Treestand Elk Hunting

[hunting101]

Hi all!
I live in Northern Idaho and am planning on taking an elk with a Bow this year out of a tree stand. I have identified several good looking spots on the maps, they are usually benches on steep northern slopes with water below.
I'm looking for some insight on what peoples strategies are on tree stand placement

Are you choosing different stand placements in the morning vs evenings?

Would anyone consider setting up in other places other than northern facing slopes?

Any insight on setting up near or on a saddle?

Would you rather start hunting in the morning from tops of ridge-lines or in the creek basins?




I haven't had too much time to put boots on the ground in the last month but I was able to find a herd of cow/calfs in early august. they were hanging out in a dense forest with an area of thick cover which may be there bedding area. There were several old logging roads that made getting around in the area a breeze.

 

[mitchellbk]

Ran into a guy hiking in to setup his stand here in SE Idaho (I think a lot of guys do this but not talk about it). He put his stand on an east facing slope about middle of the mountain where a game trail basically sidehills. Forested of course, not out in the open,.

I also read 'Tree Stand Hunting Rocky Mountain Elk' and I highly recommend it. Thermals are the biggest key and he actually recommends not putting stands near wallows or water holes, but on travel routes where elk will be intersected going to and from water and bedding areas.

 

[WyoWapiti]

This year I added a tree saddle to my bag of tricks for elk. My plan and this may change, will be to utilize the saddle during the late morning until afternoon over a wallow or water hole . I plan to still spot and stalk early morning and evening. Unless I see on my trail cams I need to be in the trees at different times. Unlike stands I can use my saddle when and where I want so "fixed" location not part of the equation.

When I did use a stand, I found south facing slope coming off feeding grounds low in the valley (elk were headed to known beading area), north facing slopes on well used trails, and on saddles over wallows very productive. However, even up in the tree pay attn. to the air currents.

Good luck and climb safe!

 

[dacd4134]

Oh yeah, I like that spot. I'll see you there!

 

[Wapiti1]

I've used them in a few setups with specific features that focused the elk movement. I didn't pay attention to slope, or whatever, just fresh activity and something to put the elk in a predictable location relative to my stand.

One was a pinch point between two rock slides in between bedding and a clearcut they were feeding in. This was an evening sit. It could have been a morning stand too, but getting to it wasn't possible in the morning.

Another was a wallow. Actually, I've set up on several wallows with both ground blind and treestands. The last time, trail cam photos said mid-morning to about 2pm was when to sit.

Last was the edge of a super thick stand of juniper that they loved to bed in. Had to get in there before light, and the wind had to be perfect. You could leave about 10am after the elk moved through and were snoozing.

Jeremy

 

[Indian Summer]

You should get a copy of this:

Tree Stand Hunting Rocky Mountain Elk - by John Erickson

 

[Idaho4x4Bronco]

Oh yeah, I like that spot. I'll see you there!

Lol same thing I thought, been there

 

[Coveyleader]

Its deadly if you know what your're doing. Not a huge learning curve, but once you understand elk, travels, etc, it's checkmate year after year.

I won't get into specifics, but I'd take 5 square miles of 10 treestand guys over same area with 3 run and gun guys any day.

 

[GunsAreFun]

We were at a restaurant last season on our way to a new spot. A few guides were in there talking about recent successes. Most said they were sitting clients on wallows in stands and blinds early and late in the day. This was a dry year.

I’m not sure how I’d feel about paying 5 grand to be put in a stand, but they were killing stuff so

 

[cnelk]

Location. Location. Location

 

[Coveyleader]

On my phone, so image is small, but by the looks of it, my B list tag would be going on this one.

 

[Coveyleader]

On second thought, maybe you passed and I ended up with her. Thanks!

 

[mavinwa2]

been using a tree saddle and one-stick system the last 2 years.
Coming across a good spot or pattern elk coming/going to bedding areas, I can be up the tree in 10 min and ready to hunt, depending on wind direction.

 

[LostArra]

Location. Location. Location

This^^
If the winds are right it's terrific but it's tough to adjust when the winds/thermals get hinky late in the day. I once had a group of cows feeding towards the spring where I had my stand. Wind was perfect then became calm. A small rain cloud passed by maybe a half mile away but it was enough to push a cool breeze at my back and cause a stampede.

I spend a lot of time from October to January hunting deer from a treestand. One of the main attractions of elk hunting is not being tied to a tree and being on the move. That said, I always take my Lone Wolf as a Plan B and I've had a lot of bull encounters at water. Unfortunately it's extremely tough for a NR to draw an either sex tag in the area I hunt so I spend a lot of time admiring antlers with a cow tag.

