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Work Days Ruined

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Work Days Ruined

Postby GetOutside » 08 16, 2019 •  [Post 1]

I'm about a month out from heading West for my first hunt and am completely consumed by elk hunting. Gears all ready to go, shooting daily. Its mostly just running through maps. All of them....aerial, topo, Forest Service. Its going to get me in trouble! Ha :D So my buddy and I have several areas picked out to hit and plan to stay mobile until we get on elk. I've read too many stories about hunts ruined by sticking it out in a single camp for a week with no elk sightings. Below is a map of our first spot, about 20 sq miles. It was two/three access points. One in the SE corner and the other two from the N/NW corner which come over the top at 10k. We plan to truck camp and stay out all day. I've got an idea of how to tackle this area but how would you dissect it for an archery hunt the second half of September?

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Re: Work Days Ruined

Postby Tigger » 08 16, 2019 •  [Post 2]

Unbelievable! That is the area we hunt! Eleven of us will be camping right in the middle of that area a month from now!

Ha, just kidding. I have never seen that area before. Did you get one of those "you gotta be kidding me" moments for just a second?

First time to the area, one possible strategy would be to run the ridges listening and throwing out location bugles. It appears to be open enough to glass a little. Look for sign and keep those ears tuned to the elk bugle frequency!
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Re: Work Days Ruined

Postby GetOutside » 08 16, 2019 •  [Post 3]

ELEVEN! Yikes!

Maybe for a second. Thanks for the giggle!
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Re: Work Days Ruined

Postby Swede » 08 16, 2019 •  [Post 4]

I would camp along the road heading in to your area and hike in every day. Personally, I would stay off the ridges. Go in from the bottom and work your way up as the sun heats up the area. If after 2-3 days you are not getting into elk like you expect, then drive somewhere else and try another spot. I am convinced that patience kills more elk that hiking deeper into the woods. I have killed 24 just from a tree stand and all were closer than a mile to the truck. The elk I have killed from the ground were as close as my tree stand ones. Last season it was just 700 feet. Of coarse I like to see hunters hiking for great distances to get away from me. Please hurry along. :D
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Re: Work Days Ruined

Postby Indian Summer » 08 16, 2019 •  [Post 5]

What state.... how much pressure?

At a glance without knowing much I’d be running along those bottom edge of those benches on the west side at around 9400-9600 feet just at the top lip of the steep stuff.
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Re: Work Days Ruined

Postby GetOutside » 08 16, 2019 •  [Post 6]

WY. No idea on the pressure. The aerial has a few rigs at the trailhead but who knows what time of year it was taken.
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Re: Work Days Ruined

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 08 16, 2019 •  [Post 7]

Some steep stuff in there. First of all, who the heck knows where the elk will be in your area ... I always say "they're gonna be exactly where they are". They certainly don't follow all the elk book rules, that's for sure. As a "general" rule, they'll bed 2/3 to 3/4 the way up the side of the mountains on benches if available (elk prefer a flat spot to rack out if possible). Said bench doesn't have to be huge either. That's kind of a quasi-elk mannerism to start with (where they may be bedding). Most folks accessing the area will certainly be camping at, or, merely just taking off at the trail head(s). It's not a huge area so I'd look for a camp spot which allows you to avoid the trail hunters, and, by taking off from camp and hiking up and over a ridge, will get you in the middle of that area for some location bugles (if you don't hear em right off, singing unsolicited) and/or glassing to see who's home and perhaps, what they are doing (pattern). Once you've determined if that camp spot works for getting you into elk or not, you can adjust from there. You may glass a nice group or two up that require you to either move your camp to the other side, or, ruck up with gear for 3-4 days and head in. Good luck on your hunt.
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Re: Work Days Ruined

Postby GetOutside » 08 16, 2019 •  [Post 8]

Swede wrote:I would camp along the road heading in to your area and hike in every day. Personally, I would stay off the ridges. Go in from the bottom and work your way up as the sun heats up the area. If after 2-3 days you are not getting into elk like you expect, then drive somewhere else and try another spot. I am convinced that patience kills more elk that hiking deeper into the woods. I have killed 24 just from a tree stand and all were closer than a mile to the truck. The elk I have killed from the ground were as close as my tree stand ones. Last season it was just 700 feet. Of coarse I like to see hunters hiking for great distances to get away from me. Please hurry along. :D



Run this line in the AM expecting the elk to be coming to bed right?
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Re: Work Days Ruined

Postby Swede » 08 16, 2019 •  [Post 9]

I like to stay low on the slope in the morning and after sunset, as the diurnal winds are generally downslope. My scent won't be going to them as I move forward since they are above.
Hiking in during the early morning on a ridge will have your scent going down, likely to where the elk are. I stay just above the stream for easier movement and to get away from the noise of the running water. If I am back 100 feet from the creek, I can hear an elk answer my calls.
In the transition period in the mid morning and late afternoon, we need to be careful as we can be busted real easily. The winds are shifting.
During the midday I like to be on the upper third of a slope, but rarely on top of the ridges. That is where most people travel and the elk get pushed off soon in many areas.
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Re: Work Days Ruined

Postby GetOutside » 08 18, 2019 •  [Post 10]

The benches were definitely the first thing I noticed when I took a look at this area. I also noticed a handful of saddles that dump out of the area in nearly every direction. We have four other areas about the same size within twenty miles or so that we have in mind but this will be the first place we will put boots on the ground.
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