Camping distance from Elk

[Jayboy]

What do I need to consider when camping after finding a heard or even solo bulls so I can keep hunting them in the AM? Wind, visibility, not blowing out water holes, etc. are what come to mind. How do I play terrain and environment to make sure I am not the reason they are gone in the AM?

 

[Gila]

During the rut? Camp where you want to. But if you snore too loud you may have a bull come into your tent. Kinda difficult to sleep after that. It’s a good idea to camp aways from their scrapes and rubs though.

Don’t ever hunt at the waterholes or the beds. However do hunt between the two though. Elk will always approach your calling position down wind. When approaching elk do the same. When you are on the side of a ridge, remember cold air sinks and warm air rises. In some states you can’t park near a man made water source on public ground.

 

[Mag_7s]

I'm far from any sort of an elk expert, but I try to pick a camp about a half mile away or so of where I anticipate hunting in the morning, as well as a good vantage point to go into a few different basins if I luck out and have to hear them screaming all night. Elk are so nomadic, so listening late at night and well before sunrise can be very beneficial. Be mindful of not camping in a saddle which elk like to cross (I see this every single year and I drives me nuts). From my experience, elk can sometimes be pretty tolerable of human presence within a certain distance but they will not tolerate your smell. Know the prevailing wind, and always, always monitor the thermals. The take away here is don't camp where elk want to be, or between where they want to go.

 

[Elkangle]

Keep the wind in your favor, camp away from game trails and have some barriers incase they come your way.. 400 yards has been a good distance for me

Older bulls I try to not be in the same canyon

 

[PNW bow hunter]

I’ve killed elk .2 miles from where I slept the night before, up to almost 350 miles from where I slept the night before.

I’ve had close calls both closer, and farther than those distances.

 

[4rcgoat]

Sometimes it doesn't matter where you decide to camp. In 2022 I spike camped just 1.5 miles from the truck to save a little time in the morning. Hunted all day seeing elk in the area. That evening at sunset a bull started raking a tree and bugling 200 yards away,30 minutes later cows were talking. This lasted until about midnight, in the morning they were still in the same drainage,you just never know.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I always designed a centrally located camp that would give me the largest number of traverses to hunt. The best I ever got was 5.

I picked a spot that had no elk sign and was near water. Usually on the north side of the ridge in heavy timber. That place was usually 5-10 degrees warmer than the top of the ridge or the valley bottom.

I kind of like to be at least a mile from favorable elk habitat. Sometimes it would take a number of trips to find that spot. Often the life of that spot was 5-8 years before the elk responded to the pressure I put on them and adjusted their habits. It was important to recognize when it was time to move. I have abandoned 6 semi-permanent camps over 61 seasons.

The other part is knowing what portion of the season they are optimum.

 

[t_carlson]

It really depends on the terrain and how the elk are using it.

 

[Laramie]

Depends on the area you hunt, how frequently elk encounter humans, the time of year, weather, and how clean & quiet of a camp you keep. I have literally passed archery shots at elk from my tent on two occasions.

 

[Indian Summer]

Generally speaking, I like to be up over top of the main ridge and a little bit down slope. On the opposite side of that ridge from where I plan to hunt.

 

[gelton]

As others have said, it depends on how they use the area. Last season, I camped mid-mountain, which was a good 1200ft below where they were bedded, thinking that there was no way they would pass up all the good feed in the area to go all the way to the bottom each night to feed.

I was wrong, these elk went from ~14,000 ft to about 5,000 ft every damn night, just to fornicate all night. Couldn't believe it. Had to move my camp about 2 miles and 2 ridges away due to the fact that there were about 4 different herds (and herd bulls) in the area.

 

[spike camp]

Depends on the area you hunt, how frequently elk encounter humans, the time of year, weather, and how clean & quiet of a camp you keep. I have literally passed archery shots at elk from my tent on two occasions.

This is the answer ^^
Especially the human encounters part.

 

[BBob]

Don’t ever hunt at the waterholes or the beds.

