Elk that recently moved through area

[choppd]

Hi there, just returned from first elk hunt for my buddy's tag unsuccessful. Everywhere we went, we seemed to be less than a day late to finding any elk. The areas had fresh signs everywhere, but no elk. Anyone care to give any advice on what they might do in this situation?

 

[Jason Snyder]

Hunt until you find them.

 

[EdP]

I wonder, are they just moving around to better food sources in the same range or are they actually migrating to winter grounds?

 

[Scoot]

Jason Snyder's response is the right answer! Keep moving until you find them! Hunt fast and cover ground until you see elk or fresh sign. Then, slow down!

 

[roosiebull]

I wonder, are they just moving around to better food sources in the same range or are they actually migrating to winter grounds?

It’s entirely possible you guys were just missing them, they aren’t always out in the open feeding or bugling, especially if they feel the heat from pressure. They adapt well to pressure and might have been sign they were leaving in the dark

 

[SuperDUECE22]

Hi there, just returned from first elk hunt for my buddy's tag unsuccessful. Everywhere we went, we seemed to be less than a day late to finding any elk. The areas had fresh signs everywhere, but no elk. Anyone care to give any advice on what they might do in this situation?

They are called the "grey ghost" by some people for good reason. Killing them is easy, it's the finding them part that can be a struggle.

 

[Gerbdog]

They could have been in the areas you found the fresh sign. I've seen an entire herd stuff themselves into a tiny finger of cover/pine trees up near the ridge with clearings on either side.... they came out to feed the clearings in the evenings but you'd never be able to tell glassing that tiny finger during the day when they were under that cover that there were so many elk hiding in there.

All that to say... theyre amazing at hiding when they are seeking cover. You could have been within 100 yards of a herd and never known it.

Keep hunting, cover ground until you can smell em

 

[jmez]

They were there, you just didn't find them.

 

[TaperPin]

Elk know their area quite well. When pressured, they know which areas to move to. In some areas elk move completely out of an area, and sometimes they bounce back and forth if there’s pressure on both ends. Elk are relatively heavy and leave easy to spot tracks, so it’s human nature to put too much importance in where elk were, rather than where elk are.

So, what others are saying about the importance of moving until you find them is spot on. Steaming turds, or tracks with hooves in them are much much better than two day old tracks, especially if they are just moving through, and those long legs make 5 miles a walk in the park.

 

[choppd]

They could have been in the areas you found the fresh sign. I've seen an entire herd stuff themselves into a tiny finger of cover/pine trees up near the ridge with clearings on either side.... they came out to feed the clearings in the evenings but you'd never be able to tell glassing that tiny finger during the day when they were under that cover that there were so many elk hiding in there.

All that to say... theyre amazing at hiding when they are seeking cover. You could have been within 100 yards of a herd and never known it.

Keep hunting, cover ground until you can smell em

I could see this being the case very easily. The area we found same day sign was also heavily wooded with plenty of places to sit still and hide.

 

[Gerbdog]

I could see this being the case very easily. The area we found same day sign was also heavily wooded with plenty of places to sit still and hide.

Yea, thats the stuff i end up hunting, especially here in CO. There's elk in those heavily wooded deadfall holes but theyre awful tough to sneak up on, when im moving im usually cow calling now and then and i rely heavily on getting responses to my bugles / cow calls for locating. It's usually pretty wet under all the heavy timber so "fresh" sign can stay looking fresh for quite some time and the mud holds the prints forever. I just ignore any of that sign anymore and i'm looking for a breeze to push the smell of barn into my nose or as i mentioned above, something vocal.

That said... keep your eyes peeled for elk colored stuff in the woods, use your bino's to glass through heavy timber and under brush if you think "thats kind of an elk color there". May be a log. But. May be an elk body. Hunt "up". I'm not lucky enough to find elk down low, i'm always getting into them at tree line.

 

[Weldor]

The area we hunt has plenty of sign but if you bump them or someone else does , it takes about 4- 5 days before the same Elk return. That does not mean other Elk don't move through the same area. I have watched them for 30 plus years, we call it the Loop. Once archery starts they are on the loop through December when rifle ends. Spend abunch of butt time glassing and you find Elk and have a sore rear end. Enjoy.

 

[franktnk]

Usually when you find fresh sign they are still in the area. Might have just seen or smelled you before you found them. Keep at it though sounds like you're doing something right.

 

[choppd]

The area we hunt has plenty of sign but if you bump them or someone else does , it takes about 4- 5 days before the same Elk return. That does not mean other Elk don't move through the same area. I have watched them for 30 plus years, we call it the Loop. Once archery starts they are on the loop through December when rifle ends. Spend abunch of butt time glassing and you find Elk and have a sore rear end. Enjoy.

This is good info, it was always on my mind wondering if they circle back at some point.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I had 12 head in my yard this morning a daylight. Within 10 minutes they were gone. The odds are they are feeding all night long and then bed someplace else.

You need to quit hunting where they were and find where they are. That could be within 3-5 miles. Try some of the mid ridges on the north sides if the weather is warm.

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

I live on a ridge that has a herd of 30-50 elk around it from May-October. They’re always within a mile of our ridge which is surrounded by open country but you could spend a whole day walking around and not see them. Often we sit down for a meal and there’s not one in sight and then suddenly a group of 20 appears. They don’t look like they’re moving but in 10 minutes they’ve disappeared. If there’s fresh sign, they’ll very likely be close but they don’t spent extended time out in the open like cattle.

 

[choppd]

I had 12 head in my yard this morning a daylight. Within 10 minutes they were gone. The odds are they are feeding all night long and then bed someplace else.

You need to quit hunting where they were and find where they are. That could be within 3-5 miles. Try some of the mid ridges on the north sides if the weather is warm.

In your experience, do elk bed away from their feeding area? Sounds like they will feed in a certain area then travel possibly miles away to go bed for the day.

 

[Pony Soldier]

You have that right. I have tracked them from where the fed all night on the median of I-15 to the bedding area which was 3 miles south and 1500 ft higher. They were bedded in the cliffs happily chewing their cuds when i stepped up and filled my freezer.

I normally find the bedding grounds about 3-5 miles from the feeding grounds. They normally hit the feeding ground about two hours after dark and leave for the bedding grounds by about 5 am. At least in my hunting area. In my 50 years I have never killed one in a meadow.