Just Go (Archery) Hunt?

[MallardSX2]

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.

I know a guy from PA who did this for mule deer. He killed a 185" buck the next day. 1 hour after he shot the buck, he was in handcuffs.....

2 thousand dollars and an attorney's fee later he learned that he had been lied to, badly, by a couple locals.

And no, he didn't get to keep the deer. lol

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

 

[Tick]

8 days and being mobile you should be fine. Research from home helps me identify areas of a unit I plan to hunt. Factors you can't see on a map can quickly change those plans. Hunt with guys that their only preparation is filling out the application and they do just fine putting animals down.

I spent two days last summer driving every road and checking access points in a new to me unit. Was able to greatly reduce the area I wanted to focus on and killed a bull second afternoon of the hunt in September. Those two days in the summer were more helpful than months of looking at a computer screen at home.

 

[khunter]

"This season I have a much better elk zone and I'm hesitant to waste all that time e-scouting and calling biologist. 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."

To get the most out of a discussion with bios you need to have done a good bit of homework in advance so it is a two way convo. I am usually telling them some of the areas I am looking at and why, and then get feedback that sometimes is VERY helpful. also try to be prepared with knowledge of the main features and roads of the unit and have my maps handy for the call.

Hard to imagine not Escouting a new to me unit extensively. Including marking main routes etc that make it a lot easier to keep oriented when in Onx/Gaia etc before and during the hunt. I have more time for that in the off season than I do in the midst of an out of state hunt.

ID archery elk has been good to me so far and going again this year but I sure do have quality criteria on which tags I am willing hunt and when to pass if they are not 'good enough'. I can hunt crap units in my home state if it comes to that.

 

[HTNFSH]

I've done five hunts myself, and last year was my first solo DIY. It was a last-minute decision to go, and I spent a week e-scouting. Mapping is great, but the terrain is so much different on the ground., including road accessibility. I'm still picking out leather out of my rear from the drive in and back out.

Did I kill? No. Was it a successful hunt? 100%. I learned a ton about pressured animals, reading sign, and hiking into some crazy places. In five days, I saw bear, cows, and one bull at my A location. I decided to hunt my B location after the temps got crazy warm. Found a bunch of muleys and more fresh sign and saved a new area.
It's just like fishing; Time on the Water and Time in the Field are irreplaceable.

 

[180ls1]

I know a guy from PA who did this for mule deer. He killed a 185" buck the next day. 1 hour after he shot the buck, he was in handcuffs.....

2 thousand dollars and an attorney's fee later he learned that he had been lied to, badly, by a couple locals.

And no, he didn't get to keep the deer. lol

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

Care to share a little more what went down? Did they tell him to go to private or something?

 

[Silverback]

I spent two days last summer driving every road and checking access points in a new to me unit. Was able to greatly reduce the area I wanted to focus on and killed a bull second afternoon of the hunt in September. Those two days in the summer were more helpful than months of looking at a computer screen at home.

I just booked a flight for August for my only scouting trip I’m able to take. Hunting OTC CO for the first time in September. I’m thinking this will be my main priority - finding access points and getting an idea of what the terrain actually looks like.

 

[MallardSX2]

Care to share a little more what went down? Did they tell him to go to private or something?

Ya.

About 25 years ago he was in a bar up near Walden somewhere. He had the proper tags and everything. Met a couple guys in a bar and he said they seemed like super nice guys. Hung out with him all evening having a good time. They told him they were ranch hands and had permission on this one ranch down the road that they worked at and that there were big bucks in the hay field every night and that he was welcome to go and shoot him one. He bought their drinks and picked up their food bill and everything.

So he went down there the next evening right where they told him. He seen a buck in the field, put a stalk on it, and killed it. Rancher showed up and everything went down hill from there.

 

[Silverback]

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.

So I'm hunting for the first time this year in Colorado. I've seen a lot of folks say that the harvest statistics are basically useless in CO since there is no mandatory reporting. Would you agree with that, and if so how would you go about identifying a unit with proven populations?

 

[huntnful]

So I'm hunting for the first time this year in Colorado. I've seen a lot of folks say that the harvest statistics are basically useless in CO since there is no mandatory reporting. Would you agree with that, and if so how would you go about identifying a unit with proven populations?

Call biologists. Look up heard numbers for the region. Google a unit you’re interested in and see if other people have hunted it and given their reports.

 

[cnelk]

Ya.

About 25 years ago he was in a bar up near Walden somewhere. He had the proper tags and everything. Met a couple guys in a bar and he said they seemed like super nice guys. Hung out with him all evening having a good time. They told him they were ranch hands and had permission on this one ranch down the road that they worked at and that there were big bucks in the hay field every night and that he was welcome to go and shoot him one. He bought their drinks and picked up their food bill and everything.

