How many days before your hunt do you scout

[roosiebull]

So I’m hunting second rifle and I think I’m only gonna be able to hunt three days with my hunting buddy due to his work not letting him get off more. I plan on hunting the second weekend too with another friend. My friend who is a guide told me to scout every weekend before my season up to a few weeks in advance but everywhere I’ve seen says that scouting can be useless a week or two before the season opener. I think we are definitely planning on scouting the day before our opener too. Any tips on scouting? I know I should scout from a distance to avoid pushing the elk, but does it really matter if I’m hunting in an otc unit and other people are gonna push them regardless? Also is three days enough? I’d be willing to hunt alone a couple days during the week but the thought of packing out a bull elk by myself seems pretty daunting. As you can tell I’m a noob.

Elk behavior will probably change a lot when you are hunting depending on what’s going on before your hunt, but scouting is always beneficial.

I like to scout as much as possible when hunting a new area, often not to pattern animals, but to get a very good understanding of the landscape and where elk leave sign (both present and historical)

From there, I feel like I can pretty much find elk to hunt… I don’t set cams or anything scouting, I just like knowing an area well and staying dynamic once hunting starts, and relying on the basics… not finding elk somewhere doesn’t mean you write it off, just start narrowing things down and following the clues and slowly tighten the noose until you are looking at one you want to kill

I figure it’s all scouting until you are getting ready to shoot, and learning the lay of the land is a very key first step. Find sign but no elk? If you know the area, you can figure it out pretty quickly

If there is no hunting pressure leading up to your hunt, finding one to shoot opening morning is obviously best case for a rifle hunt, granted you aren’t hunting elk a bunch of people know about

 

[AgentP]

What Gerbdog said was my last experience. Elk were all around the FS roads driving into the spot we ended up camping. Some were standing in the roads, some within spitting distance. Did a little bit of recon around our campsite. If we had an either sex tag, or we could have legally killed a spike, my buddy and I would have been done at daylight opening morning, less than a quarter mile from our tent. He tagged out the next day about a mile from our tent, but 600 yards from a road. Easy down hill pack out right to the truck

I’m assuming this is archery? I know the elk are gonna be so pressured by the time I get to them

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

I’m assuming this is archery? I know the elk are gonna be so pressured by the time I get to them

No! 1st Rifle in Southwest CO. We went 30 miles in on Forest Service roads from the nearest black top. Took 1.5 hours to get to our camp spot. We found the X. We were basically hunting the southern most unit border of the unit and there was some adjacent private that was within the adjacent unit.

Definitely not giving those pins away. Piles of mule deer, and the grouse were also thick. Wish I had my bow or a 22 pistol.

 

[kbincolo]

Scout multiple times throughout the summer if you can. It's not about finding elk then going back to that exact spot come 2nd season. You're doing boots on the ground verification of things you might pick up on e-scouting (migration routes, etc.) Looking for 5 or so hunt options at a variety of elevations so you have a game plan regardless of what happens with the weather. The day or two before the opener is when you should be locating elk and making a plan to get on them come opening morning.

 

[CobraChicken]

If I am familiar with the area, 3 days before opener and I bring my gear with to start at it during opener.

If unknown I tend to spend quite a bit of time out. Trail cameras are my friend. I tend to figure out where they head in the day, etc.

Sometimes the best scouting for other animals you aren't hunting is while you have another tag. (Hunting elk and seeing mule deer/grouse etc). I have surprisingly seen big deer I have never seen in an area waterfowl hunting.

I just sometimes do not have the time with work, family and side ventures.

 

[trophyhill]

Scouting boots on the ground is invaluable. If for nothing else, learning good travel routes. Knowing where the deadfall is saves me a ton of time going from point A to point B

 

[ArcheryWowzers]

I scouted all day today. What I learned is there is a reason the elk hide where they do. It's impossible to get there with just a light backpack and a water bottle, let alone all my hunting gear then packing the elk back out. Dang things are too smart around here. Montana needs to do away with this general hunting nonsense....It's dang near become like hunting in Colorado at this point.

 

[midwestcowboy]

Scouting boots on the ground is invaluable. If for nothing else, learning good travel routes. Knowing where the deadfall is saves me a ton of time going from point A to point B

^Yes. Especially if you're hiking into or out of those areas in the dark. Much easier to give it a lap in the daytime and mark a route that's "clear" of deadfall.

 

[TradArcher]

Always helpful to scout and generally hike around. Most of the reasons listed above in various posts but also you can test your gear out and see what is too noisey, doesn't really work or annoys you for some reason that was not clear at home. Also can help sort out your daypack....better to do that before the opener.

And also I know it was mentioned above but scout out a couple different entry areas as opening day the spot you thought you had to yourself might be crowded...so provide yourself flexibility.

Important part of gear sorting you can do during scouting is making sure your boot/insole/sock combo is right for the terrain you are hunting. If all of a sudden you go from relatively easy fitness/dog walks in your hunting boots to sidehilling crazy terrain you might find you need to make some major adjustments. Use the scouting to sort all that out too and be sure you stay blister free when it really counts.

 

[ElkArcher918]

So I’m hunting second rifle and I think I’m only gonna be able to hunt three days with my hunting buddy due to his work not letting him get off more. I plan on hunting the second weekend too with another friend. My friend who is a guide told me to scout every weekend before my season up to a few weeks in advance but everywhere I’ve seen says that scouting can be useless a week or two before the season opener. I think we are definitely planning on scouting the day before our opener too. Any tips on scouting? I know I should scout from a distance to avoid pushing the elk, but does it really matter if I’m hunting in an otc unit and other people are gonna push them regardless? Also is three days enough? I’d be willing to hunt alone a couple days during the week but the thought of packing out a bull elk by myself seems pretty daunting. As you can tell I’m a noob.

If you live within driving distance of the unit you're gonna hunt scout as often as possible, with emphasis on the last month before the opener. I not only scout to locate elk sign but also to find good camping spots, water sources, and sanctuaries where elk may hold up due to hunter pressure.