Covering Ground Efficiently

[Beendare]

Right but not everyone has this mindset. Some guys want only want to hunt next to the road and some only want to go deep. Figuring out which one people aren't doing in an area or going somewhere in between is what I am hoping to do.

Good luck with doing that over the internet. Hunters will probably be doing both. There are a lot of studs out there- especially bowhunters.

When I first started elk hunting in the 80's and then through the 90's- the only guys we would see more than a mile from a road were on horseback. Now I regularly bump into Backpack hunters anywhere from 2 to 6 miles from the road.

I think my point is this; Everyone wants to E scout, and yeah, like Bob said, it identifies POSSIBLE AREAS to check out....but it's boots on the ground that really tells you what's going on.

We were in MT Horsepacked in 6 miles and coming out we met 2 guys from CA. They had Scouted on GE, never set foot in that area. They told me they were planning on wrapping around the back end of this big bowl- about 7-8 miles in and 2,000' higher in elevation.

What they didn't know, is there was a outfitter that came into the end of that bowl from the other side and he had 6 hunters every 5 days rolling in there to the X they had marked on their OnX. I started to tell them they might want to consider another spot Because........

.......but they cut me off and started hard charging up the hill with their 55# packs....oh well.

 

[wapitibob]

Might be a really dumb question and I have not found the answer in the regulations for MT but is it legal to roadside park? I will call and ask to be sure but from what I understand it depends on the state if you can park on the side of the road and leave a vehicle.

I really like doing this in the state that I live in as well so its a tactic I will being taking with on my trip if I can.

Yes, you can park on the side of the road in any western state. I have hunted from only 1 trailhead in 50 years of Elk hunting, and I brushed that trail every day to see if anybody other than me was using it.

 

[CEG017]

Good luck with doing that over the internet. Hunters will probably be doing both. There are a lot of studs out there- especially bowhunters.

When I first started elk hunting in the 80's and then through the 90's- the only guys we would see more than a mile from a road were on horseback. Now I regularly bump into Backpack hunters anywhere from 2 to 6 miles from the road.

I think my point is this; Everyone wants to E scout, and yeah, like Bob said, it identifies POSSIBLE AREAS to check out....but it's boots on the ground that really tells you what's going on.

We were in MT Horsepacked in 6 miles and coming out we met 2 guys from CA. They had Scouted on GE, never set foot in that area. They told me they were planning on wrapping around the back end of this big bowl- about 7-8 miles in and 2,000' higher in elevation.

What they didn't know, is there was a outfitter that came into the end of that bowl from the other side and he had 6 hunters every 5 days rolling in there to the X they had marked on their OnX. I started to tell them they might want to consider another spot Because........

.......but they cut me off and started hard charging up the hill with their 55# packs....oh well.

I'm sure they were a little disappointed when they got there! Exactly what I like most are trying to avoid.

I completely agree that boots on the ground scouting is the only way to actually figure things out and E scouting just gives you possible areas. I'm sure most people out there know how to find areas that look like they would hold animals on a map (just like all the other species at this point). Its just the world we live in now. Some good parts to that and some bad.

That's why I was asking the guys who have more experience elk hunting how they prefer to cycle through areas efficiently because that's what has helped me a ton with other species. I know this involves a lot of boots on the ground and every situation is different, but I think there some some tactics we can apply to maximize our efficiency out there.

Would love to hear about it if you are willing to share!

 

[CEG017]

In a completely new area, I'll identify points of interest in a satellite map, figure out a rough route I want to take, then go hit it as quickly as possible looking for sign. I'll often times wear running shoes shoe I can jog through the woods when terrain allows. Cover as much ground as quickly as possible. I'm not hunting, so I don't care about noise. Follow promising areas you find when you're on foot as they can lead to some great holes

What types of areas are you trying to cruise through? Close to bedding? In the bottoms or feeding areas?

This might also be a dumb question but are you being wind conscious? When I use this tactic with whitetails I'm always paying close attention so I don't blow them into the next county.

 

[HighUintas]

What types of areas are you trying to cruise through? Close to bedding? In the bottoms or feeding areas?

This might also be a dumb question but are you being wind conscious? When I use this tactic with whitetails I'm always paying close attention so I don't blow them into the next county.

When I pick a route on the map, I'll identify what I think are areas they might be... Feeding areas, travel routes, even bedding areas. I do try to travel upwind so that if something is in the area it's only my noise or visual that runs them off instead of scent. If it's a couple weeks or more before my season, I try to go through as quick as possible not worrying too much about jumping game. If it's a lot closer to season, it would be a fast hike and I also try to not stroll through bedding areas.

Even if you're actively hunting a completely new area you can cover a lot of ground in a day. I've hunted new areas where I'll sit in the morning for a bit in what seems an opportune spot, then still hunt from them until a couple hours before dark, and I've covered almost 10 miles. With elk, you don't have to be ninja stealthy moving through the woods. They're pretty loud themselves so they may think you're an animal if the wind is in your favor. So still hunting elk can be faster than with deer.

 

[Geewhiz]

Right but not everyone has this mindset. Some guys want only want to hunt next to the road and some only want to go deep. Figuring out which one people aren't doing in an area or going somewhere in between is what I am hoping to do.

*sigh*

Ok, I will be hunting a new area this year and I will divulge my strategy. Never really spent any time in the area previous to this year. Have some general knowledge of the area but most of that is here say that I'm finding to be not all true. At this point when I am in the unit I am not looking for animals, I am getting a feel for the lay of the land, where the roads go, what is driveable and what is not, terrain features, access points, etc. I have hunted elk enough that I am confident that I'll be able to vaguely predict where I will be able to find some once the season starts based off the access, topography and geographical features. The time I spend there preseason is mostly spent hiking, taking note of central "backcountry" camp locations, and looking for glassing points.

