Elk Don't Fly

[Swede]

Elk can't fly or leave the planet, so they are around somewhere. So why do we have so much trouble finding an 800+ pound animal or worse a herd of 800+ pound animals during the hunting season?
They walk on the ground leaving tracks, and poop. They eat, drink, bed and wallow, so what are some good tips for locating elk a few days into the hunting season?

[Indian Summer]

This!

I still believe it has to do with confidence. If you were pretty darn sure that you’d kill a bull elk by taking the plunge you’d be more likely to do it than if you said to yourself I’m gonna drop down there and regret it because it’s nasty and it’s going to be even harder coming back up. Guess what.... THAT’S WHERE THE ELK FLEW TO!

[saddlesore]

I know several locations that the elk go into the nasty stuff. I find now days,I don't want to kill an elk bad enough to go in there and get one.I put my safety back on, more and more now days. I tell the young guys about those places and let them go in and get them.

[Swede]

I saw the picture of a 440 class bull on another web site yesterday. It is a very impressive bull alright, but there are public otc places here in Oregon he would have been completely safe from me. Like Saddlesore, I just won't go there anymore. Within the areas I scout and hunt I look for locations where I can expect to find hunt-able elk during the hunting season.
There are several ways I begin my decision process in deciding where to hunt. The State is a given as I don't care to go very often where it costs me over $600 just for a tag.
Next, I consider which hunting unit(s) I want to try. Sometimes it is not just a wide open search. I may know some units better than others and it gives me some advantage, but I start fairly big. Hunter success statistics help me narrow things down to the unit(s) I want to further consider. I may prefer a 15% success unit where half the elk killed are cows over a 12% unit where all are bulls, but that is just a personal preference. I know there are hunters that don't pay attention to the success stats, but I do.
Next I check maps and G.E. for good looking areas in the unit(s) I want to investigate on the ground. Since I am mostly a tree stand hunter, I prefer semiarid places. I would rather have a few elk in an area, but they will be coming to a waterhole where I am waiting in ambush, than go to a place where the elk can scatter everywhere. I can often find springs and game trails on an on-line map and G.E. I have my very own Game Planner map now so I can mark places on it at home for later investigation.
When I go on my scouting trip it is boots on the ground. I check out the spots I located on the map including ones I have entered on my GPS. Really once I get on the ground I am looking for evidence that elk use the area in late August through September. If the elk are there them I will find old rubs, wallows and usually actively used trails. As a tree stand hunter, I like a spot where several trails come together at a wallow/spring. At that point I usually hang a trail camera, and look for a good tree to set a stand in. If it is really good, I will prep the site so that when I come back shortly before the season, all I need to do is place my stand where I feel I will have the best perch to ambush an elk from.
Last season I found just such a place and named it "Eagle". I found it late so it never got a camera in 2018, but there is one there now. It did not matter that I had no camera there last season as I had several opportunities at elk and could have shot 7-8 different bears. I am looking forward to the 2019 season.

[WapitiTalk1]

They do fly, I’ve seen em do it

[Indian Summer]

No question that throughout your hunting career your goals will change. But I don’t think that there will ever be a time where I say to myself “I wouldn’t go there to kill a 400 inch bull”. I might hunt it differently such as in a stand. But I will hunt for that bull! I think a big part of deciding whether or not to hunt nasty or far places is learning how to access and hunt them. Let’s face it elk are going to gravitate toward places where less hunters go. So by going there you increase your chances of being where elk are. So you need to learn how to hunt it without killing yourself. Find a good route in and out. Or make one! Drop down in elevation if you have to. Do it early and stay down there all day. Start your way back up at a decent time so you don’t have to deal with tough navigating in the dark. By doing those things you leave other hunters behind... which is what elk do. Everyone dreams of killing bulls. The guys who kill them regularly think a little differently. Aggressively. A dream is just a plan and it’s up to us to put the plan into action not just wait for it to happen.

My goals might change in that I am more interested in seeing my partner kill a bull. But the plan is the same. Elk are where they are so that’s where I’m taking him. Like I said before.... you have the rest of the year to take life easy. Might as well eat elk while you’re doing that.

I’m 54 this season and I’m as aggressive as I’ve ever been. If elk do fly then I’ll be flying too and dropping them out of the sky!

[WapitiTalk1]

Nice elk art mister!

[Swede]

I just won't go in and kill any elk where I can't get it out including all of the meat. There is a little arroyo (Hells Canyon) off to the east of where I hunt. I don't have horses for standby and no jet boat at the bottom. If a 400 class bull is down in there he can live to be a 500 class bull as far as I care. There is a wilderness area in another part of the State where a fellow has invited me to pack in 7 miles to hunt a very promising water hole. No thanks. I could get into there, but could not get an elk out by myself, and I do not have a pack string.
My advise is to consider well where you will hunt. It is ok to be a trophy elk hunter, but not ok to waste the meat. Certainly the size of your hunting party and the resources you have to work with can make a big difference where you hunt. Just know your limits.

[Indian Summer]

Wise words Swede. I’ve had solo bow hunters ask me for hunt plans saying they preferred to be 6-8 miles in. I explained to them that the idea was not good at all and told them why they’d be way better off hunting from the truck or maybe 2 miles in on a good trail. But if I really knew where I could kill a 400 incher I’d rent a helicopter if I had to! Just packing the antlers out would be a serious chore!

[ElkNut1]

LOL!

ElkNut/Paul