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Where are they?

diamond hitch

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Joined
Feb 9, 2020
Messages
751
Location
Western Montana
I'm amazed by the posts. The Colorado guys really know where their elk should be. I admit that early on when I hunted the western border country in Montana we searched by drainage. At any time they could be from ridge top to river bottom. After a while I got so I could guess which drainage within three but for the most part my father took me to the places he liked.

On the continental divide, the search is more challenging. In early August I had 12 6x6 bulls in my hayfield. Two weeks later I saw 6. By bow season there wasn't an elk within milles. Of my normal hunting range about 40% of my areas are above 7500 ft. Two weeks before rifle season we got heavy snow and a couple of days of -14. The elk were picked up by aliens and werectransported to a differant planet for the rest of the sedson. I have found in my areas the elk go down with the cold but not neccessarily from snow. The bulls lag the cows early in the season but by the end may be nearby. If it warms up they may retreat but not usually all of the way.

There is a migration path of sorts with a general pattern. Hunting is a search pattern starting from my ranch ( summer range) through a process of elimonation drainage by drainage for 30-40 miles. If there isn't any tracking snow its a tough program. I try to rotate horses so I don't wear them down too much. My technique is to run sweeping searches through areas in hopes to cut tracks. When I do I follow them briefly on the horse and once I understand the trend I pick a thick patch of trees, tie up my horse and hunt them on foot.

Elk don't usually stop but either walk and eat or bed down and chew their cud. I have found that a steady walk at a slow pace usually puts you into them. When you are young you tend to walk to fast and impart a sense of urgency that makes elk nervous . Taking a step and then stopping and listening, sounds like a cat and it makes them nervous. Bulls tend to button hook and will bed on the ridge above their tracks and watch their backtrail. If you hunt in pairs have your partner hunt 30-35 yds above you and a little back. Often they will stand up and watch giving you or your partner an opportunity.

They are creatures of habit and wil often follow the same escape pattern. Over time you can set up ambushes. Watch the prevailing wind. I rarely find them on the top of a ridge or in the bottom. They really like the stub ridges that are about 1/3 of the way from the top - usually on the north side. Pay attention and you will likely find a very shallow grade trail cutting the heads of those ridges. Often they prefer to walk into the wind. Watch which direction the tracks on the trail are going. Elk follow patterns of comfort and will repeat them if undisturbed.

Elk aren't easy but you can be consistantly successful over time and if you spend enough time on the ground.
 
I know where there's elk that you would never dream they'd be. Use an open mind when you look for elk.

It's not as easy as saying they should be there, so i'll hunt there. You'll see a lot of orange and no elk.
 
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