Wapiti Talk | Elk Hunting Forum | Elk Hunting Tips
 

Pressured Areas

Moderators: Swede, Tigger, Lefty, Indian Summer, WapitiTalk1

Pressured Areas

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 03 14, 2014 •  [Post 1]

What do you consider a pressured area? Is it all OTC areas, units where you see a few hunters throughout a weeks time, a place that you hear traffic on roads a mile above you, three rigs at the trailhead you park at, or a spot you hear another hunters bugle? Just curious.
User avatar
WapitiTalk1
 
Posts: 8732
Joined: 06 10, 2012
Location: WA State
First Name: RJ

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby Trophyhill » 03 14, 2014 •  [Post 2]

I go into any OTC unit with lots of roads assuming it has pressure especially within a mile of the roads. If hunting any unit and I see other hunters or parked vehicles in an area I assume pressure just because I don't know how these guys are hunting, how many miles they are covering and if they are educating the elk in a given area. If I feel like there is a lot of pressure where I am hunting I just penetrate a little further and or look for areas that are so obvious they get overlooked and passed right on by. Sometimes this can be close to the roads. Pressure expands my range and gets me to seeking opportunity wherever I can find it and almost creates a sense of urgency on my part to git er done. Pressure can induce creativity and thinking outside the box I think.
Trophyhill
 
Posts: 1175
Joined: 01 20, 2013
Location: Tijeras, NM
First Name: David
Last Name: B

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby elk-n-walleye » 03 14, 2014 •  [Post 3]

After I leave consider the area pressured :lol:
But seriously, I have always hunted very accessible OTC areas and I never see anybody else in the forest. They don't seem to want to leave the roads or trails. That is good for me I guess because the elk are just hanging out in there. Sometimes I find them first other times they find me first. It is a challenging game of cat and mouse.
elk-n-walleye
Rank: Spike
 
Posts: 165
Joined: 08 19, 2013

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby Triplebhunters » 03 15, 2014 •  [Post 4]

elk-n-walleye wrote:After I leave consider the area pressured :lol:
THATS FUNNY!!!


Pressure by my definition would be: by the time I hike up the mountain till where I branch off I see three groups of hunters and four tents, along with the six rigs at the trailhead and the outfitters rig and cars down the road.
Where bringing plans B,C,and D into play.
Dave.
User avatar
Triplebhunters
Rank: Satellite Bull
 
Posts: 399
Joined: 08 17, 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
First Name: Dave

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby Toby » 03 15, 2014 •  [Post 5]

We switched to a new location 2 years ago after hunting our original area for 10 years. Hard to do after becoming so familiar with it. We live 1400 miles away so scouting wasn't an option. Lots of GE time and the first year in the new area we ended up tearing camp down and moving 3 times, kind of frustration, but we found decent country for the last three days of that hunt. This past year we killed 2 bulls and missed another.
Toby
Rank: An Elk Nut
 
Posts: 639
Joined: 01 11, 2013
Location: Wi.

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby Indian Summer » 03 15, 2014 •  [Post 6]

[quote="elk-n-walleye"]But seriously, I have always hunted very accessible OTC areas and I never see anybody else in the forest. They don't seem to want to leave the roads or trails. quote]

Good point. You can follow a trail for 10 miles and still see people. but drop into a hole or scale up over the top 100 feet higher just a half mile from that access route and everyone disappears.

Like TrophyHill said... it depends on what kind of hunters they are. There could be 8 vehicles but if they are all trail walkers there's no pressure. Two trucks each with a pair of guys who knows their way around and drops down to the honey holes is pressure.
User avatar
Indian Summer
Wapiti Hunting Consultant
 
Posts: 5247
Joined: 06 14, 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
First Name: Joe
Last Name: Ferraro

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby riverbeav » 03 15, 2014 •  [Post 7]

I hunted part of a draw unit a couple years ago that was about six square miles of roadless country with five access points, each on a different side. On opening morning, I hiked past one access point that had seven vehicles parked, and later that morning called in a group of hunters that were parked at another access point. I saw several satellite bulls that day that were obviously running from hunters. I also pulled a 5 pt bull out of a herd for my partner who was drawn and waiting for it to come past one last tree at 25 yards before the shot, and another hunter shot at the bull from about 60 yards away. Luckily, he missed the bull and my partner. I never went back to this area, but it would be considered highly pressured by anyone. In places like this, if you aren't there on opening weekend, you might not see an elk in the area. I still hunt the same unit (farther away from town) and average one hunter encounter for every four days of hunting. Much less frustrating.
riverbeav
Rank: New User
 
Posts: 12
Joined: 02 14, 2014
First Name: matt
Last Name: w

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby Swede » 03 16, 2014 •  [Post 8]

To my way of thinking Pressured Areas are places where the elk are significantly influenced by hunters. It is a place that elk abandon their normal routine, and where human interaction becomes common.
Swede
Wapiti Hunting - Tree Stand Tactics
 
Posts: 10215
Joined: 06 16, 2012

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby Lefty » 03 16, 2014 •  [Post 9]

Swede wrote:To my way of thinking Pressured Areas are places where the elk are significantly influenced by hunters. It is a place that elk abandon their normal routine, and where human interaction becomes common.

I going along with Swede on this one
User avatar
Lefty
Wapiti Hunting - Strategy and Tactics
 
Posts: 6926
Joined: 06 25, 2012
Location: Pocatello Idaho
First Name: Dennis
Last Name: H

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby NCelkhtr » 03 17, 2014 •  [Post 10]

Swede. when you roll up on a place to hunt how long does it take you to realize that it is highly pressured? what is the first signs you look for that the elk are being inflluenced?
NCelkhtr
Rank: Calf
 
Posts: 83
Joined: 02 18, 2013
First Name: Zack
Last Name: Benfield

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby Indian Summer » 03 17, 2014 •  [Post 11]

NC... I guess the obvious answer would be parked vehicles. But there's more to it. Pressure isn't just a daily thing. Elk in a given area can be conditioned over time and the way they act can be effected even when lots of other people don't happen to be there.

