What's your minimum distance from road/trail that you find elk?

[Ross]

Distance from road a few over 46 yrs.
3 started him and another bull bugling around noon, kept them bugling till 3 and then followed cows mews for another hour and he stepped out at 340 yds at 4 pm on 10/20 rifle.
2.5 started two bulls bugling at noon played with him for 4 hrs and shot him at 12 yds on 10/11 rifle at 4pm. Never could see him until 16 yds as he came in.
.75…on this one I heard him 5 days prior before season and he was 3.5 in. That day tried to find him and thought where did he roam. Did big loop and bugled into isolated basin at 9:30 and he answered 2nd day of rifle 10/11 played with him for 2 hrs and shot him around noon 45 yds.
2.5 14 yds bow
5.5 5 yds rifle he bugled chasing cows and I snuck in never saw him until 10yds out.
2.5 4.5 yds bow
2.5 75 yds as he pushed cow group screaming his head off opening day of rifle.
Avg over 5 decades 2-3 miles with most having 1500-2k vert. A few 3500 up. One hillside I did very well on at 2.5 miles in 1700 up. Over 3 decades have seen or heard a handful of hunters when it mattered.

 

[glock233]

Elk behave differently in different areas and units, depending on pressure. Unless you’re banking on getting lucky, You unfortunately have to learn your unit.

Mostly elk move away from roads—-they perceive vehicles and particularly UTVs as death. But I’ve found it to be sometimes counterintuitive.

In one lower pressure unit I hunt, the elk are nowhere near roads ever. They put themselves at the bottom of these canyons are gorges when hunters shoe on. You’ll never see one within a mile of the road. Basically Nobody goes down in the canyons, and the elk find peace.

In the highest pressure unit I hunt (just tons of hunters), the elk are often found near roads. They’re getting pushed around constantly. They run into roads or bed down near there because the lack choice or familiarity with the immediate area.

The best elk hiding spot I’ve ever seen is only 100 feet from a road. Exactly one glassing spot can see it, and it looks like a horrible glassing spot on maps. A road runs above and below it. The elk must feel safety because, when they’re in this thick stuff, they don’t get bothered notwithstanding the road being there. Last year I watched 7 bulls milling about casually while 10+ SxS drove around below them all morning. Less than 150 yards from the road.

Point is, think like an elk. Find the spots they feel safe when they’re pressured. And feeding areas next to those safe spots.

 

[Weldor]

My last two high pressure hunts (they are all high pressure here) 23 and 25 both at less than 1/4 mile from the road and in the latter part of the day. Both those Cows were killed within feet of each other two years apart. Bones from the first were still there although scattered. Just got back from town and there were 16 standing on the side of the road (dirt) herd bull was a spike .We see them pretty much every time we go to town. They are accustomed to vehicle traffic although a little nervous.

 

[dtrkyman]

I was on bulls regularly on the second archery hunt a couple hundred yards from a busy road, just an over looked spot!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[270-300]

Im glad you know elk have minimum distances from roads. Where i live, they routinely wak across county roads in broad daylight. A few years ago I was working on the chimney hollow reservoir west of Loveland Colorado. Not only does a herd come down into loveland by ready mix concrete every morning, about 10 am they would walk through the reservoir construction site with rock drills, cat 777, water trucks, loaders, and bull dozers all running by the dozens. Unphased.

They learn being near humans keeps predators away and they stay around. A video went viral last fall of a high school football practice here that had elk walk through. The town of estes park in colorado has a herd that are through all of the town all day long. Saratoga wyoming they walk into town about 6 pm in the summer time.

 

[bz_711]

Focus on pressure, not roads as the thing to avoid. Often, the two do NOT correlate….often they do. There’s no rule or certainty of where animals will be or will not be.
These are animals, doing animal things to try and not die. They aren’t actively trying to outsmart us and don’t know rifle season starts in Oct.

They are wizards at hiding in plain sight, change habits based on instincts, etc but just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there. You’d be surprised what’s hanging out 100yds from that road you avoid just over a knoll that completely hides them from every truck that drives by. Most people are just too lazy, or “think” the animals are too smart to get out of the truck and go look at it.

x2

My success increased drastically when I stopped parking at TH's and other easy pull off areas. Once I started trying areas that I've never seen trucks, I jumped a bull & cow 50yds from my truck. Shot my first bull .3 miles from truck. Shot my second bull 500yds from truck bugling his head off non-stop...you could hear him from the road. Both of these were OTC archery with loads of pressure.

Focus on pressure, not roads. Also focus on that one feature that keeps everyone else from trying close to the road such as crossing a major stream or a short straight up vertical hike.

Good Luck!