 

[westbranch]

I also know that spot, might look at Onx too much when I can recognize topo lines. Might want to delete your image. I do think finding some good trails in that area and sitting in a stand would be a good strategy. Get there early, it will be busy! I have though about it myself looking at nearby areas but I go crazy sitting in a tree stands. I would still want the option to be mobile with a climber or tree saddle. Or even a ground blind.

This year with how dry things are I think water could be a better option.

 

[North Idaho Stickbow]

Man, you guys are good lol! I stared hard at that picture and could only come up with a few different places it could be!

On topic: I’ll be doing the same thing with a tree saddle this year. I have some ideas of travel routes with big straight trees where I’ll be setting up.

 

[Downeaster]

Love to see guys post up pics of places i used to hunt but dont anymore because of the traffic.
Frickn brilliant!

 

[Swede]

he actually recommends not putting stands near wallows or water holes, but on travel routes where elk will be intersected going to and from water and bedding areas.

I really appreciate the good recommendations I have seen on this thread. That is all of the advertising I have for the book.
I do want to clarify the quote above. I did not intend to suggest that hunting water holes is not very productive. I hunt water holes more than any other place. I just do not find a water hole and think "here is a good tree stand location." The same goes for any other feature in the elk woods including wallows. I go on what the evidence shows. If a spot is getting used frequently I am interested, and will likely set a camera there to verify the matter. I want to know the frequency of use, the timing of use and what it is that is going past my camera.
Saddles can be great too. Just set up based on the evidence. I really like to place my stand in a location where there are multiple trails coming together and there are fresh rubs along it.
Often I have to compromise. Rarely do I find elk heaven where I can sit a short while and reliably shoot a nice bull that frequents my spot. Tree stand hunting is a waiting game.
It has been over ten years now since I wrote the tree stand elk hunting book. Since then there is only one thing I would clarify. I will share that here with you.
I very rarely call from my stand. The elk can pinpoint where you call from at a very long distance. Instead, to entice elk to come my way; I find a calling spot near my stand when I arrive. This is a location where I can call from, and the elk will need to expose themselves too much to view where the bull (me) was at. If I am sitting over a wallow I will splash it a few times with a large stick. Regardless of a wallow being present I rub a nearby tree for a minute. After that I will let out one short (two second), two note bugle and then hurry up into my stand. I set there silently for several hours. Both bulls and cows often take a couple of hours to come and check out the bull they heard. They have always come in silently for me. Be patient and wait. The most calls/rakes I would do in a day is three. One very early in the morning, one about 10:00 AM and one in the late afternoon.
On another note; I have no favorite mountain aspect to set a stand on. Stand locations is simply determined by what the evidence indicates. Over the years I have seen some very strange tree stand locations. I suspect a hunter saw an elk there, maybe months ago and decided that was a good place to wait for his bull to show up again. Some may have been set on a north facing slope about 3/4 of the way up the mountain based on some formula. Make sure you have good evidence of current use, but that is not necessarily a daily occurrence. Remember elk cover a large range and in many areas they can take a couple of weeks to return.
Where I hunt now it is very disappointing to see a lot of fresh sign around my tree stand location on the day I first arrive there. The elk have just left and will likely not return real soon. Did I mention tree stand hunting is a waiting game?

 

[kunsangsean]

I realize this is an old thread, but thought I would post my question here rather than PM @Swede so others might benefit. This thread has been helpful and encouraging - I appreciate what's been shared already. I am trying to figure out the best ways to setup in trees regarding wind. I spent a couple days sitting an area with no elk evidence, then spend a bunch of days "running and gunning" which got me into elk but also busted on the draw several times. After placing some trail cameras I've got an idea of some semi-regular routines on a trail and on a waterhole on a dry slope. With regard to wind - both areas seem tricky. At the waterhole elk are using it generally around 7-730 when the thermals at that spot are going downhill, and the tree I have an eye on will be downhill. But when I hike to the tree the thermals will be blowing uphill until say 5 or 6 pm. Elk have approached it from both directions, uphill and downhill. So at locations and times with changing winds - do you just setup and hope for the best? I imagine the best case scenario would be to find a location they are using at a more wind-stable time of day like mid-day. On the trail location, I can sneak in mid-day and setup in a tree above the trail and downwind, but I've seen the most activity around 730 which would then have my wind blowing downhill to the trail.

Does the elevation in the tree do anything to reduce getting winded? In my whitetail hunting experience the treestand has allowed me to get away with bad wind on a number of occasions.