Another newbie elk question

[Chaser96]

Last year I went colorado otc. A buddy I was planning to hunt with bailed last minute so I ended up just going myself and my wife. The first area planned wasn’t actually accessible so we bounced to plan b. Tons of hunters “down low” in the more open areas but no pressure in the timber (blowdown central) I checked a wallow I found e scouting and found fresh sign and then was in elk the next 2 days before shooting a nice bull in the shoulder and not recovering him. At which point I decided to stop hunting. I’m planning to try it again this year and was just looking for input. Is there any reason to believe the elk will or will not be in that same area? I heard/ saw multiple bulls every day so it seems to me that elk like and clearly use this area. I read on here all the time that where they were one year they won’t necessarily be the next. Basically I’m asking how much time should I spend in the area if I’m not finding elk? Is it worth staying multiple days searching and hoping they just made a small move or would you bounce to plan b, c, d etc after one or two days? Hopefully none of this comes in to play and they are in the same area.


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[Ross]

There is a good probability they will be there again. That being said you only have 1 yr of experience in that area with very few days. Only the elk know for sure. Recommend you have several areas chosen like you had a plan B. You will know once there over a few days if it is time to move to other options. Lots of hunters, no rubs, no bugles and no or very limited tracks and sign time to move on to the other options. This is contingent on the size of the area chosen and how much country you are covering in a given day.

 

[cnelk]

Ive killed 4 elk with my bow standing by the same tree.

Sounds like you found a good spot

 

[Jaquomo]

I would say yes, unless someone blows them out. They often return to the same areas to rut year after year, and generally the bulls come to the cows. The same bulls sometimes return to the same areas. My partner shot a big bull in the shoulder blade that we lost. Knew it was a nonfatal wound. The next year he killed that bull 200 yards from where he shot it the previous year. We recovered the broadhead, encased in scar tissue. I killed a big unique bull in the same drainage where I'd hunted him the year before, in the same little meadow where I almost killed him before.

In the heavily timbered areas I hunt now, the herds (led by lead cows) tend to move around in roughly five day cycles unless someone really messes them up and sends that herd to a different mountain. They will do this even with no pressure at all. If you are in an elky spot but don't see anything right off, it doesn't mean elk won't be back in a day or two. It's tough to have that kind of patience if you only have a week or so to hunt, so most guys try to find elk.

Ross has good advice. Be mobile, have multiple options, keep moving until you find elk. How aggressively or carefully to hunt them then depends on how much other pressure is around.

Good luck! Every day in the elk woods is a learning experience.

 

[Chaser96]

That’s what I was hoping to hear. Thank you guys I’ve really learned a lot from this forum. Hopefully in a few years I’ll be able to give some solid advice to the rookies


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[Wahlfactor]

Good stuff to know for myself here too.

 

[Hondo0925]

So many different possibilities it’s hard to say. But this is where my head goes.

Are you truck camping or packing in? If it’s a spot accessed by your truck and after the first day with no elk maybe try a different spot.
If packed in a ways and no elk well……. Is there sign? Fresh sign?? If yes, then maybe stick it out for an additional day or two.
If no sign, well sh*%!!!
Pick plan b or c where you want to go. Maybe the next ridge up, a little deeper in.
It’s such a balance. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket but also don’t leave elk to find elk.

Isn’t hunting fun!! The mental game going into a hunt can be more stressful then the hunt itself.
Good luck and as a wise man once told me. Shoot straight or shoot often!!

 

[Five-Pointer]

I’m new to the forum as well- but I’ve had 39 years experience hunting in the field for elk, deer and antelope, even moose.

One of the exciting things for sure is to find the elk in the same places over and over again. Granted- in your mind- you’re telling yourself when you go back the next year— “ah- maybe they’re not in those same areas that I’ve gotten into them before.” But lo and behold- they’re there that next year and not just one or two- but a good size herd or bigger! Same place- but fresh again to you because they’re there again- and exciting because you know you’re there for a good purpose- to try to harvest good tasting meat and enjoy the mountains and fresh air!

I’ve been going back to the same opening year after year now- and have harvested my fair share of elk in those same places. It certainly pays off staying loyal to an area- learning it well. That’s what I’d encourage you to do. It’s a good feeling to be loyal to an area- if possible.

 

[Smfigari]

Super helpful thread.

 

[5MilesBack]

I would expect them to be in the same areas. I always find elk in the same areas I hunt. But I also always have plan A through Z if needed. If I hunt one area one day, I'll always leave it alone for 2-3 days before hitting it again, so always changing it up.

 

[CenterPunch]

Three years in a row I hunted the same OTC unit and found elk in the same nasty steep drainage each year. They may not be there one day but will be there in the following days is what I experienced.

 

[cnelk]

Remember - Elk are rarely where you want them to be, they will be where they want to be

 

[DanimalW]

Remember - Elk are rarely where you want them to be, they will be where they want to be

Until they’re in your freezer

 

[Elk97]

I would expect them to be in the same areas. I always find elk in the same areas I hunt. But I also always have plan A through Z if needed. If I hunt one area one day, I'll always leave it alone for 2-3 days before hitting it again, so always changing it up.

This right here is worth writing down. I do the same thing.

 

[Laramie]

This year could prove to be challenging due to the high moisture the mountains have been receiving. On typical years I believe guys find elk in the same areas because those areas have fairly consistent food/water to draw the elk in. This year food will be everywhere so I am thinking the elk will be very spread out.

 

[HunterJoeMI]

"I'll always leave it alone for 2-3 days before hitting it again, so always changing it up." was stated above.

This is true only if you know where other elk are located. Leaving elk to find different new elk is terrible advise. You have to hunt elk when they are in your lap. It is not like a whitetail tree stand you have to "rest". We have found that getting chances at elk is not that difficult once you find them. As long a you do not blow them out! Keep hunting them until you kill one of them. Then go right back in and kill a second one.

 

[Idaboy]

It depends....but worth going back with back up plans....more importantly you learned how to find elk once, it will happen again whether it's there or somewhere else..take notes at end of season of "why" and "how" you found elk.

 

[insanelupus]

In areas I hunt, several years in a row, elk will be in or near the same or similar places I had hunted.

That said, I'm ALWAYS looking for new spots, because after 2 decades hunting elk, I've discovered where they were 20 years ago isn't always where they are now.

I think, and this is my opinion, hunter pressure, predator pressure, environmental changes (clearcuts, thinning, stand growth, agricultural/ crop changes, grazing), as well as herd dynamics (bull-to-cow ratios, changes in lead cows, elk numbers) all have an impact on what elk do and evolve with time.

For several years I just kept bouncing where I'd find elk in the past and was coming up dry. When i started trying to understand what areas elk seemed to congregate in, considering the items above and elk behavior, and looking for areas with similar features, not necessarily the same areas, I got into more elk.

I still have a lot to learn, but I'm always looking for new spots as well as spot checking old ones on occasion.

Good luck this year.

 

[Chaser96]

Man I love this forum. It’s crazy the good information you get when you don’t ask where to find animals in xyz unit. Thanks again guys you’ve been a big help. A lot of the info recieved prior to last season was used to find the area that I’m talking about. As mentioned I have several other areas marked to check out if needed


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[sdboyle73]

Lots of great info in this tread. We have kill lots of elk year after year on the same wallows.