Just Go (Archery) Hunt?

[OregonSteeler]

Does anyone just pick a general point on a map and go hunt archery elk? There are articles, classes, youtubers, and writers all telling us how to prepare for elk season. You need to e-scout, you need to call biologists, you need to get boots on the ground, etc...

I'm hunting Idaho for my 2nd time this year. The last time I went I spent hours and hours on Google Earth, OnX, called the bios, and made multiple game plans. All that preparation and the hunting sucked. Over 7 days of hunting I only saw 1 cow elk and on the last day I finally found some fresh sign but not much else. The hunt zone in general had very low elk density but I knew that in advance. Hoped to buck the trend but didn't happen.

This season I have a much better elk zone and I'm hesitant to waste all that time e-scouting and calling biologist. I've already got a general idea of where I want to start and figure from there I'll just have to move if I'm not getting into elk. Last time I called the bios, they gave some pretty useless and general info. You can tell they tell the 200+ other hunters that call the same thing.

Am I doing myself a huge disservice by not putting in hours of e-scouting, having backup plans, making "guesses" where elk MIGHT be and hearing the bio tell me there's elk in the area? Elk tend to move wherever they need to anyways depending on hunting pressure and where it's coming from.

I have 8 days planned in the field, in great shape, plan on doing a couple of 2-3 day stints backpacking in areas, and staying mobile. Is that enough to have a decent chance at finding elk?

 

[Dakota Dude]

I think you are doing yourself a bit of a disservice. E-scouting really works. Once you gain experience e-scouting, and use that knowledge while boots are on the ground, you'll start getting better at e-scouting when trying to find new spots. After you scout/hunt several of your e-scouting spots, you will start seeing patterns.

Elk hunting is trial and error until you find your favorite spots. Once I find a good spot, I try to learn it inside and out to try and understand the elk behavior for that specific geography. Unfortunately, those spots will likely get pressured, and you'll start the process over. But each time you'll have the knowledge you gained from your prior experiences.

 

[bz_711]

Well I figure it can't hurt.

Also - if you can be in that area during off season (or even on your way into hunt), try to stop and talk to guys at local fishing/bait shops, archery/gun stores, outdoor stores, gas stations, etc...it's crazy how many pieces you can put together from locals (obviously local elk hunters might not help much understandably)...but those guys that only fish, or only ride SxS's, etc...little tips can go a long way. AND TRY TO PAY IT BACK ANYWAY YOU CAN...support their stores, or if they only hunt bears, muleys, or sheep...let them know when you find sign or spot good ones!

 

[farmermail]

Knowing maps/terrain never hurts. With limited scouting, plan to stick and move. Use your conditioning to cover A LOT of country. Stay mobile, don't commit to any area unless you see game.

 

[PredatoronthePrairie]

What happens when u pick a random spot on a map and it's privateground ? Or a parking lot? Just send it I guess.
Jk

I find e scouting gets me close. But always have to make microadjustments based on a whole host of factors.

 

[Sneaker]

All my best elk spots were random “scouted areas didn’t work so let’s just pull the truck over and go for a hike” type deals… so don’t be afraid to throw some blind casts every now and then.

 

[OregonSteeler]

I think you are doing yourself a bit of a disservice. E-scouting really works. Once you gain experience e-scouting, and use that knowledge while boots are on the ground, you'll start getting better at e-scouting when trying to find new spots. After you scout/hunt several of your e-scouting spots, you will start seeing patterns.

Elk hunting is trial and error until you find your favorite spots. Once I find a good spot, I try to learn it inside and out to try and understand the elk behavior for that specific geography. Unfortunately, those spots will likely get pressured, and you'll start the process over. But each time you'll have the knowledge you gained from your prior experiences.

I also struggle with e-scouting, even with a lot of YT videos and articles on how to do so. It seems that I usually have 6+ spots picked out and they never seem to be worth it or always have a lot of hunting pressure already.

 

[OregonSteeler]

What happens when u pick a random spot on a map and it's privateground ? Or a parking lot? Just send it I guess.
Jk

I find e scouting gets me close. But always have to make microadjustments based on a whole host of factors.

This is what I'm hoping to accomplish. Have a couple of entry points into the woods in areas that seem intriguing. But I don't have specific spots like watering holes or benches lined out. Everything is so completely different when you're in the woods in person vs looking at it via satellite imaging.

 

[nphunter]

Does anyone just pick a general point on a map and go hunt archery elk? There are articles, classes, youtubers, and writers all telling us how to prepare for elk season. You need to e-scout, you need to call biologists, you need to get boots on the ground, etc...

