How far do you really need to go?

[Bluegrassvw]

The internet being what it is, I get the overwhelming assumption you need to hike in/pack in as far as possible to have a reasonable chance at elk. My experience last year says otherwise. (First trip out west as well) my question: are most people passing up all the territory up front on these trailheads to go deep leaving great hunting just a couple miles from the trailhead? Or was last year a fluke?

 

[Randle]

Some spots we leave the truck around 20 minutes before legal light and hunt from there. Others we leave 1 or 2 hours earlier and hike in the dark to get where the hunting gets good. We are hunting any legal elk and 2 of my hunting partners have yet to shoot an elk so we don't pass on a cow or spike when they are there and legal.

 

[Swede]

I killed my elk last year 700 feet from a well traveled gravel road. I just wish it was uphill from the truck. There is no one size fits all on elk hunting.

 

[GrumpyHiker]

Or, there is no magical distance.

 

[Bearshirt]

It was a fluke! Elk are only up at tree line at 12 k feet and 10 miles in. If you have to use mountain climbing rope to get there then your gonna be in a real good spot

 

[5 shot group]

It was a fluke! Elk are only up at tree line at 12 k feet and 10 miles in. If you have to use mountain climbing rope to get there then your gonna be in a real good spot

Dont forget the half mile of class 5 rapids you have to swim accross to get to the mountain

 

[idahohikker]

Bro, weak question, bro. You obvs need more gym time and #mtnops. #godeep #wilderness athlete #sickforit

 

[idahohikker]

Also, consider the muleyfreak approach for elk hunting. #sneakattack #privatelandispublicland #repeatoffendererik

 

[Bluegrassvw]

Fair enough...

 

[Piscatory_4]

Hard to say what is far enough, sooner or later you will be closer to the other side of said wilderness and not far enough in and probably passing the guys coming in from the other direction who are trying to get as far in as possible.

 

[Ross]

Elk are where they are can be close far or in between go getem good luck

 

[WannabeHunter]

Just start hunting when you leave the truck. There is no hike-in, it's a hunt-in.

 

[5MilesBack]

I've had many elk pass through my truck camp at night in the past, and even passed up a shot on a small 5x5 65 yards from my tent. Had a 300+ bull raking a tree 30 yards behind my tent one year and I got busted by a cow trying to get an angle. I've shot a couple 6x6's less than a 1/3 mile from the truck, and my daughter shot her 330 class bull just over 1/2 mile from the truck. But those are usually the exception.....not the rule. I like exploring, so most of mine come from further back.

 

[elkguide]

I have never been able to figure out why people want to walk by an elk to shoot one farther back in.

Unless they needed a tougher pack out to make a good story to tell.

 

[cnelk]

It was a fluke.
All the elk are a minimum 3 miles from trailheads.
Thats from Page 1 of the Rokslide bible.


Seriously tho, in the past 10 years we've killed 17 elk no more than 3/4 mi from a vehicle.

If you want to go for a hike, have at it.
Elk are where you find em.

 

[Wapiti1]

Four years ago, I had a horrible nights sleep because 4 bulls kept bugling behind my camping trailer. The next morning, I killed one of them and had a 300 yard pack to the trailer. One of the best ruts I've ever hunted and there was no one else there. The elk moved in after opening week, and the "hunters" thought the area was bare.

My mother has shot several deer and elk while she waited for us in the truck. If she didn't feel like hiking that day, she would sit in the truck and read a book while we were hunting for the morning or evening. They would cross the road, she would sneak on them, and then we would get back and pack it out. She is also hell on grouse.

Other areas I hunt require a trek across poor habitat to the good habitat. My take is simple. For the rut, know where the best food is, and hunt there regardless of distance from a road. For late season, hunt as high as the snow will let the bulls feed. That might be at the top, or it might be much lower. If you want cows, or any legal elk, hunt the food.

Jeremy

 

[Team4LongGun]

Bro, weak question, bro. You obvs need more gym time and #mtnops. #godeep #wilderness athlete #sickforit

Now THAT is hilarious!!!

 

[GunsAreFun]

I was reading a journal the other day about exploring the furthest place from a road in all 50 states. In Colorado, the furthest place from a road was 8.8 miles (as the crow flies I believe). Now, there are cases where private land would or a river or something blocks access from “the other” direction or it is a highway where parking is not allowed, but 8.8 miles was the farthest. That tells me most spots are much closer than that. So, I’d say it’s not the distance that matters as much as what’s there and how difficult it was to access.

 

[kiddogy]

The internet being what it is, I get the overwhelming assumption you need to hike in/pack in as far as possible to have a reasonable chance at elk. My experience last year says otherwise. (First trip out west as well) my question: are most people passing up all the territory up front on these trailheads to go deep leaving great hunting just a couple miles from the trailhead? Or was last year a fluke?

elk are wherever elk want to be . that could be anywhere from standing on the road to 10 miles back.

they are also creatures of habit , same as the rest of us. if you find a spot where there are elk one year it is fairly likely they will be there again the next. don't over think it . elk are just another dumb herd animal, about as intelligent as cattle.

where they are and what they do can change with the weather or from early season to late.


here in Idaho their habits have certainly changed since the wolves were reintroduced.. I am seeing them down on the desert much ,much earlier then we used to years ago. but that doesn't mean you still won't find em up high also.

 

[HookUp]

elk are where they are. I have found them close to the road all the way further than where I can hike. Make a plan and figure it out. Units and states can be different. Elk are crafty hiders, just because you dont see or hear them doesnt mean they arent there even during the rut.