So he went down there the next evening right where they told him. He seen a buck in the field, put a stalk on it, and killed it. Rancher showed up and everything went down hill from there.

I bet it was the Stockmans Bar in Walden.

 

[MallardSX2]

I bet it was the Stockmans Bar in Walden.

Could have been. I don't know that area that well and haven't talked to the guy who got in trouble in 15 years.

 

[OregonSteeler]

Ya.

About 25 years ago he was in a bar up near Walden somewhere. He had the proper tags and everything. Met a couple guys in a bar and he said they seemed like super nice guys. Hung out with him all evening having a good time. They told him they were ranch hands and had permission on this one ranch down the road that they worked at and that there were big bucks in the hay field every night and that he was welcome to go and shoot him one. He bought their drinks and picked up their food bill and everything.

So he went down there the next evening right where they told him. He seen a buck in the field, put a stalk on it, and killed it. Rancher showed up and everything went down hill from there.

Really sucks for that guy, but if it seems too good to be true...it probably is.

 

[Beendare]

Its funny, we were packing out an elk in Montana and bumped into 2 young hard charging guys all decked out in new camo. Matching brand new packs and trek poles too. Too cute. They were backpacking in and had E Scouted the area.

They showed us where they were headed on their OnX. It was going to be a solid six hour pack in with 2000 feet plus elevation change for them to get there.

We probably should have told them that there was an outfitter with six other hunters pounding that spot…and we probably should have told them they were walking an extra 5 hours past where we found the elk…but we didn’t.

Yeah, the brand new matching camo is a hot button for me…not sure why.

 

[trophyhill]

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?

Yes. I've hunted a dozen different units in NM and CO doing this since 2008. Some multiple times because I liked what I was hunting. This year I'm hunting a new unit I knew would probably be the toughest unit of my life. Only difference is I will be hunting it with a rifle instead of my bow and also have a deer tag in my pocket. My main focus will be looking for a big mule deer and elk will be a target of opportunity this time around.

Yes there is something to be said about getting to know your unit intimately over years of hunting it. Ive killed several elk in the Gila within a mile and a half of each other, but I just love the challenge of going into a new unit and with confidence knowing I'm going to have opportunities. Elk are elk so as long as I know and keep learning about elk, I have no doubt whatsoever I will find them.

You getting boots on the ground far outweighs e-scouting. Although I do look at the maps before going in. Here's what I will say about e-scouting. The terrain always looks easier on Google Earth than it really is once I get there.

 

[trophyhill]

Its funny, we were packing out an elk in Montana and bumped into 2 young hard charging guys all decked out in new camo. Matching brand new packs and trek poles too. Too cute. They were backpacking in and had E Scouted the area.

They showed us where they were headed on their OnX. It was going to be a solid six hour pack in with 2000 feet plus elevation change for them to get there.

We probably should have told them that there was an outfitter with six other hunters pounding that spot…and we probably should have told them they were walking an extra 5 hours past where we found the elk…but we didn’t.

Yeah, the brand new matching camo is a hot button for me…not sure why.

Lol I hope I don't get put in that category with my brand new Origin USA camo. I better get a few more scouting trips in and soil them up a bit

 

[Silverback]

Its funny, we were packing out an elk in Montana and bumped into 2 young hard charging guys all decked out in new camo. Matching brand new packs and trek poles too. Too cute. They were backpacking in and had E Scouted the area.

They showed us where they were headed on their OnX. It was going to be a solid six hour pack in with 2000 feet plus elevation change for them to get there.

We probably should have told them that there was an outfitter with six other hunters pounding that spot…and we probably should have told them they were walking an extra 5 hours past where we found the elk…but we didn’t.

Yeah, the brand new matching camo is a hot button for me…not sure why.

Got it, so I should take my new camo for this years hunt and roll around in the dirt before hitting the trailhead

 

[OregonSteeler]

Its funny, we were packing out an elk in Montana and bumped into 2 young hard charging guys all decked out in new camo. Matching brand new packs and trek poles too. Too cute. They were backpacking in and had E Scouted the area.

They showed us where they were headed on their OnX. It was going to be a solid six hour pack in with 2000 feet plus elevation change for them to get there.

We probably should have told them that there was an outfitter with six other hunters pounding that spot…and we probably should have told them they were walking an extra 5 hours past where we found the elk…but we didn’t.

Yeah, the brand new matching camo is a hot button for me…not sure why.

I've seen this before also. Ran into a father son duo. Completely decked out in Kuiu pants, shirt, hat ,backpack; all brand new with the fold creases still in them. I would not be surprised if they had on Kuiu underwear too!