Deepest, darkest, steepest timber advice

[kaaby]

Am I the only one that thinks this stereotypical advice is just to screw with new elk hunters? I followed this advice as a novice elk hunter with terrible results. Since my own boots on the ground research, some helpful mentors, and actual Elk hunting experience, I have not found this to be true at all. Especially since it’s near impossible to be quiet when working through said areas. Do you all agree or am I missing something?


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[timber_ghost]

It depends a lot on the area. Sometimes elk love using steep timber especially when the pressure is high. But there still needs to be food and water close by and some pockets of the timber have to be low enough angle for the them to bed. They typically won't bed on anything super steep. It is hard to hunt it if they aren't being vocal and responding to calling. Move really slowly and stop very often to listen and look. If you still hunt timber enough, eventually you'll be surprised by an an elk within 20 yards in front of you. Keep your scope zoomed all the way out

 

[mtnbound]

Am I the only one that thinks this stereotypical advice is just to screw with new elk hunters? I followed this advice as a novice elk hunter with terrible results. Since my own boots on the ground research, some helpful mentors, and actual Elk hunting experience, I have not found this to be true at all. Especially since it’s near impossible to be quiet when working through said areas. Do you all agree or am I missing something?


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Most content creators won't hunt it because it's too hard and doesn't make them look good, but elk can be found in those places, and in high-pressure areas, those hell holes provide sanctuary.

 

[Jtb.kfd]

Most of the elk hunting advice/tips I have heard over the years seem to been very location dependent in my experience. One area in WA I have hunted for 30 years has the tall dark timber on super steep slopes. The elk (and bears) use it heavily in August when certain mushrooms are at their peak. They move out of those areas during the rut and don’t eat the mushrooms anymore after the first hard freeze. They use these areas again in late Oct-Nov before migrating out as transition zones and also to bed in during extreme weather. When we have cow tags, still hunting through those areas is super productive. Seems like we are making a lot of noise and rolling rocks, but we have shot a lot of elk point blank walking up on them bedded. Also seems like you can see a long ways in that timber, but the small benches/beds can conceal them well.
Other areas in WA and Idaho I don’t see the elk utilizing that country as much. I think it all depends on the surrounding landscape and what it holds for cover, shelter and food.

 

[wapitibob]

I've haven't bugled a Bull on a North face in the last 50 years. Never hunted "dark timber", and only hiked steep country to get to the bottom where the Elk were. Don't recall ever shooting one more than a mile from a road and many were within a cpl hundred yards.

 

[Dark timber]

Where do you think they go bed? Or where do the bigger bulls go live by themselves when they peel off from the herd post-rut?
I’m not sure what state(s) you hunt, or what the terrain/vegetation density is like but it sounds like you had terrible results because you were a novice hunter. You can’t just expect to go in and kill them without knowing what you’re doing. You don’t just wander around aimlessly, although it can work if you’re lucky. Learning how to track elk is very important for success.
I love sneaking through big timber patches with a rifle or muzzleloader. In fact, I can only think of a couple bulls that I’ve killed out in the somewhat open and have had most shots be either offhand or using a tree as a rest.
If you discount hunting timber, you are absolutely denying yourself opportunities at animals.

 

[fatlander]

Deep, dark, steep timber sucks. There’s definitely no elk there. Everyone should hunt the open sage, rolling, and breaks country.


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[Gerbdog]

It's where the elk end up after all the hunting pressure... its good advice... i'm not suggesting blindly hunting steep dark timber... look for the micro climates inside of those areas... small benches, springs, etc. ... find a game trail going through the area and explore it for a day, it'll take you through beddings areas, feeding areas, etc.

2 years ago my buddy wanted to get into hunting archery elk .... so i handed him a bow, told him to get it fitted and get some arrows, get in shape and practice shooting.... i couldnt help him that year cause i drew a good tag somewhere else.... but i pointed straight to a steep, dark timbered area i knew of and he went in there and got it done .... because there were bound to be elk in those areas and he was instructed to move as quietly as he could, cow call now and then (hoochie mama'd bulls in even! haha)

 

[squirrel]

At early or late sun angle you can often see plain as day the prime areas on a steep dark timber slope. As the morning sun tops out and floods a steep dark timber slope it first illuminates the ledges on the slope. This highlighting only lasts for a few seconds or minutes tops then the whole slope is equally lit up as the sun angle changes.

The reverse works on east facing slopes in late afternoon. These ledges can be measured in square feet or acres, but they will be where the elk are, or are going to be when they are about to bed down. When you get to them from downwind you need to move like a pregnant inch worm.