I'm hunting Idaho for my 2nd time this year. The last time I went I spent hours and hours on Google Earth, OnX, called the bios, and made multiple game plans. All that preparation and the hunting sucked. Over 7 days of hunting I only saw 1 cow elk and on the last day I finally found some fresh sign but not much else. The hunt zone in general had very low elk density but I knew that in advance. Hoped to buck the trend but didn't happen.

This season I have a much better elk zone and I'm hesitant to waste all that time e-scouting and calling biologist. I've already got a general idea of where I want to start and figure from there I'll just have to move if I'm not getting into elk. Last time I called the bios, they gave some pretty useless and general info. You can tell they tell the 200+ other hunters that call the same thing.

Am I doing myself a huge disservice by not putting in hours of e-scouting, having backup plans, making "guesses" where elk MIGHT be and hearing the bio tell me there's elk in the area? Elk tend to move wherever they need to anyways depending on hunting pressure and where it's coming from.

I have 8 days planned in the field, in great shape, plan on doing a couple of 2-3 day stints backpacking in areas, and staying mobile. Is that enough to have a decent chance at finding elk?

I like e-scouting but I also work behind a computer all day so I can sit on calls and browse maps. If you've been hunting Oregon and have been a successful elk hunter Idaho isn't going to be much different. It will be physically tougher in most places and there will be fewer people and fewer elk.

I can pretty much go to any area that has elk in any state I've been in and find elk. Elk like elk country regardless of the imaginary lines we call states.

 

[Indian Summer]

E scouting helps build your confidence more than it does anything else. It’s like throwing a dart at the map. No matter how hard you study the spot where it lands that’s not going to help if there aren’t elk there. You need to find a spot through word-of-mouth. Either that or boots on the ground. Those are really the only two reliable sources.

 

[cnelk]

Bring some extra cash and go to the local bar.
Read the room and find a couple locals and buy them a beer or two.

Start a conversation and gradually lead it into elk hunting the area.

Shut up and listen. Ask just a few questions now and then and you will get more information than you can imagine.

I’ve done this more than a few times and it really works.

 

[High Climber]

Does anyone just pick a general point on a map and go hunt archery elk? There are articles, classes, youtubers, and writers all telling us how to prepare for elk season. You need to e-scout, you need to call biologists, you need to get boots on the ground, etc...

I'm hunting Idaho for my 2nd time this year. The last time I went I spent hours and hours on Google Earth, OnX, called the bios, and made multiple game plans. All that preparation and the hunting sucked. Over 7 days of hunting I only saw 1 cow elk and on the last day I finally found some fresh sign but not much else. The hunt zone in general had very low elk density but I knew that in advance. Hoped to buck the trend but didn't happen.

This season I have a much better elk zone and I'm hesitant to waste all that time e-scouting and calling biologist. I've already got a general idea of where I want to start and figure from there I'll just have to move if I'm not getting into elk. Last time I called the bios, they gave some pretty useless and general info. You can tell they tell the 200+ other hunters that call the same thing.

Am I doing myself a huge disservice by not putting in hours of e-scouting, having backup plans, making "guesses" where elk MIGHT be and hearing the bio tell me there's elk in the area? Elk tend to move wherever they need to anyways depending on hunting pressure and where it's coming from.

I have 8 days planned in the field, in great shape, plan on doing a couple of 2-3 day stints backpacking in areas, and staying mobile. Is that enough to have a decent chance at finding elk?

As long as you know access points to public land just go for it! Skip the 2-3 day stints of backpacking if you don’t know it’s a prime area your time will be better spent day hunting different areas and covering more area to find elk. Keep a light camp at your truck in case you find a good spot that’s a long ways from you or you need to leave and try a new area. If you aren’t seeing sign in an area go somewhere else. Learn to locate elk with calls if you don’t know how yet. Be up and ready to go before daylight every morning and hunt/ listen until dark every night. North facing timber or down in cool draws for bedding. You will find them if you keep at it and keep a good attitude You nailed it with the Bio’s.. it’s worth calling but dont think you are getting any secret info or even good info depending on who you get on the phone. I “E scout” like crazy but it’s cause I love that portion of it not because it’s totally necessary. Good luck you can do it

 

[Subliminal1]

I like to have a few locations planned out and then kind of wing it from there. You never know exactly how it will be till you have feet on the ground. Make your audibles at that point if necessary

 

[WYndy1]

You can consume your year with planning and show up to 13 trucks and 3 outfitters in the parking area. I would have several day hunts planned and once you find sign or an area you think holds em, I would then commit to it. Of course studying the maps gives you general sense of the land and terrain bu it's always WAY different when you get there.

 

[Marble]

The answer is yes, generally.

