Scouting--Where Do I start?

[Swede]

Well folks I just messed up! I deleted a thread I intended to archive. The thread was an response to the above question. Bullnuts and Elknut posted two good answers. Bullnuts had 7 or 8 things listed to look for, and Elknut showed three pictures of vantage points to bugle from. If you guys can remember or restate your thoughts I will plan to archive it properly. I apologize for the problem.

[mandrroofing]

Subscribed!

[Moose-head]

Fish and game websites are good because you can get harvest statistics for the area you are looking for. I was scouting an area that looked pretty good, and then I discovered that there was significant effort put in there without any animals harvested. That was good information to have, there is a large Rez that borders that unit and I suspect that the animals move away from the activity in the woods when it picks up in the fall.

[buglmin]

Th F&G down here suck...they always claim higher higher elk numbers then what there is. Truth be told, they havent done a game count here for a while now, and even one F&G guy will tell you how low the numbers are.

[ABQ_Chica]

Ack! I was just looking for this thread. If I'm remembering correctly, it was chock-full of good tips. I hope everyone chimes in again.

[Bullnuts]

Glad I looked at this Swede! I doubt that I remember exactly what I wrote back then but here's what I look for:
Food, Water, Cover are 1st always, and if I were to rank those three things Cover and plenty of it would be at the top of the list. Elk will move a long ways to get food and water but there's no way they're going to walk around for hours in the open without an escape hatch nearby.

Once you have those three ingredients, get in your vehicle and drive. I like to hit forest roads, logging road, 2 tracks, whatever is there and I look for tracks in the ditches and right on the soft dirt of the road. Elk will use roads just like game trails and they will also cross them with regularity. Watch the uphill and downhill sides of roads as you drive for obvious tracks that slide down the slope. You'll see a lot of cattle tracks and deer tracks here in Colorado but you'll also find a lot of elk tracks.

When you find an area with tracks, the next objective is to get in the woods and look for droppings. Lots of droppings, fresh and old, mean the elk are there and they're there to stay. That means you're in the zone. Lots of tracks and a lack of droppings typically means that the elk are using this as a travel route. If that's the case, you need to try and figure out where they are coming from and where they are going.

Incredibly enough, if you look around enough you'll be able to figure out the predominate directions of those tracks, coming and going. Elk will move like they're on a mission, even when they're feeding so get the directions and then take a look at your topo or satellite and look for the likely stuff like green grass or water on one end and dark timber on the other. Remember, elk will travel a long way, by human terms, to get good food and drink. Five miles isn't that far to go when you're an elk so look at your maps and make a best guess. Once you have some ideas, go take a look, hang cameras, or spend a day on that route in between places. I prefer to watch those areas from the cab of my truck, where I can glass openings from a distance and not disturb animals that I think will be nearby.

Last, look for rub areas. Elk will use the same rub areas over and over, so as long as nothing devastating happens in your area, like a fire or something, expect the elk to come back. There are places in my area that are covered by years of rubs, from last years to 10 years or more old. If the rubs are there, the elk aren't too far away, so I check lots of adjoining drainages and anywhere that provides my top 3 nearby.

I'm sure there's probably more stuff that I've forgotten, but that should get you started.

[Lefty]

Food, Water, Cover are 1st always, and if I were to rank those three things Cover and plenty of it would be at the top of the list.

I dont think I want an arguement,.. butt,... Some of you know Ive been hunting the desert since I started elk hunting.
I know I have low elk numbers, but I dont have a tree in over 20 miles ( and ussully no hunters too )
Well ok I found this tree cover last year, and that is all one tree, but no elk sign under it

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Maybe a better term would be a place the elk feel safe and secluded. Ive find many of my elk in 6" grass and the tallest rock is under 10 inches
I use to think the elk needed shade of "old growth" sage
I have found deer and elk( where are they getting the water I still dont know) in 80-98 degree temps in the full sun.
The yearling cow I killed 3 years ago was laying in the full sun and 88 degrees( at my truck) when I took my shot at 1:31 PM The 2 bulls I jumped on the way out were laying in full sun, and I hunted the area I hunted last year, a bit remote and a new burn without , sage for miles

[Bullnuts]

LOL. You, Lefty, are the exception rather than the rule! I don't know what possessed you to hunt that crazy stuff that you hunt, or how you get close to those animals that you kill, but you're obviously doing something right!

[Lefty]

Last, look for rub areas. Elk will use the same rub areas over and over, .....

Desert country elk rubs.

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I don't know what possessed you to hunt that crazy stuff that you hunt, or how you get close to those animals that you kill, but you're obviously doing something right!

Once I find them I dont have a problem getting close, a lot of practice in the squrril woods as a kid, and way more patience than I had as a 40 year-old

Short version.
My daughter and I spotted a pair of bulls when she was antelope hunting.
Then one snowstorm we cut elk tracks in the day time.
Then a lady at a gas station talked about the bulls she saw when they were moving cows,
then I realized that was elk pellets, not deer we had been seeing antelope hunting.
then elk tracks at the ranchers clean water tanks,...
My buddy sold me his bow,..
Now the whiney part. My hip had been bothering me for 30 years, side hilling put the pain over the top. I can cover 20 miles hiking in the desert a day but not a mile of side down hill.
Not knowing any better and coming from Minnesota. I thought water was the key and I could sit instead of hike. then I started seeing elk,... ussually in at a distance3/4 -1 mile away,.. (My wife thought I was nuts hunting mulies with a rifle from a tree stand too )
Then spending time ATV the roads, scouting and tracking, and finding elk sign
but the real hook was the first time I herd a bull bugling and I could see him 1000 yards away,

and maybe the biggies I just hate seeing others that mess up my hunt, so I tend to avoid the "good" elk areas... I would guess the road, (yep on the map), had 7 travel trips on since march to Sept other than me,.

[Bullnuts]

That's pretty awesome! I watched a bull shred a sage brush one day. He was at 120 yards and wouldn't take a step closer. Figures I would call one of his cows away from him and my brother smoked her at 10 feet. The bull just picked up his head, gave me one of those, "Yea, I knew you were a human" looks, and walked off into the woods.

Your desert spot is a true gem! Hopefully you'll be able to keep it a family secret for many good years.

[Indian Summer]

Where do I start? To keep it simple....

At home: Maps or My Topo.com. Then Google Earth.

On the ground: The highest elevation where the water first comes out of the ground. Priceless. If there isn't sign there then there aren't any elk around!