 

[southLA]

Where do you think they go bed? Or where do the bigger bulls go live by themselves when they peel off from the herd post-rut?
I’m not sure what state(s) you hunt, or what the terrain/vegetation density is like but it sounds like you had terrible results because you were a novice hunter. You can’t just expect to go in and kill them without knowing what you’re doing. You don’t just wander around aimlessly, although it can work if you’re lucky. Learning how to track elk is very important for success.
I love sneaking through big timber patches with a rifle or muzzleloader. In fact, I can only think of a couple bulls that I’ve killed out in the somewhat open and have had most shots be either offhand or using a tree as a rest.
If you discount hunting timber, you are absolutely denying yourself opportunities at animals.

name checks out

 

[wytx]

Elk are where you find them.
Have seen them all over the mountains, not just deep, dark timber.
As too after the rut, found a bull bedded right along a road in open timber one time.

 

[bz_711]

They don't prefer it - pressure forces them there. Avoid pressure and you can avoid deep, dark, and steep.

 

[kaaby]

Most content creators won't hunt it because it's too hard and doesn't make them look good, but elk can be found in those places, and in high-pressure areas, those hell holes provide sanctuary.

I'm not a content creator but maybe it's too hard for me too haha

 

[Pony Soldier]

Elk are lazy just like cows. They tend to follow trails between thos bedding and feeding areas. I have seen them feed all night in the bottoms and bed on the ridges 5 miles away. You have to learn the trails and the prevailing wind direction on each. Going against the grain of the thickets is noisy and painful even bordering on impossible in the blowdown.

 

[kaaby]

Most of the elk hunting advice/tips I have heard over the years seem to been very location dependent in my experience. One area in WA I have hunted for 30 years has the tall dark timber on super steep slopes. The elk (and bears) use it heavily in August when certain mushrooms are at their peak. They move out of those areas during the rut and don’t eat the mushrooms anymore after the first hard freeze. They use these areas again in late Oct-Nov before migrating out as transition zones and also to bed in during extreme weather. When we have cow tags, still hunting through those areas is super productive. Seems like we are making a lot of noise and rolling rocks, but we have shot a lot of elk point blank walking up on them bedded. Also seems like you can see a long ways in that timber, but the small benches/beds can conceal them well.
Other areas in WA and Idaho I don’t see the elk utilizing that country as much. I think it all depends on the surrounding landscape and what it holds for cover, shelter and food.

I've found in those steep areas that the deadfall has been worse than most other areas, and that along with the steepness makes it crazy loud. Maybe I just haven't checked enough areas to find the "right" steep, dark area.

 

[kaaby]

Where do you think they go bed? Or where do the bigger bulls go live by themselves when they peel off from the herd post-rut?
I’m not sure what state(s) you hunt, or what the terrain/vegetation density is like but it sounds like you had terrible results because you were a novice hunter. You can’t just expect to go in and kill them without knowing what you’re doing. You don’t just wander around aimlessly, although it can work if you’re lucky. Learning how to track elk is very important for success.
I love sneaking through big timber patches with a rifle or muzzleloader. In fact, I can only think of a couple bulls that I’ve killed out in the somewhat open and have had most shots be either offhand or using a tree as a rest.
If you discount hunting timber, you are absolutely denying yourself opportunities at animals.

Based on your screen name, I can see why this post would irritating. Haha - but yeah, I'm sure a lot of it was being a novice elk hunter. At some point though, it has to be too steep, dark, nasty, etc. right? It's gotta be a balance of just far enough away from access and steep/challenging enough to keep 95+% of hunters away right? I tried back then but I'm sure I could have been more strategic in picking these nasty areas near quality food/water.

 

[LCguy]

It's all extremely unit and pressure dependent, in my experience.

 

[dylanvb]

i have watched some YouTube videos of absolute killers in the backcountry and they aren’t worried about being quiet. Actually the opposite, trying to mimic what an elk sounds like walking through the forest, snapping twigs walking heavy etc. interesting tactic but has changed my thought process of being dead quiet. Also I have found elk in steep dark timber and in the open, I have seen them on the face of open cliffs where no elk has business being but hey that’s where they were.

 

[kaaby]

Deep, dark, steep timber sucks. There’s definitely no elk there. Everyone should hunt the open sage, rolling, and breaks country.


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Haha. My thought is better advice for a new elk hunter would be something like this (assuming archery elk, which is all that I have done so far): Avoid trailheads and/or only use trails to quickly get into the backcountry. Keep pack weight as light as possible. Hike in two or more miles, and ideally the initial hike sucks to deter others. Learn to bugle and cow call with a diaphragm and throw out location bugles periodically. Work your way up in the morning (with thermals flowing down), use your glass a lot, and find an area with some broken country and a lot of fresh sign. Stay as mobile as possible until you find elk. This worked for me on both of my general unit hunts last year, but I understand that advice is area/season specific.

 

[5MilesBack]

Deep, dark, steep, and downfall is definitely not for the faint-hearted. But I love it, especially next to avalanche chutes. I find big bulls in that stuff every year during archery. Ya, it's tough to get a shot sometimes, but it's fun in there. When I rifle hunted, after mid morning I lived in that stuff and always found elk.

But you still have to be smart about it. If the max distance you could shoot clearly with your bow is 7 yards in every direction, you're wasting your time there.