BLM Land for Elk

[GunsAreFun]

You’re in a pretty high pressure unit with all the standard elky terrain, but the periphery of the unit has BLM land that I’m guessing is oak brush or something like that between 6,200-7,000 that borders private land with tons of hay fields in the valleys. It’s September and you have 8-8.5 days to bow hunt.

We have found elk nearly everyday in our three seasons in the traditional areas so that isn’t necessarily a major concern, but we’ve also only dropped one spike and have passed a several cows.

Would you spend your limited time investigating these other areas?

I know I know…elk are where you find them. We’ve found them at 8,500 and 10,500’ on the same day. Never tried this low before though.

 

[Deerhunter6250]

I would. Could be great.

 

[go_deep]

We've killed several elk in BLM brushy country

 

[justinspicher]

I hunt an area like frequently and have also found elk.

 

[ElkArcher918]

Over the years I've encountered some really nice bulls on open sagebrush flats and draws Sept/Oct mid-day. Many times I've been caught flat-footed wrongly assuming their would be no elk there. I now try to cover areas that others skip over because it doesn’t look "elky".

 

[trophyhill]

Sounds just like where I'll be hunting in A few days minus the BLM. Interested to hear how that plays out if you hunt that stuff. I attempted to hunt it a few years ago, and there were elk in the brush. Problem was I was heard, seen or smelled or all 3 and never laid eyes on the elk. I spent more time bushwhacking than hunting. Amazing how seemingly easy elk move thru that stuff and how much work it was for me

 

[WhiskeyCharlie]

My experience it’s just like timber in that they are there when they are there and it’s a lot of ground to cover even though you feel like you can see a long way. It’s hard to figure out how much influence the private has on their movement through that country and depending on weather how far are they really going to feed and then return to dark timber or just hide in little seams. I think it could be pretty good if you can find the right spot, I’m just not patient enough to wait to find that spot on my limited time. Locals ought to have those patterns dialed.