Elk Hunting Acreage

[Royal7]

Hi yall,

Just wanted to get some opinions based off the extensive experience here.

I am a Carolina's flatlander going on my first elk hunt in 2022. I have an opportunity to hunt a private ranch with an experienced guide. (I would love the DIY nature in the future but feel If I can have a better chance of success then I will increase the odds of my wife letting me leave on long hunting trips more in the future. )

It is in an OTC unit that is mostly (i think almost 95%) privately owned. The ranch is about two separate parcels totaling about 4000 acres. I guess my question is trying to get some perspective on how that size of a ranch would be for elk hunting. I get that it only matters if that ranch has the elk or not to some degree but when you see tracks that are 10's of thousands of acres, part of me wonders if this is on the smaller side and you will kinda be stuck in the binary position of either they are there or not, without the option to really cover some ground?

Any input is greatly appreciated

 

[307]

Impossible to say based strictly on the size of the land. I'd take 10 acres in the right spot and likely kill elk every single year. A million acres in the wrong spot, on the other hand, may be a complete waste of time. I'd base a decision on historical success rates/odds. It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than going off of land area.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Agree with 307. I went on a private land hunt last year on a 18,000 acre ranch. Me and one other hunter. I remember thinking how vast 18,000 acres sounded between 2 hunters, but once I got a feel for everything, it didn't seem so big. There were basically two separate herds; one on each end of the property, but even then those herds would move back and forth to and from adjacent tracts that we couldn't hunt on.

If your 4000 acres includes the biggest alfalfa fields in the area, or a travel corridor, then you should be in good shape. If its just a random 4000 acres, it might be a ghost town. I learned elk are not like deer where they will just stay somewhere as long as they are not bothered. Elk can be very unpredictable and move a couple of miles from day to day for no apparent reason

 

[Royal7]

Impossible to say based strictly on the size of the land. I'd take 10 acres in the right spot and likely kill elk every single year. A million acres in the wrong spot, on the other hand, may be a complete waste of time. I'd base a decision on historical success rates/odds. It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than going off of land area.

Thanks for the info! Yeah this year (2021) will be the first year it is hunted as a guided hunt so trying to find out some of that information. My hunt will be 2022 if I book. Just trying to get an idea how much that acreage allows you to glass/stalk elk or if it limits you a good bit in terms of that style hunting

also found a similar question posted on here and seems exactly right about not the quantity but quality. guess im just wondering if this amount of land will let you glass and stalk and search for elk. seems like you could cover it quickly especially in a 5 day hunt!

 

[TAGPUNCHER]

4000 acres isn't big on Paper,wait until a set of danners hits the dirt,then it's MUCHO BIGGER!

 

[Btaylor]

4000 acres isn't big on Paper,wait until a set of danners hits the dirt,then it's MUCHO BIGGER!

And here I was thinking just the opposite. Perspectives, I guess.

 

[TAGPUNCHER]

Totally depends on topography of the ranch.

 

[5MilesBack]

4000 acres is roughly 6 sq miles.......so maybe 2x3 miles. The elk are either there or they aren't.

I have a friend that has 3500 acres and gets 20 depredation cow tags just about every year. The elk are "around" but not necessarily on his property. It's always hit and miss, but mostly miss.......even though those elk seem to clean off his fields fairly frequently. He's got BLM on one side and forest land on another. It's not a given by any means.

 

[Btaylor]

4000 acres is roughly 6 sq miles.......so maybe 2x3 miles. The elk are either there or they aren't.

3 miles across a face and 2 miles down the face from up high might work pretty good though. All depends on location I suppose.

 

[Laramie]

I guided on several small properties through the years. Some were great, some were worthless. The great ones only remained great if we hunted very low impact. If one of our guides got aggressive during a hunt, the elk would be gone until they got pushed back on by a neighbor.

If it's a good property, and the people guiding on it know what they are doing, that's plenty of property.

 

[Still Hunter]

Pretty simple, get the GPS Coordinates for the Ranch and go look at it on Google Earth. A little online research will let you know quickly if it is in a good area or not.

 

[Laramie]

Pretty simple, get the GPS Coordinates for the Ranch and go look at it on Google Earth. A little online research will let you know quickly if it is in a good area or not.

I have hunted some really good pieces of property that didn't look like much from google earth. Nothing can replace boots on the ground experience.

 

[wind gypsy]

I guided on several small properties through the years. Some were great, some were worthless. The great ones only remained great if we hunted very low impact. If one of our guides got aggressive during a hunt, the elk would be gone until they got pushed back on by a neighbor.

This is what I was thinking. If they run any kind of volume of hunters through it and dont pick and choose their plan of attack very carefully, there is a good chance there wont be much for elk around.

I'd be worried about the elk being run off it already and also that the hunt might not be the experience one looks for when pursuing elk. A sit and wait approach to keep pressure off of it might be warranted but that's no fun.

 

[Still Hunter]

I have hunted some really good pieces of property that didn't look like much from google earth. Nothing can replace boots on the ground experience.

That's a fact!