Escouting confirmation

[KurtR]

I’m really not asking for any honey holes, just don’t want to map out 50 spots I think look good and have just been wasting my energy the whole time. I want to know if I’m at least on the right track

I took me 5 years to kill an elk. 3 to see the first one in the unit I was hunting. Wasting time and energy is part of the game. You got a tag so there must be elk some where there so your on the right track.

 

[Geewhiz]

I’m really not asking for any honey holes, just don’t want to map out 50 spots I think look good and have just been wasting my energy the whole time. I want to know if I’m at least on the right track

Thats the name of the game man. You put thousands of miles on your truck, thousands of dollars in gas, untold miles on the soles of your boots, and hours upon hours behind glass, breaking suspension components, sliding off roads, getting stuck, and the list goes on. Shed season, spring bear, summer scouting, during season, and then you do it again and again year after year. Thats how you consistantly and repeatedly find elk, plain and simple and there are no short cuts. I hate with a passion all of these "e scouting apps" that turn a lazy man into an ""eLk HuNtEr""

 

[Blackcow]

^^^ Exactly.

 

[McKolorado]

It's safe to say you got a little more "blowback" than you were hoping for don't let it discourage you too much. A few thoughts. One, a resource "worth its weight in gold." Mark Livesay's e-scouting course at treelineacademy.net. You watch this course start to finish and you'll get a lot more questions answered than you will on rokslide. Two, this has been mentioned many times in this thread already and I'm still going to kick that dead horse, the ONLY way you'll truly know if your e-scouting plans are working, is to get boots on the ground. Three, a little different perspective. It sounds like you don't have a ton of elk hunting experience and/or the ability to get out and put boots on the ground that often. That's completely okay, I live in the state I hunt and between three young boys and running my own business there are years I don't get any "boots on the ground" scouting done. Some guys have the ability/flexibility/priorities/etc. to be able to get out more often and that's great for them. That said I put A LOT of weight on my e-scouting and I feel I've gotten pretty good at it (for me). All that to say when you don't have the time to get out in the field it means you really want to "pick the right spots" that you've "e-scouted." For me, the ways I help narrow that down from 50 spots to say 5 has more to do with other factors that are not "are elk going to be there" factors. I say this in part because if it's true and you've watched all the e-scouting stuff all the "factors" in your e-scouting should be present in your spots (i.e. water/cover/pressure/feed) and that's the best you can do. So, you've put 50 spots on the map. Now, you start to narrow them down. The things I think about for me generally revolve around distance to that spot/area (i.e. is it a 5 mile hike to just get to the area?). The questions I am asking myself are, "Am I in good enough shape to get back there?" If not, how "In shape" am I. If you don't have a ton of experience in the mountains, ALWAYS under estimate your fitness. Who am I hunting with? Do they have any limitations. If I'm solo (again am I fit enough) and do I have enough time to get an elk out from this area if I kill one? Is my plan backcountry/spike camps or am I day hunting from a camp/the truck. Hopefully that's at least a little helpful. If you want I'd be happy to look at some of your e-scouting stuff if you want to send me waypoints and I can give you feedback on what I'm seeing/not seeing in your e-scouting (although I get the implied risk in that unless its outside the state of CO, which is the only state I hunt currently).

 

[cnelk]

50 spots… that’s funny.

I elk hunt an area that’s 150 square miles

 

[String&stick]

I'll bite. . .

Yes looks like your on the right track.

Maybe. . . There might be elk there, there might not.

Do you need fifty spots marked on your map? It's a good start. First year you might cross off 30, or you might only make it to 3-4 because you picked good areas and they are holding elk.

But you have to remember. If you're picking out obvious "elky" areas, everyone else. has seen the same thing on Google Earth and dropped a pin to check it out.

As others have said, boots on the ground will separate out a lot of what you need. Takes a few years to start bailing down an area, and about the time you get it dialed in, something changes or 47 people show up and you have to start all over. But that's part of the fun!

 

[Thomasj1107]

I'll bite. . .

Yes looks like your on the right track.

Maybe. . . There might be elk there, there might not.

Do you need fifty spots marked on your map? It's a good start. First year you might cross off 30, or you might only make it to 3-4 because you picked good areas and they are holding elk.

But you have to remember. If you're picking out obvious "elky" areas, everyone else. has seen the same thing on Google Earth and dropped a pin to check it out.

As others have said, boots on the ground will separate out a lot of what you need. Takes a few years to start bailing down an area, and about the time you get it dialed in, something changes or 47 people show up and you have to start all over. But that's part of the fun!

Appreciate the response

 

[ElkNut1]

Have about 6 areas. When looking at entering the woods, FIND Secluded WATER via your e-scouting! Once there & you have boots on the ground at each destination where water is seen first hand you'll get a good feel for the area & elk activity there.

