Should I move?

[IDspud]

Year 3 week 3 and still failing. I’m hunting a mountain range in my unit (new unit this year) and outside of one drainage where I had one bull respond I haven’t seen anything.

I’ve been bugling at night, listening, and even popped out the thermal scanner to look from ridges. Nothing.

I have pounded out countless miles for two weeks and haven’t even seen any fresh sign outside the one draw. If I saw fresh sign I’d just figure they’re all quiet or I just suck.

Talking to regular hunters in this area they say it’s normally pretty good and they’re all talking. I haven’t even jumped a buck in all my hiking. Just a few doe on the roads. I’ve heard from one guy that Corey Jacobson downed a 6 point around here but other than that haven’t seen one truck with a kill in it and haven’t heard anyone else say they’re seeing much. No ek tracks on the road anywhere. Another Rokslider stopped by my camp for a night and decided it wasn’t worth staying to hunt there.

I’m starting to lose my mind working this hard for this long and still feeling like I’m not even close to getting one.

Should I abandoned this area? If I move, how far should I go?

 

[Ucsdryder]

Thermal scanning? Is that legal? At some point this technology shit has to stop.

 

[IDspud]

Thermal scanning? Is that legal? At some point this technology shit has to stop.

Thanks for the help

 

[streetdoctor]

Thanks for the help

Hunt harder. It took me 5 years. It takes many even longer.

 

[Gerbdog]

Dont marry an area, if your not finding what your looking for, move on

Especially if thermal scanning isnt picking anything up. I leave an excuse sometimes for nocturnal elk, it happens often that they go nocturnal during hunting season, and if your using thermal scanning at night and not seeing them, and not getting them to bugle at night.... theyre probably not there.

One way to determine if they are there and just moving at night though is the sign. Are you finding fresh sign from the night before? Are you finding any fresh sign at all?

 

[AZxp]

Can't hunt what isn't there.
Sounds like you already know the answer.

Also the thermal is a no go in AZ. Not sure about ID

 

[IDspud]

IDFG has said I can use both NV and thermal as long as I’m not shooting with it, which I’m not. If things aren’t looking good I can get a general idea that “hey, there’s some type of four legged animal way the hell over there. Game is around.”


The only sign I’m seeing looks weeks old.

How far should I move? 10+ miles? I feel like I went through this for the last two years. Trying to hunt where they aren’t outside of the random single elk in a pocket.

 

[MallardSX2]

Bugling at night? lol Seriously?

I couldn't imagine doing that. I'm too tired from pounding the mountain away from the crowds all day long. lol

 

[IDspud]

Bugling at night? lol Seriously?

I couldn't imagine doing that. I'm too tired from pounding the mountain away from the crowds all day long. lol

Every few nights I give it a go, but mostly just listening. I’m getting desperate.

 

[Gerbdog]

IDFG has said I can use both NV and thermal as long as I’m not shooting with it, which I’m not. If things aren’t looking good I can get a general idea that “hey, there’s some type of four legged animal way the hell over there. Game is around.”


The only sign I’m seeing looks weeks old.

How far should I move? 10+ miles? I feel like I went through this for the last two years. Trying to hunt where they aren’t outside of the random single elk in a pocket.

Dont hate those random single elk in a pocket too much haha, those guys are money. Absolute money. If you know where they are haha.

Its hard to say where you should move, you should drive at night and bugle up a ton of different drainages hoping for a response. The rut should absolutely be in at this point, there are elk talking somewhere. Could be a drainage one over from you, could be 10 miles from you, could be both.

To the response of bugling at night, yea absolutely sucks, i need sleep too from beating feet all day but desperate times call for desperate measures and the 10% who kill do what needs doin. Til you have an area figured out and where the elk are likely to be this is the pain you gotta put in.

 

[MallardSX2]

Every few nights I give it a go, but mostly just listening. I’m getting desperate.

Obviously.

Its like 11:23AM your time are you out hunting?

If so, put your phone away and get after it.

 

[Gerbdog]

If your seeing sign that's a couple weeks old and isnt fresh you know the answer already.... dont pray for elk to show up in an area theyre not in, your just gonna eat tag soup. You need to move and find them, sounds like you've exhausted the area your in, time to go see new terrain.

 

[TreeWalking]

I looked at the harvest success rate in the Western states for bull elk tags and was 20% overall with all methods of take and seasons combined. So, Once every 5 tags. I also think that 20% of the bull elk hunters kill over 50% of the elk in a given decade. I am sure there are decent deer hunters from back East or from the South that hunt a few elk tags and give up.

My buddy from the Midwest dumped a cow elk after 5 years of CO archery tag soup. Getting that from where the cow tipped over to the trailhead was memorable enough he has never went back. He can drive his truck through a field to toss a whitetail in the back.

 

[IDspud]

Obviously.

Its like 11:23AM your time are you out hunting?

If so, put your phone away and get after it.

No. Two day training I have to attend then back up.

 

[Gerbdog]

Hunt a new area and Stay optimistic, i know this gets hammered but its the absolute truth of it, things change in moments from "there arent any elk in this whole darn state" to: holy smokes i got a return bugle and can hear him coming in. Just that fast, and being just 20 minutes of hiking from the previous place you called from.

 

[IDspud]

What do you guys consider a “new area“? Something just one mountain ridge over, or many many miles away?

 

[Dos Perros]

I won't spend more than 36 hours in a spot without seeing an elk or at the very least squishy green poo.

 

[AZxp]

If you like the area then go to the next big ridge and look. If still nothing, keep moving.

I'll spend 10 days in the same square mile then the next hunt move 15 to 20 miles in an afternoon.

 

[Gerbdog]

For me that depends. Example from hunting NMs southern Gila area the last 2 weeks : i found elk, cows, bulls, etc. in some lower areas with very little cover and lots of wide open expanses. However they were mostly nocturnal, and wouldnt talk. I could glass up a herd bull with his cows and try to make a move, and we did, but elk being elk they would lay where the winds were swirling so we would get busted. They wouldnt talk except a little bit before hunting hours. After beating our heads on this for a week we decided some new terrain was in store. We stayed at roughly the same elevation and moved into deep timber, this was only a few miles away. Got some bulls to come in much closer because they couldnt see as far and were more vocal, however were further and fewer between.

When i switch i usually try out a different type of terrain. Sometimes it really is just one drainage over though.

 

[IDspud]

For me that depends. Example from hunting NMs southern Gila area the last 2 weeks : i found elk, cows, bulls, etc. in some lower areas with very little cover and lots of wide open expanses. However they were mostly nocturnal, and wouldnt talk. I could glass up a herd bull with his cows and try to make a move, and we did, but elk being elk they would lay where the winds were swirling so we would get busted. They wouldnt talk except a little bit before hunting hours. After beating our heads on this for a week we decided some new terrain was in store. We stayed at roughly the same elevation and moved into deep timber, this was only a few miles away. Got some bulls to come in much closer because they couldnt see as far and were more vocal, however were further and fewer between.

When i switch i usually try out a different type of terrain. Sometimes it really is just one drainage over though.

I like that idea. Some new terrain would be a welcomed change. I’ll give it a try, thanks