How far in?

[Elkhunttoo]

How far in from where you park the pickup do you go?

For me it's the closer to the road the better. I usually only get afternoons to hunt because of my job so I like to find places I can get into elk right off.

[stringunner]

We have gone in a couple miles and hunted a circle totaling several miles and sometimes we go to tree stands just a 1/4 mile from a road. It all changes depending on our location. Our tree stands are all within a mile usually.

[Roosiebull]

my cut off for elk hunting is about 3 miles (how far i can realistically get a whole bull out of the woods solo in September heat) i like closer, and usually it is closer.

around here, it's tough to get over a mile from a road...so that helps, i would guess my average dead elk has fallen around a mile as the crow flies from my pickup.

[Dr. Rx]

You have to find the Elk...I made this mistake when I went to Wyoming 2 years ago...
Last year we chased them and got into them on most days...
That's was the most important lesson I learned last year..
Elk are where you find them...

I don't live in Elk country and I don't have the time to wait.
Every hunt opportunity is an all out attack.

Just my 2 cents

Kris

[ElkNut1]

I too hunt within 2-3 miles or so especially when alone. No issues here with getting meat out as I have ample help when needed. When hunting with my son or another we will penetrate a bit further to the 4 mile range but rarely any further than that in a single direction. All in all we will cover 7-10 miles a day burning boot leather on most occasions. Those evening hunts are far less in distance. My son & I have been fortunate to take 59 elk in the last 26 years, not one was bivy hunting, they were all day or half day hunts on OTC DIY public lands. This style has provided for us very well & intend to continue to elk hunt in this manner.

p.s. I'd like to do a bivy hunt this year just for the fun of it! (grin)

ElkNut1

[saddlesore]

In the unit I hunt ML elk, I am about 3 miles from the camper. However, I stick my feet in stirrups, I can hunt about a 5 mile radius if need be and even extending that up to 8 miles. I don't over look area s that may be1/2 mile in though. Sometimes they can surprise you

[adamds22]

I'm typically around that 3-4 mile range but one year we parked a car in one location and drove up so we could hike back down to the parked car which allowed us to get into the 7-10 mile range.

[CurlyTail]

From the trailhead to the top of the ridge we hunt is 1.5 miles, but it takes a full hour to get there due to no trails. Sometimes we have two vehicles, and go road to road across the mountain and this is about 4.5 miles and takes all day.

[jgt24]

Further you can get away from people the better. I've found that setting up a spike camp at least a mile from the truck and then going in 2-4 miles further from there each day gets me into elk. You find them where they are, but if you want to get where they are my experience has led me to going deeper than most. I wish I had horses. I'd got back even further.

[BrentLaBere]

Closest to the "main" road I got into a bugling bull was .1 miles from the truck. It changed the way I looked at the area I hunt. 8 miles is the farthest Ive gone.

[WapitiTalk1]

It certainly varies by area for me/my team. Closest I think is around 1/3 mile off a road as the grouse flies but ends up being somewhat longer weaving in and out of the alder walls. Average? I'm guessing anywhere between one mile to two miles in. That said, one of my hunting partners aptly titled "the coyote" always seems to coax me into those "hey, lets go check out that area way over there and see if anybody's home"... I'm a sucker for hike plan diversions for some reason but need to temper that as I don't seem to be getting younger for some reason. Of course, a vocal elk (or several) can always affect my daily plans for ingress/egress.

[TimeOnTarget]

I try and no set a min or max distance. I just try and hunt where the elk are. On more than one occasion, i've stumbled upon elk within a few hundred yards of a road, which is overlooked by most because it is to close to a road.

[ishy]

Usually start at 1 mile and will go up to 4 or 5 solo. If in a group I'll go as far as I can get the others to go. But my buddies it's usually less than what I do solo.

[Swede]

Over the years and decades I have hunted, there are been three that come to mind, that we could load up whole. We could drive right up to them. They were not shot from a road, but traveled close enough to one that we could get to it. The longest pack out was about 1.5 miles. I have hunted over 3 miles in, but would not try it alone. About 1.5 miles is my limit on one tree stand. It is slightly down hill to the place I park the truck.