The minute I step out of the truck I'm like an info gathering machine. Look on the ground. See any cigarette butts, candy bar wrappers or empty drink containers? Ok walk the perimeter and see if there's toilet paper in every likely spot. How many tire and boot tracks are there and how fresh do they look? What goes on in the area during the summer and could it be sign from regular hikers and bikers but not hunters? Hard to say if you're new to the area.

Then start up the trail if there is one. How well worn is it? Once you get a little way in do you see any elk tracks on it? Elk use our trails all the time but if they are spooky from regular human activity they may choose to avoid them. When you do find sign think about where you are. Does it seem like the elk are always in places they think no man would want to walk meaning excessively far from all trails and roads.

There are TONS of things you can learn from maps but the one factor you cannot predict is pressure. You can't even get a bead on it with a summer scouting trip. The only way to really find out is talk to someone with first hand knowledge or go there yourself during hunting season and find out.

If you run into anybody at all when you are there pick their brain about where most people hunt. People are very predictable. They all seem to head the same way. I hunt one area in Wyoming where the trailhead is tent and camper city. Looks terrible. But every single person there heads south and as soon as a make a right and head north I'm alone every time. First hand knowledge is priceless.
User avatar
Indian Summer
Wapiti Hunting Consultant
 
Posts: 5247
Joined: 06 14, 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
First Name: Joe
Last Name: Ferraro

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 03 17, 2014 •  [Post 12]

Nicely put Joe. Another page for your elk notebook folks ;). I'll add that non hunting people, i.e, hikers on popular trails, in a general hunting area do not normally constitute pressure in my book. They seldom leave the trail area, don't call, and don't bother the elk. They are also a great source of information sometimes.
User avatar
WapitiTalk1
 
Posts: 8732
Joined: 06 10, 2012
Location: WA State
First Name: RJ

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby Swede » 03 17, 2014 •  [Post 13]

NC: I am going to leave things just as Joe stated. I will add it can also help to pay attention to horse tracks. Every one of those critters is closely attached to a human.
Swede
Wapiti Hunting - Tree Stand Tactics
 
Posts: 10215
Joined: 06 16, 2012

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby Indian Summer » 03 17, 2014 •  [Post 14]

Phantom16 wrote: non hunting people, i.e, hikers on popular trails, in a general hunting area do not normally constitute pressure in my book. They seldom leave the trail area, don't call, and don't bother the elk.


Man I forgot about that. The area I outfitted for years has some trails that the mountain bikers loved. I got to know a couple groups of them pretty well. Those guys had zero effect on anything. They pass quickly and just the fact that they don't leave the trail is the main thing.

Same goes for any forest roads. They will tolerate that all day long in places. They are pretty opportunistic when it comes to hidey holes. They seem to have us figured out. I think the bastages might be lurking on this site! :shock:
User avatar
Indian Summer
Wapiti Hunting Consultant
 
Posts: 5247
Joined: 06 14, 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
First Name: Joe
Last Name: Ferraro

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby easeup » 03 18, 2014 •  [Post 15]

there is another kind of pressure that has not been mentioned you guys should consider.
It is a non-native pressure that will move them out - sheep, usually by the hundreds, and even cattle if they are overstocked also.
User avatar
easeup
Rank: An Elk Nut
 
Posts: 980
Joined: 06 15, 2012
Location: TEXAS

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby jmez » 03 18, 2014 •  [Post 16]

Phantom16 wrote:Nicely put Joe. Another page for your elk notebook folks ;). I'll add that non hunting people, i.e, hikers on popular trails, in a general hunting area do not normally constitute pressure in my book. They seldom leave the trail area, don't call, and don't bother the elk. They are also a great source of information sometimes.


I agree with this. I think they become conditioned and tolerant of activity by the non hunters. Seems to hold true in the unit we hunt in Co.
jmez
Rank: An Elk Nut
 
Posts: 755
Joined: 01 07, 2014
Location: Piedmont, SD
First Name: jason
Last Name: mez

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby stringunner » 03 18, 2014 •  [Post 17]

yes yes Easeup, cattle are a big problem where we hunt. Not only do they push the elk out just by their mere presence, but they eat every piece of edible forage and that moves the elk out fast. I have even seen the cattle dry up some pretty nice water holes in a couple of days forcing the elk to water elsewhere.
stringunner
Rank: An Elk Nut
 
Posts: 627
Joined: 06 18, 2012

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby mongopino915 » 03 22, 2014 •  [Post 18]

I would say if you encountered or called in more hunters than elk, it is probably heavily pressured but does not mean that they are not there. They might be harder to find and kill.

Sometimes, elk will move to the next county when pressured but some just know how to stay out of sight and out mind in the same general area. Just have to figure out where and how to kill them when pressured. That is what makes hunting on public OTC pressured land so much more rewarding unlike them Primos shows/guys.
mongopino915
Rank: Spike
 
Posts: 151
Joined: 06 13, 2012

Re: Pressured Areas

Postby Elkduds » 03 22, 2014 •  [Post 19]

Another kind of pressure we encounter in CO is development pressure. Gas and oil drilling activity displaces game. Residential development alters migration and wintering patterns. There is some logging in the state, especially where beetle kill is being removed to mitigate fire danger. Fires and floods move game temporarily, as well as hunters.
User avatar
Elkduds
Rank: An Elk Nut
 
Posts: 1536
Joined: 09 29, 2013
Location: Colorado Springs
First Name: Mark
Last Name: Scott


cron