Never hunt waterholes? Why do you say that? Do you realize how many bulls have been killed and will continue to get killed off water? I agree you can catch them coming and going but you can kill them sitting water. I agree on the beds. Beds are tough to hunt. Best to catch them coming or going to them.

 

[Gila]

You may kill an elk sitting water then again you may not. Stink up a waterhole and the elk could either go completely nocturnal or blow out of the area. I haven’t seen this lately but during a pre-season scout a tank had so many cameras it looked like a White House press conference! Each to his own…..

 

[Jimss]

The only time I'm in camp is usually in the dark. I'm usually gone well before daylight and don't return until after dark. I also hardly make a squeak....no fires...generally hit the hay early.

Sound can travel great distances when it's not windy. Obviously if you are around camp boozing it up, talking loudly, cutting firewood, etc. it may spook elk to the next county vs being super quiet.

If you are camped 1/2 mile from elk in open country it likely is different than 1/2 mile in dense trees, a giant canyon, etc. There are a lot of factors....not just distance.

 

[Still Hunter]

I have had bulls 60 yards from camp site a few times and several times within a few hundred yards. I try to camp as high as I can in an area if near elk , away from main trails , feeding areas and bedding areas. Each day there is a new game plan based on what the elk are doing and where I find them the day before and the wind direction of the new day. It is possible that you can beat everything but the nose. Sometimes I camp a mile or two away depending upon human traffic and the hunting pressure on them.

 

[jslove]

I'm far from any sort of an elk expert, but I try to pick a camp about a half mile away or so of where I anticipate hunting in the morning, as well as a good vantage point to go into a few different basins if I luck out and have to hear them screaming all night. Elk are so nomadic, so listening late at night and well before sunrise can be very beneficial. Be mindful of not camping in a saddle which elk like to cross (I see this every single year and I drives me nuts). From my experience, elk can sometimes be pretty tolerable of human presence within a certain distance but they will not tolerate your smell. Know the prevailing wind, and always, always monitor the thermals. The take away here is don't camp where elk want to be, or between where they want to go.

This is kind of how I would do it. This year I picked a dry ridge about 700yds away and above a ridge really nice looking potential rutting zone. Some jackass was camping in the middle of it. First night at my camp heard nothing. Fortunately he left first thing next morning. That night at least 4 bulls and who knows what else came in and mixed it up all night. I didn’t catch them the 3rd morning they came back the 3rd night and I managed to put a stalk on a bull and kill him on the 4th day. Being able to hear them in the early dark AM was key. Elk could travel anywhere, but the spot I camped had no sign, no water, and no obvious topography funnels like saddles and such. Sucked that it wasn’t grassy and had immediate water access but worth it to kill the bull.

 

[Mag_7s]

This is kind of how I would do it. This year I picked a dry ridge about 700yds away and above a ridge really nice looking potential rutting zone. Some jackass was camping in the middle of it. First night at my camp heard nothing. Fortunately he left first thing next morning. That night at least 4 bulls and who knows what else came in and mixed it up all night. I didn’t catch them the 3rd morning they came back the 3rd night and I managed to put a stalk on a bull and kill him on the 4th day. Being able to hear them in the early dark AM was key. Elk could travel anywhere, but the spot I camped had no sign, no water, and no obvious topography funnels like saddles and such. Sucked that it wasn’t grassy and had immediate water access but worth it to kill the bull.

congrats on the bull! Nothing like listing to bulls scream all night, that shits magic. I also camp away from water and have to travel a little less than a half mile...but not nearly as far as others up there. Find secret water seeps, bring up a piece of pvc pipe and insert that into the seep. Oh and don't tell anyone, you'll weather them out. Then the hunting gets good.

 

[repins05]

Rifle or archery? I set up differently for each.

 

[bgbuck153]

We spiked in 2 1/2 miles and I killed one 200 yards from the tent the first evening of the hunt and we awoke the next more at light and started breaking down camp when a group walked thru and shot it from the tent.