.
It is hard to be that disciplined about it when you see your hunt days slowly ticking away. But, having a plan and sticking to it gives you the confidence it will work. Many guys hit the panic button by the end of Day 2, as they do not have a plan. Or, they just do not have the mental mindset to stick with a plan and they panic when the days are dwindling.
By having a plan in place, sticking to that plan, and then working the plan all the way to the end, you will find a lot more elk. You will fill more tags. And if it is a location that you can return and hunt each year, you will have done more homework than many of the locals.
I end up with a lot of tags in units I’ve never been to. Just part of what I have to do to get enough tags for the TV show. Unfamiliarity adds a level of challenge that we do not face when hunting units in our back yard. I cannot rely on dumb luck, so I have to do all I can to make the most of the days I have. Once I am done in this unit, we load up and we are off to the next hunt, repeating the process week after week.
In most seasons, half of our hunts were in places we had never hunted. I’ve developed a system I use for those hunts. Not only a system for finding elk, but a strategy for implementing that system when I get to the hunting area.
I seldom get to hunt the same season, same unit, same time period, same weapon type, year after year. Being forced to hunt elk in so many different situations in so many different seasons and environments forces me to approach this the way I do. The pre-hunt planning is important and I will give a brief highlight below of how it works for me.
For me, cyber-scouting is huge. I only have five days to get there, get some encounters on film, and hopefully fill a tag. I can’t afford to show up and just walk around. The “walk around and see what happens” strategy depends too much on luck and happenstance. Below I explain my day-by-day process I get in the field. You will see how pre-scouting from home plays such an important part in my strategy.
Before I get there, I have called people who might be helpful; DNR, Forest Service, any locals I might be able to contact. This Hunt Talk forum is a great resource, if you ask in the proper manner. Most often my calls and emails are not about where to go, rather where not to waste my time. Wasted time is the biggest reason guys don’t find elk. Eliminate as much of the unit as possible before you get there and your time in the hills will be far better spent.
From my pre-scouting, I need 10 spots on a map that I think are very likely options. Each will have a different reason for being on the map, though all will have a few features in common, mostly distance or topography that will result in less pressure and higher likelihood of elk. With that common thread of distance or topography, the variable will be food sources, bedding cover, water, and what I anticipate the elk’s response will be to variable weather. If turns out to be unseasonably warm, I need some spots that have dark timber. If it is colder than normal, I probably want some south or west facing areas marked on my map.
I want 10 spots, all with a specific purpose and in anticipation of variable conditions. Having that many marks on my map gives me an average of two spots per day on a five day hunt. Most often I never get to them all. Some I can cross off the list based on what I find while investigating some of the other spots. By the last two days, I want one to three spots remaining where I can dial it in with all my effort. With a big dose of good luck I will have filled my tag in the first three days, but not always.
In my schedule, I try to have at least one day of scouting. I use that scouting day to figure out my plan for the first morning. I then hunt that plan the next morning and assess the results. I seldom go back to camp for lunch or naps. That time is too valuable and is used to investigate the next areas on my map that will be my afternoon/evening hunt.
The afternoon/evening hunt is intended to find elk, but also help me eliminate more terrain. And by that I don’t just mean eliminating that particular area, but eliminating similar areas I might have on my map. The reason I like to go into new spots in the daylight, if at all possible, is that I can then mark them on my GPS and have that trail recorded in the event I find elk and need to come in before daylight the next morning.
The night of Day 1 I assess what I have found. That determines what I do on Day 2. If I’ve found elk, I focus more on one of Day 1 locations. If no elk were found on Day 1, I go to some of my other spots and repeat the process on Day 2 and Day 3.
By the end of Day 3, I need to have eliminated most the areas on my map and I need to be dialed in on no more than three specific spots that are the best potential for these last two days of the hunt. When I look at my map on the night of Day 3, I have crossed off most locations and have a few that are still in contention. I then use my last two days to hunt those spots with the best strategies I can think of.
It is hard to be that disciplined about it when you see your hunt days slowly ticking away. But, having a plan and sticking to it gives you the confidence it will work. Many guys hit the panic button by the end of Day 2, as they do not have a plan. Or, they just do not have the mental mindset to stick with a plan and they panic when the days are dwindling.
By having a plan in place, sticking to that plan, and then working the plan all the way to the end, you will find a lot more elk. You will fill more tags. And if it is a location that you can return and hunt each year, you will have done more homework than many of the locals.
noharleyyet
Well-known member
You're simply not gonna get any better consideration from a site host than Fin's reply.
HuntsByDesign
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Awesome information
Double Creek
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Coming from South Alabama, one thing I have struggled with and still don't have a handle on is actually finding the Elk. The majority of places I have hunted in Colorado are too thick to really glass. I feel like it takes me more than a couple days to investigate the area to determine if there are elk there or not. Many times, by the time I have that figured out, the hunt is over.
