Camping distance from Elk

[TaperPin]

Watch the wind - elk are not going to stay down wind of you. Watch your noise - if the camp has a loud talker, best to stay well away. Watch your visibility - the more exposed you are, the less movement you should have in camp.

As an extreme example, I have a favorite spot to camp that’s a short distance from great muledeer country to one side and elk on the other. The prevailing winds always seem to only blow one direction, so in a dozen years wind direction has never been an issue.

One year the weather was extra bad and visibility was horrible so I pitched the tent up out of the trees so first thing I’d have a good view. The next morning as soon as it was light enough to see a bull walked by within rifle range on his way to the timber. Bang, bang.

 

[Jaquomo]

For me it's generally 1/3 of a mile from where they live, on the downwind side of the am and PM thermals. 1/3 seems to be far enough to keep the swirling daytime winds from getting them, but still close enough to hear bugles if it isn't too windy.

As far as distance from camp to kill one, I shot a bull on video once that we called in with the wall tent and sleeping tents in the background. We've called them right into camp before after tagging out, and had them walk right through camp while we were out hunting somewhere else.

 

[trophyhill]

I Sleep with the elk if I can. I like a low ridge between 50 and 100 yards wide surrounded by higher ridges and hopefully water somewhere nearby. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve had elk in camp at night and hunting right out of camp in the morning. Nothing like a locate bugle outside the tent just before first light in the morning to get the day started.

 

[Jimss]

I spend a lot of time each day hiking in and out of elk locations in the dark. I hunt a lot of open country where elk can see you coming for miles. If camped in fairly open country it doesn't take much noise and movement to blow them to other locations. It's possible to get to prime glassing and ambush spots in the dark.

The name of the game with elk is locating them. Some areas may have an incredible amount of land without elk. In that case it may not really matter where you are camped. Depending upon the area, this may mean covering gobs and gobs of country. Once I locate elk it may be either a waiting game for them to show up or move to locations where it's possible to stalk. Once elk are located it's imperative to not spook them and blow them out of the country.

There are so many different factors for camp set up that vary considerably from one location to the next. I always tend to remain on the conservative side with camp locations rather than trying to camp close. Elk generally hate areas with humans and human activity unless they are somehow acclimated to them (close to town, homes, rancher trucks, etc). If they sense humans they are likely long gone. This may not matter as much in highly limited elk units or lightly hunted private land vs OTC elk units.

 

[Weldor]

It depends on how habitualized the Elk are to the smell, noise sight of humans. Where we hunt down here there is virtually no place that hasn't had humans in it. I watch hunters camp right in the middle of prime Elk hunting area and not have a clue there is water or Elk within 100 yards of their noisey camps. We use those guys as pushers to get our Elk. Works like a champ.

 

[VAHunter23322]

This is a concern for me for sure.. I have been studying and mapping the terrain where we plan to hunt almost daily to try to avoid trashing the area.

 

[RB1]

Following. Great thread with lots of helpful info!

 

[id_jon]

Woke up to elk 15 yards from me while camped on an exposed ridge one morning. They never smelled me, so after about 10 minutes of staring at me they went back to the timber patch they came from. Later that morning I stalked to 70 yards of the bull before his cows busted me

 

[Roughwater]

In the unit I hunt in one state I camp just off the forest service rd. When the Elk are bugling I frequently hear them from my tent. I left the tent early one morning before my hunting partner to chase them. Fortunately for him while he was cooking breakfast for himself when 3 elk including a bull ran to just over a hundred yards from our tent. He ranged it and it was 104 yards so he didn't shoot. These elk frequently move early in the morning and move within a quarter mile of our tent going to and from their bedding area. While most hunters that camp around me are heading up the road toward higher ground every morning and can't hear the elk because they are in a camper and often have a generator or something running, meanwhile, I'm walking out behind my tent to hunt. This is the exception though, about every other place I have hunted I have to drive a good distance or walk a good distance to have a shot at being close to them or hearing them.