I pick an area and then mark spots I plan to check out. Bedding areas, travel routes to food etc. If I don't find what I'm looking for, which takes a few days, I will either leave or hit other spots I found while checking other areas.

I've never called a biologists.

I do go in to town and ask locals. They are herbalist very helpful. After I've asked a few and gotten multiple answers, I them decide from there.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[Marble]

I like e-scouting but I also work behind a computer all day so I can sit on calls and browse maps. If you've been hunting Oregon and have been a successful elk hunter Idaho isn't going to be much different. It will be physically tougher in most places and there will be fewer people and fewer elk.

I can pretty much go to any area that has elk in any state I've been in and find elk. Elk like elk country regardless of the imaginary lines we call states.

This right here. Once you have a few years of experience hunting elk, learning the terrain, conditions that exist when/where you find them, likely travel routes. E scouting becomes much more productive.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[hibernation]

Does anyone just pick a general point on a map and go hunt archery elk? There are articles, classes, youtubers, and writers all telling us how to prepare for elk season. You need to e-scout, you need to call biologists, you need to get boots on the ground, etc...

Yeah, pretty much. Those guys need to keep churning out content, and it's not always great. The best hunting advice is pretty simple, which doesn't leave much room for podcasts/articles/videos.

I don't know about everyone else, but for me e-scouting is just a way to save time in the field. I'm not looking for "the spot", I'm looking for starting points. I can find the main access roads on a map but I won't know if all the little spurs are fully open, if ATVs are all over them, or if they're totally decommed and overgrown. I can find ridges to run, dark timber to check out, but it's all just a starting point.

So I mark some roads I want to drive, mark some spots I want to check out, and when possible, I try to mark some loop hikes to check a whole area. Climb up one ridge, cruise the top, check the little finger ridges and side drainages, then come back down the other side of it. If I show up with a half-dozen places like that circled on my map, I don't have to waste time thinking about where to go. Keep moving and crossing spots off until I find something worth exploring more.

If I don't find elk or something worth sticking around for, I'm moving on pretty quick. And a lot of my best spots are because my escouted spots didn't pan out, but driving down the road and just hiking off somewhere that felt cool did.

 

[huntnful]

E-scouting is definitely helpful, but more so is the ability to adapt once you get there. And adapt quickly.

I definitely do think there is WAY too much emphasis put on it through social media though. Basically drop a few pins on areas that look decent and go look at them. If one area has more game than the others, try to replicate that same terrain scenario in different parts of the unit.

BUT you can't just make elk out of nothing. You said you were in a shit unit, but did countless hours of online scouting. Literally none of that matters if there is no elk there anyways. Spend more time picking a decent unit, with proven populations, and then just some decent e-scouting and boots on the ground will be much more productive.

I think everyone starting out thinks they can just something out of nothing do to sheer effort. It's not the case, and we all have to learn it the hard way haha.

 

[hibernation]

BUT you can't just make elk out of nothing. You said you were in a shit unit, but did countless hours of online scouting. Literally none of that matters if there is no elk there anyways. Spend more time picking a decent unit, with proven populations, and then just some decent e-scouting and boots on the ground will be much more productive.

Yeah, the first step of escouting is figuring out what unit you even want to start with. Compare success rates, hunter numbers, management objectives/ population estimates, any trends you can see for the last ten years, and weigh all that against how far is the drive and how often can you hunt it. There's a line where I'd rather hunt a worse unit (on paper) but I can do it every year and really learn it, compared to a better unit but I only get there every three years. Or the one that's in your backyard so you can scout it year round. It's all relative.

I think everyone starting out thinks they can just something out of nothing do to sheer effort. It's not the case, and we all have to learn it the hard way haha.

Especially for a newer elk hunter. An experienced elk hunter can go into a low density area and focus on finding elk. A newer hunter is going to waste a lot of time looking for elk in empty areas, and learn slower since they might only find a couple elk over a whole week of hunting. Getting on elk early to learn is really important.

 

[huntnful]

Yeah, the first step of escouting is figuring out what unit you even want to start with. Compare success rates, hunter numbers, management objectives/ population estimates, any trends you can see for the last ten years, and weigh all that against how far is the drive and how often can you hunt it. There's a line where I'd rather hunt a worse unit (on paper) but I can do it every year and really learn it, compared to a better unit but I only get there every three years. Or the one that's in your backyard so you can scout it year round. It's all relative.

Especially for a newer elk hunter. An experienced elk hunter can go into a low density area and focus on finding elk. A newer hunter is going to waste a lot of time looking for elk in empty areas, and learn slower since they might only find a couple elk over a whole week of hunting. Getting on elk early to learn is really important.

Absolutely agree with everything you said