Where do you set up camp?

[eriks.]

Ok, I searched for the forum for this topic but came up empty. Being new to the whole idea of camping where I'll be hunting, I'd like to hear where you guys end up setting up camp when you pack in. Obviously, not where the elk are or will be traveling during the night. I'm still wrapping my head around thermals which are really not an issue here in the mid-west and trying to avoid filling the entire country with my scent while I'm sleeping.

So, do you camp high or low or somewhere between? How far away from where you expect to begin getting into your hunting spot? I know this is probably a very elementary concept for veterans but unfortunately, I'm not counted in that group!

If this has already been asked and answered, could you please point me to it?

Thanks, Erik

[bnsafe]

i dont know what the right answer is, but i will tell you that after we got back in last year we were just happy to stop and set up camp, didnt really care about anything else other than stopping. we had a bull less than 100 yds from us every night. didnt see to bother him.

[easeup]

it is not that hard guys....
near water, as the coffee pot must be filled. not too close to timber that looks like it might fall on you.
level gound as you can get for good sleep and cooking.
No giant runny gooey cow patties either. hate stepping in them in the dark.
and maybe a little out of the wind too.

those type places are everywhere.

[JohnFitzgerald]

+1 on the easeup comment......choose a safe comfortable spot.

And just like bnsafe stated, don't worry about spooking the elk. I've too have had bulls bugling less than 100 yards away from camp.

[JimKirk]

twice last year I had bulls bugling around my tent while I lay inside but I was also solo so there had been no talking going on. I just would not camp in meadows being used or near a water source being used also. I like to camp in a spot no more than 1/2 mile from where I want to start hunting. I think a group of hunters camping might want a little more distance. I think the solo aspect makes a pretty big difference as you could literally hunt at camp sometime if your campsite has a small footprint.

[Buglemaster]

I killed a cow a few years ago a measured 73 yds from the tent flap.Keep the noise down and a clean camp.We were concerned about being run over in the night on one hunt in the white river area of Colo.Crap I love to be worried like that!

[WapitiTalk1]

Close to water, within a few hundred yards is great if possible. Also if possible, try to center yourself where you have reasonable access (acceptable hiking distances) to the various areas you'll hunt, and, perhaps where you can either glass open hillsides and throw out a "hello" locator. Plotted ridge and/or game trails are a significant consideration for relative ease of access to the target areas you'll be frequenting, with solid avenues of approach from where you hang your hat. You obviously don't want to emplace your camp in a meadow that contains an active wallow, or, smack dab in the middle of a transition bench. I too have camped where the wapiti have kept me awake all night with their pesky singing but when you get up in the morning and boil your water for coffee, you want to be in a spot where the elk are not on top of you (close to bedding, feeding, transition areas, travel routes, etc.). Yes sir, one must research where you'll make your mountain home for the time you'll be out there considering all affecting factors.. Not sure if all this makes sense... just some late evening Friday rambling.

[CrazyElkHunter]

I have a wallow less than a half mile from camp that I get bulls off of often. When I am in the stand I can hear vehicles, quads and our generator in camp. A few years back, I stayed in camp one evening to start a tri tip dinner for my partner and I . I heard a slight bugle from the area of the wallow, so I let out a couple of bugles, and he answered. I decided to not pressure him with more calls and continued dinner. 10 minutes later I looked up and a 6x6 bull was standing on the road, 40 yds from camp. When I attempted to get my bow, he ran through my camp. The next night, I shot that bull off of the wallow. We have 2 toyhaler trailers, 2 satellite dishes, 2 freezers, 2 trucks and a cook tent and none of it kept that bull from coming into camp from the calls I made. 1st week of Sept. You just never know!

[ElkNut1]

eriks, I think what happens is there's always so much talk about scent control or you'll run elk out of the country & that in itself can be confusing to some. It's true to control scent in elk hunting encounters but no need to go over board in it controlling your thoughts on a bivy style camp site. Elk won't go far even if they do get a whiff of your camp & they won't stop bugling if they're already doing so in the 1st place. -- Elk will bed in openings both large & small at night & most of these are in the valleys or flat benches that are in the open for the area hunted. This can differ! So if choosing a sweet looking meadow to pitch camp hug the treeline & avoid being out in the middle of it just to make sure elk don't have to walk over or around you to get to where they want to be!

Look at these photos here, notice top one, the right side is the coolest area for elk to come from in the evenings being the north side. Avoid camping on that side or middle of basin. The other two show nice parks, avoid camping in the middle of them, pick out areas closer to the timber & scan area over where elk may come from to enter these spots, look for trails, rubs, scat, you will see once you find these things that you wouldn't want to pitch a tent in or near their entrance!

ElkNut1

[eriks.]

No giant runny gooey cow patties either. hate stepping in them in the dark.

Too funny easeup! There was a song a while back about watching your step when the chips were down. I think Tim Stafford sang it, not sure, but it was funny too! My Dad tells stories about when he was a kid and had to bring the cows back in the evening. They were very poor and only got to have Sunday-go-to-meeting shoes. I'm sure you can tell where this is going...follow cows, dark, squish between bare toes! He laughs about it now after 60 years of retrospect!