When the season starts I will do the best I can to isolate myself from other hunters and spend all my time glassing vast swaths of country until I find I bull that I want to kill, then I will go balls to the walls until he is on the ground.

 

[Bhoops]

Glass at dawn and move within 20 minutes to next spot

 

[Mykolaivka887]

What types of areas are you trying to cruise through? Close to bedding? In the bottoms or feeding areas?

Only in reference to me, personally, I cruise through everything - feeding, bedding, bottoms, tops, sides, everywhere.

 

[midwestcowboy]

Fellow FNG here, hello!

In general I do think getting away from roads and trails is ideal since you'll see a good deal of hunters cruising forest roads in RZR's and trucks glassing drainages literally 20 feet away from their rig.
However, there's been times when I've been across canyons looking "underneath" roads and have seen Elk completely unbothered by what's going on a couple thousand feet above them. Even though an area is close to a road, don't rule it out - especially if it's out of view or inaccessible from that section of road.

Nothing better than boots on the ground. If you're able to go scout beforehand, e-scout a few routes and spots that look good from sat images and go check em out and take notes/pictures. It will help you better understand if an area is worth hunting (how much sign, water, feed, etc) and gives you an idea of how long it'll take (and how much effort) to cover that ground.

 

[HighUintas]

I shot my first archery bull on a hillside 1/4mi above a road buzzing with atvs

 

[CEG017]

When I pick a route on the map, I'll identify what I think are areas they might be... Feeding areas, travel routes, even bedding areas. I do try to travel upwind so that if something is in the area it's only my noise or visual that runs them off instead of scent. If it's a couple weeks or more before my season, I try to go through as quick as possible not worrying too much about jumping game. If it's a lot closer to season, it would be a fast hike and I also try to not stroll through bedding areas.

Even if you're actively hunting a completely new area you can cover a lot of ground in a day. I've hunted new areas where I'll sit in the morning for a bit in what seems an opportune spot, then still hunt from them until a couple hours before dark, and I've covered almost 10 miles. With elk, you don't have to be ninja stealthy moving through the woods. They're pretty loud themselves so they may think you're an animal if the wind is in your favor. So still hunting elk can be faster than with deer.

Really good stuff here. I appreciate it. Will definitely be a change of pace for me not having to be so quiet when going through new areas.

 

[CEG017]

However, there's been times when I've been across canyons looking "underneath" roads and have seen Elk completely unbothered by what's going on a couple thousand feet above them. Even though an area is close to a road, don't rule it out - especially if it's out of view or inaccessible from that section of road.

I shot my first archery bull on a hillside 1/4mi above a road buzzing with atvs

This is really good stuff to know. I find being close to roads in pressured areas of my home state can be really effective at times. Sound like a lot of the same tactics can apply to elk as well.

 

[CEG017]

Only in reference to me, personally, I cruise through everything - feeding, bedding, bottoms, tops, sides, everywhere.

How does your strategy change once you find elk? Are you immediately going to slow down and start hunting down the area? Or do you try to find more? I have heard people talk about both of these directions so curious of your thoughts.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

How does your strategy change once you find elk? Are you immediately going to slow down and start hunting down the area? Or do you try to find more? I have heard people talk about both of these directions so curious of your thoughts.

Once I find sufficient evidence of a target bull or bulls, that would warrant serious hunting, I then spend days, weeks, months glassing the piss out of whatever little hidden abyss that a particular bull or bulls might be hding in.

 

[Beendare]

Would love to hear about it if you are willing to share!

I have a couple tactics I prefer not to mention on the internet. It's not some super secret squirrel stuff- others use it too but my point is you just have to get out there and discover some of this for yourself.

Thats the best part of hunting, figuring these critters out

The thing to realize is that Hunter Pressure will be the #1 factor when it comes to most of these hunts. You have to scheme for that. It typically involves having a backup to your backup.

E scouting helps to identify possibles. It's critical to know where Roads and trails are.

Then realize, it's big country and something like 80% of the elk are in 20% of the country. just hunting in one basin, you may never get into them, covering 4 basins and you will. The first day in new country we lace up our boots and cover some ground.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

How does your strategy change once you find elk? Are you immediately going to slow down and start hunting down the area? Or do you try to find more? I have heard people talk about both of these directions so curious of your thoughts.

As a side bar to my post immediately above, if I do not find evidence that would warrant serious hunting, I then move on to the next new area and walk the hell out of that, to see if it's worth glassing sometime in the future.

 

[Marble]

I'm a little shocked to see a lot of guys saying glaasing for elk is not one of their go to methods. I hunt very steep mountainous terrain from 9-11500'. I frequently take an evening or morning off to locate animals that have moved and then hunt them the following evening/morning. I also will glass from a good position in the woods into timber and locate bedded and moving animals.

Then, while in timber, I glass the hell out of the next 100 or so yards, moving my binos in and out of focus. I would say out of the last 12 or so bulls over killed, I've killed them in the timber sneaking and using my binos.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[dusky]

Use daytime to run through feeding areas while they are bedded. Look for fresh sign from the night before. Be there at sunset when they come back out. Possibly sunrise, too. List out the feeding areas and hit every one ASAP until you find sign. The more pressured the elk, the more secluded the feeding area unless the food is just that good in a spot. Roads are good for cutting tracks.