Tree stands

[Brough808]

Is it worth doing a tree stand for Utah archery elk? Or is spot and stalk a batter idea?


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[Phaseolus]

I’ve had good luck from tree stands over wallow and water IF they is not a lot of wallows and water for the elk to choose from. If there are lots of choices it will not be as effective.

 

[cnelk]

It works

 

[LostArra]

Yes. I would take it.
Based on elk movement I had noticed in previous years and seeing cnelk's experience I took a stand to the elk woods last season. I rolled the dice and set it up on a wallow where I had elk contact in previous years. I had a cow tag but a bull came in while I am standing on the top stick and hanging the stand. He never busted but just left to harass a spike.

I later moved the stand to the edge of a meadow in some aspens and the herd came by before sunset but just out of range (tactical mistake: should have taken the compound). I did not do long sits. I glassed from a high spot and when I saw the elk descending/feeding into the aspen draw I sprinted to get ahead of them and climbed into the stand. (Aspens are good trees for stands.) At the wallow I just sat for a few hours after lunch and at the lower location at sunset.


Spot and stalk elk hunting is a big part of the fun for a flatlander like me who stand hunts for deer most of the year. I would not use the stand as a primary hunting method but it is great for some situations. Didn't Woodrow F. Call say "it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it".

 

[Laelkhunter]

The Ranch I hunt on has several box blinds set up in different areas, so I guess a tree stand would work just as well. You would be able to relocate it depending on the Elk movement from day to day.

 

[Beendare]

Just another tool in your bag.

Those mountain wind currents can be tricker than flatland whitetail country. Some of those wallow sites look great on the surface but the sailing wind in the mtns only insures that you won't see anything at some of them.

 

[cnelk]

You best have very good supporting data before you go hanging a tree stand nilly willy in the elk woods.

Some of my best spots I can only hunt for an hour and a half, some are only mornings some are only evenings.

 

[Laelkhunter]

I stand corrected, judging by some of the responses that follow mine. I have NEVER hunted from a tree stand so I don't speak from experience. I have hunted numerous times from the aforementioned box blinds, but they tend to contain scent and obscure movements. Sorry for my mis-information.

 

[Swede]

I have killed a lot (24) elk from a tree stand. The last two years I hunted area I have never hunted before and got elk both times. Both area have a lot of water. In some areas water is not going to be the magnet it is in drier locations, but there are elk trails and saddles where elk are funneled in when they travel. As cnelk said, don't set up a stand willy-nilly. Go where you can see there has been frequent and recurring use. Rubs, different ages feces, or tracks can aid you in determining frequency of use. Places where several trails come together at a water hole that is dirty is great.
You do not need multiple stand locations, if additional quality ones are just not there. Elk most likely won't be around every day and it is unlikely it will be the same ones, so they don't know when they come walking in. Sitting in a stand be careful about all movement when elk are present. A tree stand is no free pass to get away with anything and everything. You can remove obstructions for shooting lanes if necessary, but I like some vegetation around to break up my outline. You can make your own if it helps. Elk are not real intelligent when it comes to those things, but they have good eyes.

 

[chindits]

I tried a tree stand on a spring with so little water that the elk drank out of their hoof tracks in the mud. I saw a fair number of elk and bear, but the challenge of staying awake and having to piss most every time I got up there was too much for me. Just more interesting on the ground for me personally.

 

[cnelk]

I dont use tree stands as a primary way to hunt elk.
Its a great way to hunt for an evening/morning to rest a bit and hunt 'run/gun' or chase bugles the other times.

Here is a pic of my son in one of our good stands.
Not very high, with a good background

 

[cody21peterson]

Is it worth doing a tree stand for Utah archery elk? Or is spot and stalk a batter idea?


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I have been wondering the same thing. I have never hunted in a tree stand but I’ve heard a lot of people say that is the way to go for early season elk. There was tons of rain this year so I don’t know if it will be as affective. I’m also considering a blind but no experience with that as well.


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[Swede]

I have found that tree stands are generally better that blinds as it keeps your scent off the ground.
I feel sorry for the guy that had to get out of his stand just to go urinate. I just let fly from the stand. I have had deer eat right off the bushes I just peed on, and bears walk by many time undisturbed. I wrote a magazine article, and noted in my tree stand book about an incident when I peed on a bear that was sniffing around under my stand. That did get the bear to leave.
I read a magazine article years ago where a hunter claimed an elk bolted when he came upon the spot where he urinated. I don't think that was the problem. The elk smelled the hunter. I use the same stand location for days.

 

[Billy Goat]

You best have very good supporting data before you go hanging a tree stand nilly willy in the elk woods.

Some of my best spots I can only hunt for an hour and a half, some are only mornings some are only evenings.

This is good advice.

I shot my first elk from a treestand. As an Eastern Hunter I'm used to treestand hunting. I don't care to go out west and do it now. But my take on using them is to only use for a short time period. I think in the mountains the winds generally swirl too much. Use them during what you determine to be a prime time or for a day of rest after a few days of covering ground, tho I find it more difficult and harder on my body to sit all day than to walk.

Friends I hunt with have treestand hunted them a lot. They have been shifting to small ground blinds setup well hidden and with a single window open to contain scent. They are getting fewer shots because of the limited shooting ability, however generally seeing more animals. Thought is you don't know how many animals are winding you in a treestand before you even know they are around.

 

[Swede]

I go 25+ feet up in a tree, and generally try to be above the location I expect the see elk at. I sit in my stand for 13+ hours at a time and may not get out all day. By going up high, the diurnal winds don't often betray me. Sometimes I get busted, but it is a lot easier and more common to be scented on the ground. Most of the time the first hour and the last hour in a stand are equally important. What I want is a super comfortable stand and a good book to read.

 

[LostArra]

I admire folks who can hunt in a pop up blind especially in the beauty of the mountains. To me it's like being in solitary confinement with a picture of the outdoors on one wall. Also every elk or deer-like sound is always behind me. I'm sure I miss some opportunities but I just can't do it. Natural brush blind? Yes.

Another treestand advantage is seeing elk movement sooner because of elevation. The places I've hung stands for elk are fairly thick and being at ground level limits your sight range by well over 50%. I only take what would be considered on the internet as short slam dunk bow shots so the stand does not extend my effective shooting range but it could for the longer range marksmen. I don't hunt as high as Swede because at my shot distances it could a problem to hit both lungs due to the shot angle.

 

[cnelk]

Here's a cow elk walking by my tree stand. I had already filled my tag so she got a pass.

I make a few cow mews every now and again and they seem to come looking for that other 'elk'

 

[cnelk]

Here's a calf elk that came in to my calling opening morning a few years ago.
The cows and raghorns were just out of range, but curiosity got the better of this little guy

 

[cnelk]

And of course when using cow/calf mews, sometimes you have bears come in looking for an easy meal

 

[Swede]

LostArra said he did not go as high as I do because of the shot angle. I have no desire to be contrary or controversial and this can be both. Shot angle downwards is not an issue with me. I do not care to hit both lungs. I want to cause massive bleeding with my arrow in the boiler room, and as long as I get near the heart, I will get a swift humane kill. The kill zone is as large shooting down as it is from the side.
If all I have is a spine shot, I will drive an arrow in, and finish it off with a second shot. I have shot or seen several harvested this way and they have 100% been dispatched quick and humanly. I would recommend not using a light toothpick arrow for this. Obviously at that angle you are making a very short shot.