I'm very partial to starting the day off with my beloved coffee so for sure need the water!

Thanks for the info guys. I know that here in MO, I have to be super aware of scent control with the mature bucks I like to hunt. One mistake can cost a lot of scouting and prep time so I am a little paranoid about ruining my spot. Would totally suck if I spent all the time, prep and money only to see it circle the drain because of a boneheaded mistake.

Thanks Paul for posting the pics. Worth a thousand words so they say. I'll be giving you a call very soon to order your playbook and some goodies! Looking forward to talking to you.

Phantom, I happen to be rambler myself, so of course it made perfect sense! Ha!!

I would love to have elk so close to camp that they kept me awake. I've waited over 30 years to get to do this and I am having trouble sleeping at night for thinking about the adventure.

[Lefty]

I try to make my camos easy. Where I hunt mulies is 80 yards off an ATV trail in a small thicket of firs, ATVs can drive by all day and not see my camp. camp is a 30 minute walk in the dark to where i hunt

Wher eI hunt elk is open range, generally I try to hide beside the road, maybe a hillside, or rock out cropping out of sight of where I hunt.
One location I place my camp so others will see my camp and leave the area.
I do not try to set camp up where the elk could be. Also I try not to be anywhere near where I know others would hunt
Nothing better than elk being too noisy to get to sleep

[easeup]

No giant runny gooey cow patties either. hate stepping in them in the dark.

Too funny easeup! There was a song a while back about watching your step when the chips were down.

......................I would love to have elk so close to camp that they kept me awake. ............

ME TOO!

[Da White Shoe]

it is not that hard guys....
near water, as the coffee pot must be filled. not too close to timber that looks like it might fall on you.
level gound as you can get for good sleep and cooking.
No giant runny gooey cow patties either. hate stepping in them in the dark.
and maybe a little out of the wind too.

those type places are everywhere.

These are all very good considerations.
I would just add that, for the most part, the thermals will be going downhill in the early am, the late pm and all night long.
With that in mind, it is best to camp in a place where you will be hunting uphill from camp in the morning...
and if possible, a place where most elk won't ever be congregated below you... such as a feeding or bedding area.

Not that easy to find the perfect place.

[easeup]

I agree with all of that too. thanks for tacking on!

[elkmtngear]

I have a somewhat flat spot in mind a little less than 2 miles in. I just need a flat spot, and a good water source.

I fully expect to have elk bugling around my camp in the middle of the night!

[Mikeha33]

And just like bnsafe stated, don't worry about spooking the elk. I've too have had bulls bugling less than 100 yards away from camp.

I am going to go absolutely bat s*** crazy waiting for September, when I hear about things like this!!!!!!!!! The more I read, the more jacked up I am getting. By the end of August, Ill be an absolute junkie in need of a mountainside fix. Im already like this with KS Whitetails in early November, but just the anticipation of something new, something as raw as a backcountry archery elk hunt, is gonna make for many (more) sleepless nights.

[6.5City]

Mike, I see your from SEK. I grew up down there and sleeping with elk screaming all around is even better than dreaming of all the big deer we have down there. You think your wound up now just wait til you get back, it will be all you think about. Looking forward to September myself.

[WapitiTalk1]

And just like bnsafe stated, don't worry about spooking the elk. I've too have had bulls bugling less than 100 yards away from camp.

I am going to go absolutely bat s*** crazy waiting for September, when I hear about things like this!!!!!!!!! The more I read, the more jacked up I am getting. By the end of August, Ill be an absolute junkie in need of a mountainside fix. Im already like this with KS Whitetails in early November, but just the anticipation of something new, something as raw as a backcountry archery elk hunt, is gonna make for many (more) sleepless nights.

Welcome to the addiction. Yes sir, restful sleep comes less and less frequent until the day you depart for your fall wapiti adventure... then, you sleep very well as you are serenaded to sleep by the ultimate night time choir

[Indian Summer]

I look for the highest water source I can find and find the flattest spot I can close to that.

I've been rudely awakened by bulls stomping through camp. You'd think they would realize I need my sleep if they expect me to try to kill them the next day!

[easeup]

I am going to go absolutely bat s*** crazy waiting for September, when I hear about things like this!!!!!!!!! The more I read, the more jacked up I am getting. By the end of August, Ill be an absolute junkie in need of a mountainside fix. Im already like this with KS Whitetails in early November, but just the anticipation of something new, something as raw as a backcountry archery elk hunt, is gonna make for many (more) sleepless nights.

sweet

[eriks.]

Sorry, double post.

[eriks.]

I look for the highest water source I can find and find the flattest spot I can close to that.

I've been rudely awakened by bulls stomping through camp. You'd think they would realize I need my sleep if they expect me to try to kill them the next day!

A little known elk fact, "Elk have been found to be inconsiderate of other's needs". I found that little tidbit in a dust-covered text in the local library!