If that fails go to Bugling off roads starting an hour or so before light. Do this every 1/2 mile or so but not near anyones camp. You may drive many miles or just a few but I Guarantee that you will find bulls responding back! Walla, you found them, now go hunt them!

ElkNut

 

[Geewhiz]

Just what we need, more road hunting elk buglers.

 

[trophyhill]

Back in the old days, which wasn’t too long ago, I’d look at google earth and go get my boots on the ground. That was the only way to confirm my escouting. Now since I have OnX I don’t have to put forth any scouting or effort of any kind. I just pick a spot on my OnX map, don’t ask for honeyholes on the internet, and go hunt. Surely this is a tried and true method by now right?

 

[fatlander]

View attachment 540035View attachment 540036View attachment 540037
I am more so just trying to understand if my thinking is even right…Iike are spots like this even holding elk or is there something I’m missing as far as elevation, grade, environment type, etc?

Why’d you drop those pins there? All my pins that are elk are places I’ve actually seen an elk.

You’ve gotta do better than just dropping a pin. What is it that makes it a point of interest? Looks like feed to me. How about likely bedding adjacent to the feed? Where’s the water? Can you see a likely source of water that may have some wallows? You see any terrain features that will likely funnel game? How are you going to hunt in effectively based on time of day, thermals, and prevailing winds?

Dropping pins aimlessly yields you nothing. Picking apart an area over and over again, dissecting it with as much detail as possible does. Looking at it on every different layer and software system you can will yield something. Drawing up a specific plan of how you are going to hunt each area you’ve escorted will yield results.

Then go hunting, get your teeth kicked in like everyone else, and figure it out.

Good luck.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Still Hunter]

Identify your spots and then GO CHECK THEM OUT!
Elk move. They also get busted out of an area. Just because they are there one year does not mean they will be there the next year. Especially if you are hunting Public Land. Might be a dry year or a wet year? Get your rear end in the woods, have a blast and with a little luck you will find elk! One year you only see two elk in 10 days , the next year your see three bulls within site of camp raking and sparing three of the 10 mornings you are in the same camp site. Too much over thinking. Get in the woods and go hunt. Move till you find elk. It's simple. You also don't have to be wearing $2,500.00 worth of Sitka to do it either.

 

[Colby3]

Another vote for Mark Livesay's e-scouting course at treelineacademy.net.

 

[ElkNut1]

Well, look at it this way! You wanna find elk or just come online & complain about not finding elk! (grin) I will use what works & not worry about what others think!

ElkNut

 

[williaada]

Take all of your locations and check them out. This is the only way to learn what you are looking at. Plus, you are going to learn how you like to hunt elk.

 

[Pacific_Fork]

After y’all are done watching escouting how to videos make sure you watch the how to tie your boots for a western backcountry hunt. It’s crucial to the hammering process.

Boots….on….the….ground!!! Stop over thinking it is the best advise you’re gonna get.

 

[SDHNTR]

Another vote for Mark Livesay's e-scouting course at treelineacademy.net.

Whatever that is, should be cancelled too.

 

[WTFJohn]

I’ve watched a thousand escouting videos, I’ve done plenty of escouting, but have not been able to confirm/deny how well I am doing at it yet in the field. All the escouting videos show oh this is how we do it blah blah, but never actually like oh yeah this is what we found there.

I’m a visual learner, so without showing ACTUAL locations and keeping your spots safe and discreet, can someone point to a reference or show actual aerial examples of spots that they scouted that were “good” and then accounts of if they actually located elk at these places?

I hope that makes sense. I’m just trying to put the pieces together a little more.

I'll throw this picture out at the risk of burning a spot. This area sustains decent populations of elk for the majority of the year; they are able to sleep/eat/rut within a few miles of here. The area you're hunting may cover more square miles than this area, have lower population densities, and utilize the landscape differently throughout the year; but these elk are all within spitting distance of some fairly accessible roads.

 

[Thomasj1107]

I'll throw this picture out at the risk of burning a spot. This area sustains decent populations of elk for the majority of the year; they are able to sleep/eat/rut within a few miles of here. The area you're hunting may cover more square miles than this area, have lower population densities, and utilize the landscape differently throughout the year; but these elk are all within spitting distance of some fairly accessible roads.

View attachment 540892

Nice, I appreciate that. If anyone can pick out this spot without any other info than the picture, that’s pretty wild

 

[ProStaffSteve]

I’ve watched a thousand escouting videos, I’ve done plenty of escouting, but have not been able to confirm/deny how well I am doing at it yet in the field. All the escouting videos show oh this is how we do it blah blah, but never actually like oh yeah this is what we found there.

I’m a visual learner, so without showing ACTUAL locations and keeping your spots safe and discreet, can someone point to a reference or show actual aerial examples of spots that they scouted that were “good” and then accounts of if they actually located elk at these places?

I hope that makes sense. I’m just trying to put the pieces together a little more.

Pick up mushroom hunting. You can learn how valuable south da once slopes are & escorting in one, probably near your home