Any tips from you guys on what to do in areas where getting a visible on elk can be a challenge?
Any tips from you guys on what to do in areas where getting a visible on elk can be a challenge?
Mudranger1
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Well if you're in colorado you wait 365 days til hunting season starts again
The smart alec answer is to change to someplace where you can get a "visible on elk." If you are in a place that is hard to glass them, odds are you are not going to see many.
I am sure some guys have a better answer than I do. Here is my method to make sure I see elk.
Depends on the season you are hunting. If you are hunting Colorado rifle hunts it is most likely post-rut or late seasons. The primary need at that time is survival. Elk are in sanctuary mode at that time. They want to survive another season. Distance or topography are going to keep most hunters at bay.
They will find spots that have easy escape routes for them and difficult attack routes for the hunter. They will be bedded most the day. The last half hour is when they will be up and either feeding or moving to some area very close by that holds feed. I stay there until that last bit of light and make sure I am there well before the sun comes up. They are often in bachelor groups, so if you find one, you will find more.
There are some elk in the big expanses of dark of timber, but I don't hunt those areas. The few elk you find there are hard to kill. I look for sanctuary areas with fringes. In other words, where distance or topography give them sanctuary and the fringe areas have food. It doesn't take much to provide food for them at this time. They will hang close to a small food area and keep protected before they will travel a distance to better food areas. They know that increases the likelihood of getting shot. They've been using these same sanctuaries for years. They know the gig and they know how to stay alive.
Of the ten spots I talked about in Post #2, in a post-rut or late season hunt they are all selected based on what I have explained above.
Most of the spots can be glassed from an opposing knob, a ridge, or some other vantage point. I try to find a place where I can glass two or three different map spots from one location. Find places where you can see multiple locations. If you are in the dark timber or 10' tall oak brush, you are not going to see much.
Sitting on a trail or waiting on a small meadow is a game of luck. I do things that increases my odds of seeing a bull, even if it is from afar and I cannot get to them that day. In later hunts, the odds are that even if it is the next day before I can get to them they will be somewhere near where I glassed them.
When snow is on the ground I am looking for tracks as much as I am looking for elk. Even from the opposite hillside, you can glass the tracks and gain a lot of info. If they are weaving around in no real pattern, the elk were probably feeding that night, meaning they will not be too far away. If they are lined out in a straight line, they were headed to/from somewhere and are probably not near where you are glassing.
If it is a big batch of tracks, it is probably cows and young bulls. If it is a single track or two-five tracks, it is probably a group of bulls. If they are further up the mountain, they are more likely to be bulls. If they are in the big open parks or down lower, most likely they are cows and young bulls.
None of the above is an absolute, but by putting playing their tendencies and preferences for the season period I am hunting, the likelihood of eventually bumping into a bull increases.
In my CPA world, we always give the warning - "That input is probably what you paid for it."
beginnerhunter
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What about archery season? How does that change from early archery to late archery? Can the timber work better for you when elk are bugling? How might that change your planning/approach? If anyone else wants to chime in since Randy's fingers may be tired! Thanks.
windymtnman
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I take no issue with any of the remarks posted prior to my throwing my two cents in. I've been surprised more than once to put myself in what I would have guess would be good sanctuary for Elk that have been pressured, but then still aren't seeing animals. I try to get to a feed area before daylight and wait it out till I think the Sun and the time of day would make them leave feeding areas, and head for a bedding area. If I aren't seeing animals, and the ground sign is poor, I start walking, being cognizant of the wind, and go looking for fresh sign. If I'm not seeing any, I tend to risk walking fairly fast, trying to cover ground to find some fresh sign. I try and use my nose a lot, as you can usually smell Elk when you're downwind. When I find fresh sign, then I really slow down and start looking for animals. Sometimes, you can invest an entire day in an area and not see much for sign. I try and get a handle on are they just not here, or are there still good places I need to come back too and check further. There are times at the end of the day, you head out of an area, fairly confident that the Elk just aren't home, and you need to try somewhere else.
Double Creek
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Thanks Randy, I appreciate the advice.. I'm a CPA as well and trust me, I value your input and it's worth!
P.S., I love the podcast and can't wait for your book to come out. As a newbie Elk hunter, I need all the help I can get. Thank you for all you do!
P.S., I love the podcast and can't wait for your book to come out. As a newbie Elk hunter, I need all the help I can get. Thank you for all you do!
Irrelevant
Well-known member
I spent many years elk hunting areas that you could have effectively hunted with open sights. If you found a spot you could see 150 feet you stopped and waited. My strategy in those days was not to look for elk as that was rather pointless, you'd never see them before they saw/heard you but instead to to look for fresh elk sign. Just cruise through the woods at a fast but not reckless pace, and little grid areas I thought held elk.
