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.

 

[nphunter]

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.

I’m saying that bull elk have a preferred area they like to be, it’s a place they are not bothered. Very similar to deer, the big difference is when we hunt them. Much like deer elk travel non stop during the rut and are very hard to pattern, mule deer are the same in the rut. During the summer elk have areas they like to be and unless it’s snowed out they often return to those same areas post rut (there sanctuary area), however they might just use a small section of it post rut because they are worn out from the rut and pretty much feed and sleep with spending as little energy as possible.

Deer we mostly hunt pre rut so it’s more likely they will be in the areas a person scouts them during preseason. Once velvet sheds they typically hit cover more than prior and as feed burns off they feed in lower elevation or thicker cover. But like elk once they start rutting they are hard to keep track of.

I just got home from putting out some cams in an area my son should draw a bull tag this fall. If I find some good bulls in the next few months they will likely be there during rifle season as well. However they are often 5-10 miles away during the rut, many down in the valley chasing cows in big herds.

Randy Newburg has a lot of really good content on rifle hunting elk and how to find sanctuary areas. That is where bulls are consistently killed during most post rut rifle seasons.