Where to elk hunt away from the crowds

[c.brown]

I'm sure this has been asked before but thought I'd try for myself. A buddy and I are planning our first elk hunt for next season and keep going back and forth about where we should concentrate our efforts. We've been plowing through all the old posts on here mining for gold but we still haven't settled on where to hunt. I'm traveling from back east and my buddy will be coming in from California.
We are both new to backpack hunting but dedicated to a public land/DIY next year. Our rough plan so far is to backpack in a few miles (5-10) and hunt from a spike camp. One of our main goals is avoiding the crowds, or any other real hunting pressure if possible. In fact, that would rank above the goal of killing an elk. Open to archery hunting but had planned to rifle hunt since I'm not sure we'll be lucky enough to sneak within archery range. That being said, if archery is by far the best option, very open to that.
Anyone out there willing to share info on what state/general region/unit would provide some solitude and a reasonable expectation of encountering some elk? I'm not asking for secret spots or anything like that and we plan to keep researching but without being there it's hard to figure out how to get away from the crowds.
So far we've looked at Colorado Units 53, 54, 25, and 68; Idaho Units 43,44,48, and 36. Is Arizona or New Mexico even worth considering for non-res without points? Open to hunting anywhere that provides a better chance at encountering elk than people.
Please PM me if you would prefer not to share this with the masses. Thanks and Merry Christmas.

 

[Oregonelk]

I'm sure this has been asked before but thought I'd try for myself. A buddy and I are planning our first elk hunt for next season and keep going back and forth about where we should concentrate our efforts. We've been plowing through all the old posts on here mining for gold but we still haven't settled on where to hunt. I'm traveling from back east and my buddy will be coming in from California.
We are both new to backpack hunting but dedicated to a public land/DIY next year. Our rough plan so far is to backpack in a few miles (5-10) and hunt from a spike camp. One of our main goals is avoiding the crowds, or any other real hunting pressure if possible. In fact, that would rank above the goal of killing an elk. Open to archery hunting but had planned to rifle hunt since I'm not sure we'll be lucky enough to sneak within archery range. That being said, if archery is by far the best option, very open to that.
Anyone out there willing to share info on what state/general region/unit would provide some solitude and a reasonable expectation of encountering some elk? I'm not asking for secret spots or anything like that and we plan to keep researching but without being there it's hard to figure out how to get away from the crowds.
So far we've looked at Colorado Units 53, 54, 25, and 68; Idaho Units 43,44,48, and 36. Is Arizona or New Mexico even worth considering for non-res without points? Open to hunting anywhere that provides a better chance at encountering elk than people.
Please PM me if you would prefer not to share this with the masses. Thanks and Merry Christmas.

Are you after any elk "bull or cow" or would do you only want to kill a Bull?

 

[c.brown]

Would prefer a bull but honestly any elk is fine with me.

 

[xziang]

If your first intentions are to be away from hunters I would say archery since generally the archery season is spread out. From what I have researched for rifle hunts the season isn't as spread out putting EVERYONE with a tag in the woods at that point in time.

I'm still a newbie with elk but that is the way it is for deer around here in NE. I do know when I hunted CO during part of the ML season there were more people out and about even though I never hit any ML in the mountains.

If you can try and set up a LONG weekend to scout and do a trial run with your gear and hike in 5 miles. This isn't always feasible though.

Good luck with your search.

 

[TurkeyBowMaster]

Everybody new wants to go 6 miles deep...Everybody experience wants to go uphill. There is a trailhead mentioned in most elk stories.

Don't hunt around trails or trailheads, go downhill less that 6 miles..wha la, you want see anyone.

 

[justinspicher]

Everybody new wants to go 6 miles deep...Everybody experience wants to go uphill. There is a trailhead mentioned in most elk stories.

Don't hunt around trails or trailheads, go downhill less that 6 miles..wha la, you want see anyone.

What?

 

[Oregonelk]

Would prefer a bull but honestly any elk is fine with me.

Man - if your looking for a back woods adventure and away from the crowds hunt check our "Hell's Canyon" There is a December Cow hunt that runs the entire month. I've hunted Snake River Unit a few times in my life and I can tell you it's back country. You should have no issue killing a cow if you invest your time.

Hunter number 259 Snake River Unit

 

[cnelk]

Trouble is packing in a few miles thinking you will be by yourself is that someone else is coming in from the other direction thinking the same thing.

What happens? You're all centered in the same area.

5-10 miles is a looooong ways to backpack in. Especially on your first elk hunt.
I guarantee you that you'll be walking past elk and prime hunting.