[six]

Sometime in September of 2004 after getting caught in a monsoon my partner and I went back to camp for dry cloths and an early Dinner. I had dry cloths on and dinner had just started to boil when we heard a bugle. We were talking mid bugle and we weren’t 100% sure where the bugle came from. We took off down the mountain. After a few minutes and no responses I went back toward camp. I was standing in the middle of the road right next to a F250 Superduty and I let out a cow call. All heck broke loose and I hear a bugle from right in our camp not 30 yards away just inside the tree line. I stood there and nocked an arrow just as the bull walked out into the gas line right of way. I sent an arrow right over his back while I was standing an arm’s length from the truck.

Nowadays we camp 3 miles from the trailhead and we still have elk in our camp.

[Lefty]

I sort of start right from camp.
While in the desert most years the elk came too close to camp many nights. Many nights/early mornings they were literally a stones throw. It has worked both ways, getting out of the tent and following in the dark ( and hasnt worked) Or waiting till light and following them.

Where we camped last year we were in grizzle country. I don't like to move around quietly in the dark but leave minutes before shooting light.
Last year our first calling location was 200 yards from the tent.

Year 15/16 I was visiting then speaking with a bull at the same elevation 150 yards from the tent.

[Elkhunttoo]

the first bugle I heard last year was right from the main road, after spending lots of miles looking for elk in new areas that looked good I finally found them right by the main road. Idk if anyone else is hunting the areas I was in, I think most people do like I was doing and drive by and think "that would be a great area if there wasn't a main road here." There is also a creek crossing right off of the road that I think detours a lot of hunters too. I'm excited to see what this year brings and learn the areas better

[NorthIDTLH]

I'm going back to old school this year. There's an area I hunted with my dad, roughly 20 years ago. I shot a bear scouting it last year and had grandios plans to slay elk there last fall until I shattered my right wrist at work...the day before elk season started...

Can't wait to get in there this year and see what's there. Oh by the way, the small meadows I envision elk are with .75 miles of where we set up the wall tent.

[Sticknstringer]

OK guys, me being a newbie. Do you guys hear bugles early in the season like august 28th to separate 10th. Iv read on average years the rut is sep 15th to the first of October.

[Beendare]

I prefer closer...but last year...my first year in Montana we hit a bunch of likely spots looking for nirvana and came up empty. We pulled out the maps looking for the 'steep and deep' we almost always find them in later in the season. Sure enough, we backpacked in 8 miles to a lake...and ended up screwing up a good bull that first afternoon....and killing one the next morning another mile past that.

9 mile bull

tim bull800pix.jpg (181.05 KiB) Viewed 14358 times

They really are where you find them.....

[Elkhunttoo]

OK guys, me being a newbie. Do you guys hear bugles early in the season like august 28th to separate 10th. Iv read on average years the rut is sep 15th to the first of October.

Every year is different... 3 seasons ago I went in to check trail cameras 2 days before the season and it was nice and cool with a light rain and the elk were just a singing... last year, no early talking in my area

[Swede]

Bulls can bugle about any time. I have heard them in the Spring, around July 4th, late August and up to November. I can't say I ever heard a bugle in the winter, but would not doubt they do bugle then. They were just gone at that time, so I just can't say for sure.

[Elkhunttoo]

One of the things I like about early season is the big boys don't have 20+ sets of eyes/ears/noses with them. It can give you a chance to find them searching for your sweet cow sounds

[Sticknstringer]

Well I can say I'm excited for this September. Feels like I'm hooked and hopefully hunting elk for years. I still get excited for chasing rutting bucks in nebraska but I'm ready to try a new style of hunting like elk.

[jmez]

Depends, anywhere from 1-5 miles and that is to set up a spike camp. Then we hunt out of there.

[Fridaythe13th]

The closest to camp has been 1.9 miles the farthest has been 2.5 miles. For are location 2 miles is, HOW FAR IN?

[poisonarrow]

Last year we hunted 50yds from the road. We were driving out from an area we had hunted hard. hiked in several miles, nothing. Driving out a herd ran across the road in front of us. We bailed out and grabbed our bows. We went 50yds down the mountain and cow called. The bull screamed back at us.

A p.u. pulled up behind our 4runner and started honking. The bull payed no attention to the honking and kept bugling at us. He wasn't more than 75 yds from the road. We ran out of light before we could close the deal.

Lesson learned? Elk are were they are and don't always acted like you think they will.

[NorthIDTLH]

So, why was the other vehicle honking? Were they trying to run interference?

[poisonarrow]

No, in our rush to get after the elk we left our vehicle in the middle of the road. He got around but it was a little tight.

[poisonarrow]

On that road there is very little traffic. One vehicle every two hours. Go figure!