OTC elk unit help

[BSeals71]

Great info. Thanks guys!

 

[MesaHorseCo.]

I will say this much in my years hunting OTC units..
Check to see if wilderness you are hunting also has a special rifle mule deer tag for the same time..
Hunted Mt Zirkell wilderness couple yrs and it does not help with rifles going off and orange guys moving around..

You should definetly check in to that. Most units that have the early rifle tag give out a whopping 20 tags, most of them with area/altitude/wilderness only restrictions....yep, those 20 guys have much more of an impact than the 728 archers roving the unit.

 

[rhendrix]

We've narrowed down a few units, a couple of questions real quick:
1) In late September, where are most of the elk going to be? In timber or up high still? I realize that a lot of this is dependent on the weather and how much pressure they are receiving.
2) We don't have the ability to scout beforehand, so having plans A, B, C et al is paramount, but how should we go about looking for 'elky' areas on a topo and aerial map outside of looking for northfacing slopes with water nearby? And how much time should we invest in an area before we move on to another area?
3) How many guys get up high and glass for elk in late september? I hadn't planned on taking my spotter, just my 10x42 binos and tripod, I don't need to count points, just find elk, so is a spotter necessary at all?

 

[5MilesBack]

We've narrowed down a few units, a couple of questions real quick:

Elk are where you find them. Sounds simple, but each area can be different. Some areas don't even have above timberline, yet the elk are there. Some areas you'll find the elk living at very low elevations year round. In others, I've shot bulls above timberline in Oct and Nov.

I use a spotter quite a bit for scouting, but have never used one while actually hunting for elk.......especially archery hunting. But that could depend on the terrain you're hunting as well as trophy quality. If I wasn't interested in quality, I wouldn't even consider taking one. I also wouldn't take a tripod, but I don't need to glass much when I'm archery hunting elk.

 

[bz_711]

We've narrowed down a few units, a couple of questions real quick:
1) In late September, where are most of the elk going to be? In timber or up high still? I realize that a lot of this is dependent on the weather and how much pressure they are receiving.
2) We don't have the ability to scout beforehand, so having plans A, B, C et al is paramount, but how should we go about looking for 'elky' areas on a topo and aerial map outside of looking for northfacing slopes with water nearby? And how much time should we invest in an area before we move on to another area?
3) How many guys get up high and glass for elk in late september? I hadn't planned on taking my spotter, just my 10x42 binos and tripod, I don't need to count points, just find elk, so is a spotter necessary at all?

For me:
1) Temps/conditions play a big part obviously - I used to spend much of my time (last week of archery) at timberline and saw a good number of elk, but never bagged one...now the last two seasons I've bagged bulls well below 10,000 and have not even been near timberline the last 2 seasons. The primary reason for the change was getting away from other hunters...seems they all say "the elk are still high", my success is directly related to an effort to get away from hunter concentrations.
2) As much time as I waste looking at Google earth and satellite views, I really think the focus should be on topo maps...since all I'm really looking for now are pockets that are very hard for hunters to get into, not by distance but by being rugged, steep topo, have to cross streams, or climb straight up. Again, you can see my focus has moved toward getting away from other hunter pressure
3)Never glass for elk during archery - and have went from wearing binocs, to carrying them in pack, to not even brining binocs last 2 seasons. No need as I'm investigating any elk I see with the naked eye - no need to waste time glassing them. If antler score meant anything to me then I might carry binocs, but trophy hunting is overrated when you only get 5 full days per year to pursue elk.

Elk can be anywhere...Stay Positive and Be Ready!

Good Luck!

 

[Bonedalien]

i wouldent worry about a spotting scope either, but i would still wear binos. 10+42 are perfect. not for antler score,but for legality in CO. they need 4 or better on one side,or 5 inch browtines in OTC units. sometimes only your binos will tell you if that bull coming in is legal.
Also,I might have put the stalk on many a log,if not for my handy binos.