Rarely, and I mean RARELY do I hike farther than 1.5 miles deep anymore when Im elk hunting.
In fact, in the past 7 years we have taken about 15 elk no more than 300-400 yds from a truck.
On Colorado OTC Public Land

Anymore, my goal is to see how close to a road I can shoot elk

 

[squeekieslayer]

full camp, whole elk, at least 2 trips for 2 people... that is a total of 30 or more miles after you kill something. If you average 3 mph (which is very difficult with half an elk on your back) you are looking at 10-12 hours of hiking nonstop. If you are packing in on foot 6-10 miles, be prepared with a packer or wait till it is very cool outside.

Joe

 

[theleo91386]

Trouble is packing in a few miles thinking you will be by yourself is that someone else is coming in from the other direction thinking the same thing.

What happens? You're all centered in the same area.

5-10 miles is a looooong ways to backpack in. Especially on your first elk hunt.
I guarantee you that you'll be walking past elk and prime hunting.

Another thing to consider is that once you start going past that 5 mile mark is that you'll be putting yourself in with a lot of horseback hunters and/or drop camps from outfitters.

 

[missjordan]

"Hunt smart" and learn elk behavior and patterns is your smartest tactic rather than trying to get away from the crowds. Elk that are facing pressure will find nasty places to go hide. You just have to be smart and go in those places to find them.


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[Htachie Dawg]

Look at wilderness and where the topo lines are close together.
HD

 

[belly-deep]

I think you are going to find that OTC units with decent elk hunting will have other hunters out in the field too. That's just reality.

There are certainly units here in MT you could hunt without seeing anyone else. But there's a good chance you might not see any elk either.

As others have said, if you go far enough in, you'll find hunters coming in from another direction or horse hunters.

If I were you, I'd let the map dictate your remoteness.

 

[Jon Boy]

I think you are going to find that OTC units with decent elk hunting will have other hunters out in the field too. That's just reality.

There are certainly units here in MT you could hunt without seeing anyone else. But there's a good chance you might not see any elk either.

As others have said, if you go far enough in, you'll find hunters coming in from another direction or horse hunters.

If I were you, I'd let the map dictate your remoteness.

Unfortunately, this is very true. Ive found at the hard way being spiked out in an off trail basin 7 miles in. Met some good hunting partners along the way though.
You'll be fine though, hunt hard and hunt smart. I prefer to go where the elk are instead of going where the people aren't. Typically if theres any number of elk a handful of guys will be hunting around during rifle season. No matter the distance

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[dotman]

In CO there are very few places to get away from other hunters no matter the season just a fact. Also it is good advice to consider if you see no one else there is a high possibility it is because everyone knows elk are not in that area. 5-10 miles is far on foot, if this is your first trip I highly suggest baby steps, setup a base camp and then maybe a spike camp 2 miles in.

Always keep this in mind, you may be arriving just when 50 others left thinking you have found a spot away from others not knowing the prior week others blew all game out of the area.

If you find zero elk sign don't hang around, move until you find sign and I don't mean move deeper but maybe expand your diameter or move 20 miles away to a new area.

So pretty much it is hard to ever pin point what pressure an area has had and if you don't find sign keep on moving don't linger.

 

[belly-deep]

And seriously, screw the solitude. You're buying out of state tags to hunt elk. So kill a stinkin elk.

But if that's what you *really* want, send me a PM. I'll give you units with plenty of solitude. Plenty.

 

[TurkeyBowMaster]

Remote doesn't always get you away from the crowds...overlooked does. Last year I found a spot within a half mile of a major road. This spot was inaccessible from the road...you had to go around to the backside, 2 miles, and then turn up and climb 2000 feet up a steep slope and head back towards the road. It didn't look elky at all until almost to the top. Best bull I have seen basically lived up there and I plan to kill him next year.

What made this area so unique was there was seemingly no reason to turn and go up. Had I not heard a bull I would have never went up there.

 

[elkyinzer]

TMB actually brought up about the best points yet about avoiding trailheads and hunting downhill from the truck. Difficult access can cut down 90% of the crowd right off. My first bowhunt I focused on backpacking as far as I could into a wilderness,and naturally we hiked a trail in. Saw a ton of guys; fellow backpackers, drop camps, you name it. Funny thing was, of the 6 guys I met back there, not a one was a Colorado resident. I took that as a pretty solid clue about the quality of hunting in that area.

I was told to avoid areas where ATV's are allowed like the plague. I now avoid wildnerness and ATV's are my best friends...those guys are so lazy you always know right where they are going to be, not far from the ATV trail. I can use that knowledge to figure out where the elk are.

 

[cnelk]

In all my elk hunting in Colorado and Wyoming, I can tell you this:

There aint no secret spots

 

[xl mammal]

Oregonelk, congrats on being the only one to address the OPs question.

c.brown, if you want to get away from people and still have a good shot at a bull, look into a WY unit 7 rifle hunt.