Often you'd bump elk and never see them, but at least in the areas I was in, there was enough other pressure out there that they always came back to those areas. There was something about those areas that they liked. It may not be the next day or even the day after that (often I wouldn't actually go back and actually hunt until three days after). But you've identified a few places with fresh sign you can start going back and hunting those places carefully, sneaking around when you neared an area with fresh elk sign.
I'll admit it wasn't nearly as effective as actually being able to glass for elk, but it worked out a time or two. And eventually, over a few seasons, you learned to anticipate where elk liked and when they liked it (though probably not possible if you're hunting new spots from out of state).
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Magnum Sherpa
Well-known member
Wow, some really good advice here. One of the most useful threads in a while.
If you only have a week or less to hunt elk I feel you need to find somewhere you can get high enough to look over alot of country before you choose where to hunt. If you are unfamiliar with an area you could waste an entire week covering draws with no elk in them. Even freash sign doesn't always mean elk are near by if you hunt a heavily hunted area. Hunting vocal elk during the rut is a different situation of course, but if they are silent I will look for a good vantage point before I even start hunting. Topo maps and Google earth are a good way to find these places before you even set foot there.
Another mistake guys make is not getting to these spots way before first light. The difference between getting there before first light and getting there twenty minutes after could mean seeing dozens of elk versus zero. When I hunt I look for these vantage points as much as I do elk. They can be seen from far away while you glass from another spot. If you strikeout in one spot look to where you can see a whole different area from up high and head there. Make sure to remember a fast and easy way to get in and out of there in the dark. Be very mobile until you actually locate elk.
Another mistake guys make is not getting to these spots way before first light. The difference between getting there before first light and getting there twenty minutes after could mean seeing dozens of elk versus zero. When I hunt I look for these vantage points as much as I do elk. They can be seen from far away while you glass from another spot. If you strikeout in one spot look to where you can see a whole different area from up high and head there. Make sure to remember a fast and easy way to get in and out of there in the dark. Be very mobile until you actually locate elk.
Speeddmn
Active member
my 2cents are this, if you can see it on a map, so can everyone else. I find using the distance measuring thing on google maps helps. I start it at the spot I start at and once I get to a predetermined area, usually 5280 feet in or so I begin really paying attention to sign, and areas I feel will hold elk.
One mile as a bird flys is closer then you think, and yet I've ran across a guy at the 2 mile mark and he didn't see me at 10 feet...
Also if you are able to get out early and hang cameras on day one you might be bale to get something in less then 24 hrs on it, better then nothing.
One mile as a bird flys is closer then you think, and yet I've ran across a guy at the 2 mile mark and he didn't see me at 10 feet...
Also if you are able to get out early and hang cameras on day one you might be bale to get something in less then 24 hrs on it, better then nothing.
x2 on the book imfo.Your style of hunting areas you draw are close to mine,and I gained a lot of knowledge just reading your posts for past 8 years.I draw a lot of new units and have no way to scout other then google earth.So far, I've been lucky in finding good areas using it.My sons unit for elk in Wy seems a little more challenging compared to terrain I'm use to hunting.I will go with the 10 spot plan and work the area over;great tip
Waiting on the book!!!!!
Waiting on the book!!!!!
old man
Active member
do you travel on trails or closed rds.in the dark to the spots you want to glass from ,or do you just follow your GPS no matter the terrain. also what do you do when it is to late in the day to be looking in the parks? where do elk feed after the grass dies?
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I use any method to cover ground quickly and quietly before daylight and try to stay downwind. But I mostly use a GPS to navigate to spots I want to hunt. I like hunting parks until the sunlight begins to shine over the entire meadow, which is usually an hour and half or two hours after daylight.
From what I've figured out in western Montana the elk like to eat a green bunchgrass that grows under the snow while traveling through the timber. This grass only seems to grow in mixed lodgepole stands that allow some sunlight into the forest floor. The elk will eat this grass while going back to their beds. It stay green through November. I'm the parks they feed on dried grasses or fresh grasses that sometimes green up at the crown of the plant.
The spot I hunt in Montana cannot be glassed, since it's heavy timber and broken ridges. In Colorado where I used to hunt glassing the evening before was my primary method. I hope this helps.
old man
Active member
Yes Pagosa, that helps a lot. Thank you all for your input.
Irrelevant
Well-known member
In western WA I found they fed mostly on bear grass and shrubs (huckleberry, oceanspray, phlox) once the rains of Nov hit and matted all the dry grass down. It's been different the last 5 years, we've had some large fires and some timber harvest (finally) that have opened areas up allowing more grass and forbs to grow, even late in the year.
The other tid bit I've discovered, that no one ever told me, is that elk can be swamp creatures, especially during the sept archery season. Every swamp I've ever ventured into that time of the year had lots of elk, and they were usually less pressured than others in the area.
