Burned Out

[snipe10]

Was going archery hunting here in Western Colorado but that's not happening anymore. The fires here are everywhere and even if they'd magically go out in a couple weeks, I have to think it's made the elk go places they normally wouldn't want to go. We're going to try for a late season hunt with some landowner tags instead. Super bummed but you don't mess with Mother Nature. Anyone else burned out this year?

 

[Blackbird]

Elk have been dealing with wildfires since the beginning of time I don’t think it’s any reason to get down. Glassing through smoke sucks for sure, but I think fires impact wildlife a lot less than people think. The burn scars will also be awesome habitat in the coming years assuming not everything got moonscaped.

 

[Ross]

Sucking the smoke sucksbut as noted above it changes little for wildlife, they do their normal thing and may move a little. They simply are built different than we are. I killed a great bull in 2009 living next to a wild fire. Packed him out with sparks popping and smoke all around us.

 

[wpeach1912]

Last year we had some fires right before season. Like a week later I saw an elk eating in the burn scar maybe 50 yards from a tree that was still smoldering

 

[Npike4040]

Great cover scent!

 

[il_cop]

Are you a non-resident?

Assuming you're referring to the Lee fire (?)
If so, it'll be out, it's 73% contained and we're about to get 2 weeks of monsoon.

That tag is good for a ton of country. The Lee fire was/is big but it's only ~7% of the total acrage on that tag. There's literally another ~2.3 million other acres to hunt, the majority of which is public.

Are you concerned about a different fire?

 

[HairyScandinavian]

You said you assume fores will make Elk go places they wouldn't normally go, so adapt and hunt them in these new places if they choose to do that. It's just a game of Chess and playing Chess and losing is better than not playing, you always gain something from the game.

 

[Diamondback]

OP, I think the exact opposite.
You need to exploit that chaos, go on the offensive, on the attack, get in close, and score.

 

[snipe10]

I'm local, thanks for the replies and advice, Glad I posted, looks like we'll head into the fire! (sarcasm)

 

[RancherJohn]

I'm local, thanks for the replies and advice, Glad I posted, looks like we'll head into the fire! (sarcasm)

I was literally inside the footprint of an active fire last week and saw mule deer and elk. There are millions of unburned acres, and what is burning now may not be burning after a change in weather pattern like we are currently in (or there may be new starts). Go hunt.

 

[midwestcowboy]

Worst thing that can happen is you hunt and strikeout. So what, you’ll probably learn from it. Can’t kill elk if you stay home. They’ve been dealing with wildfires long before just this year, they gotta go somewhere.

 

[TaperPin]

Firefighters often encounter elk right next to burned areas. One September night some bugling bulls thought our noisy 20 man fire crew with headlamps going in all directions and loud talking were a herd of elk as we bushwhacked the timber to the fire from a drop off spot. Even after they got downwind of us and there was no doubt we weren’t the girls they were hoping for, they followed us a good half mile. There were probably also some cows in the area giving off scent that confused them. The joke the rest of the summer was in order to sneak up on elk all we need to do is bring enough bodies and stomp around fast hiking through the trees. A herd of elk does make a lot of noise when they are moving.

 

[rayporter]

i remember a fire some years back and the road hunters were hanging meat in the smoke!!!

 

[Hnthrdr]

OP, I think the exact opposite.
You need to exploit that chaos, go on the offensive, on the attack, get in close, and score.

Nothing like hunting elk with the chance you might get burned over at night! Camp close to a creek you will thank me later

 

[mtnbound]

The biggest problem next to breathing the smoke is the FS shuts down access during fires especially if it’s a manned operation. I have continued to hunt during fires but had to move out of my normal area numerous times because of these shutdowns.

 

[spike camp]

Yup^^^
Access is the issue.

Drove past the start of a fire a few years ago..fire crew said no worries- “we’ve got this”
I was thinking to myself, really!? But all that F’ing beetle kill!

That night we set some cams about 5 miles from the fire and a couple thousand feet higher.
Woke up with ash on the tents.
Packed up early, set one more cam and hiked out
as the wind switched.

I was puking from the smoke by the time we got to the valley bottom.
Note from sheriff on our truck to get out now and they left the FS gates unlocked for us.
We were the last vehicle out, anywhere, lol.

Thing was, we left camp because season was next week. I’m talking binos, RF, tents bags pads, whisky.
We didnt actually know the status of the fire when we left camp.

The access never opened back up until the snow cleared the next spring.
The bear tore up some stuff, but everything was largely intact.
Whisky was still under the log, which was nice.

Anyway- the cams.
Fire literally in the background of some pics, Smokey AF, ash everywhere and the elk were on all the cams.
They didn’t even miss a beat.

 

[5MilesBack]

The fires don't bother me......it's the smoke. No way I can camp out in the heavy stuff. It's hard to take even on the front range while I'm trying to sleep. End up having to close the windows, and leave the AC on all night. But I'll probably find some smoke free zones come September.