Scouting Elk

[BlacktailTracker]

If you are talking about archery elk, then I agree that scouting can be difficult, especially scouting a particular bull. However if we are talking late season elk, post rut, then summer time scouting can pay off bigtime. Most of the areas I hunt elk go back to their summer range as soon as the rut is over, unless there is an early winter with deep snow they are almost always showing back up.

But unlike mule deer I think e-scouting can be very effective for elk, they need feed and water every day, they only seek shelter/cover if pressured. Find an area with good feed and good water and it will most likley have elk in it. Deer don't need water daily and get a lot from feed and they are normally much more picky on feed than elk so they can be much easier to pin down via google earth.

For archery elk I am looking for places that have water first and foremost, don't have a large human presence, sometimes that is right next to a road and sometimes 5 miles deep, also areas that have cow activity. Bulls will split up cow groups and they can end up in some nasty areas but most of the time the bulls will leave their nasty sanctuary areas and show up where the cows are at. I also tend to avoid areas near private land because there can become a buffer zone that ends up void of elk due to the sanctuary they get on private land, nothing is more frustrating than watching a bull chase cows around 50 yards on the wrong side of a fence.

All the below pics are on public land with 100% draw archery tags, the cams were all less than 100 yards from open roads.

Aug.
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Late Oct. 1000 yards apart
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Aug
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Oct rifle season
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Aug
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Nov (This bull was killed in 2025)
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So... what your saying is deer have a home area that they perfer, and elk can be almost anywhere on any given day? How do you efficiently find the area's that currently have elk? My questions are regarding rifle elk.

 

[Dark timber]

Going off your username, I’m guessing there’s a good chance you could be asking about Roosevelts? If so, there are some differences between them and rockies. They can be somewhat patterned in some areas and have a way smaller range, with no migration, usually. This makes scouting easier in that aspect but the terrain/vegetation makes it difficult on the other hand. Cams help.

 

[BlacktailTracker]

Going off your username, I’m guessing there’s a good chance you could be asking about Roosevelts? If so, there are some differences between them and rockies. They can be somewhat patterned in some areas and have a way smaller range, with no migration, usually. This makes scouting easier in that aspect but the terrain/vegetation makes it difficult on the other hand. Cams help.

The terrian is an absolute battle. I still haven't gotten my first elk, but I'll hopefully get a cow tag this year. I can hunt Rockies or Rosie's whether I decide to drive East or West.