How do you choose your opening day spot?

[mtnmutt]

I went scouting my Plan A area this past weekend and it has me rethinking it as my opening day spot. Someone put brand new pink/white ribbon from 0.25 mile to 1.5 mile along the bench. Why would someone want to advertise the path into this area? Granted, not all the ribbon is close together, but it left me shaking my head.

Scouting again in 2 weeks my Plan A and Plan B locations. For my non rugged vehicle, their "trailheads" are 1.25 hr drive apart but 1.2 miles as the crow flies. I could move camp if one spot doesn't pan out or try the other spot for a day before moving camp.

With Opening weekend being Labor Day weekend this year in CO, I may commit to backpacking in for 2 days to get away from the crowds.

How do you choose your opening day spot when you have multiple potential areas? What criteria do you use? Right now, my 2 areas have equally different strengths. I will know more in 2 weeks.

[otcWill]

Always was a tough choice for me as well, but now I go a couple days early and glass. Whichever spot has the biggest bull or the most elk. If I couldn't glass I'd let pressure along with my gut tell me the way.

[Lefty]

For me Ive been scouting,
the location has to be less than a 2 hour drive
their needs to be daily fresh sign

I do have three other areas as backup

[the weasel]

trail cam pictures and actually wondering around to check sign in the area. then just go for it and if it doesn't pan out then i just hunt whenever and where ever my gut and huntin buddies think is good. most of the time it seems like they just stand around starring at me and wait for me to make the call.... (or it sure seems that way!!!!) this year it's just me and DAD though, so who knows what lies ahead!!

[elkmtngear]

mtnmutt,

You're lucky to be able to scout and re-think. All I've got is memories and gut instinct. I have no idea what the state of the World will be down in that honey-hole, but I know we have historically found elk there, consistently, for well over a decade.

My plan B spot will be a real pain in the rear if I'm forced to go there...but I know pressured elk tend to congregate in that hell hole.

[twinkieman]

Don't have to even think about it, won't arrive to hunting area until the season has been open 10 days. We go in blind every year, usually can find bulls pretty quick.

[cnelk]

mtnmutt
As you may know, very seldom will you have an area all to yourself.
But most areas are big and can swallow up a few hunters without the elk or other hunters even knowing it.

I select my opening day spot [I already have] by using a few things I already know...

1-
Opening Day is Labor Day weekend. I will be out early and not close to any MC trails.
I will hunt these areas thru Monday and waiting for the 'Weekend Warriors' to head out.
On Tuesday, I will venture into other areas for the mid-week hunt.

2-
Like mentioned above, you HAVE to follow your gut feeling. It wont steer you wrong!

3-
Make a plan and stick to it. Dont second guess yourself. Only let elk encounters change your plan

[WapitiTalk1]

My WA area gets minimal hunter foot traffic as far back in as I go. It's a pretty large wilderness area and the majority of the small herds of resident rooseys are lower than what I hunt but I do my best to avoid any semblance of hunting spot competition so I hunt quite a bit higher. That said, for the week or so I hunt in the early WA season (4-9 SEPT), I really move from spot to spot until I either hit fresh sign, or, have something come in to cold calling. This has worked for me for quite a few years. I also do a fair share of nocturnal location bugles that usually serves me well. For my ID hunt, the last few weeks of SEPT, they'll be screaming their heads off so I'll hunt where bulls are singing me their sweet songs . Again, it's a pretty inaccessible area and most folks don't want to go that far back in, or, don't want to go brush diving in some of the nastiest alder God ever created. It's getting close

[CrazyElkHunter]

Living over a 1000 miles from elk camp, scouting is limited to the 4 days before the archery opener. My routine is to set trail cam and tree stand over favorite wallow and then glass basins in the evenings. Then I allow my gutt feelings take over and decide from what I see. Last year, my wallow was not being hit at all but I was seeing bulls in 1 basin in the evening. I chose to work a familiar area in the morning and then go to the wallow 2 bulls were hitting in the basin in the evening. Opening morning was non productive and quiet. My choice to sit on the basin wallow in the evening was the right choice and I took a nice 6x5 at 7:10 when he came running into the wallow. Knowing a area is a very important key to increase your odds for success. My last 3 bulls were taken in August with only a few days to scout using this routine. The previous season my trail camera showed 2 bulls were hitting my favorite wallow and I took a 6x6 from the tree stand on Sunday of opening weekend.

[Bullnuts]

I'm not too worried about my spot. I hunt public ground and have a 9 square mile piece of timber that I've hunted every year for the past 15 years that has accounted for nearly every elk I've killed in that time. I don't worry too much about vehicle traffic, ATVs, motorcycles, or other hunters. I get past the first ridge and leave pretty much everyone else behind. I've only had one opening day when I didn't see an elk in that spot, but I came back a week later and killed a small bull.

[Coveyleader]

I've killed quite a few elk opening morning. I have one little drainage that finds me in it every year. It's an OTC spot, and some years I have people bump into me other years not. Its right under a road, so I expect to get bumped a few days. If I can get 3-4 days of clean entries and exits, I feel I will kill a bull. It's just a matter of time. With my limited time this year, I will not be picky, and I will give this spot 3-5 days before I call it.

One things fore sure, at least where I hunt; Elk like to hang out in the same spots year after year. Sure you see elk everywhere, but from what I've learned, I walk to one spot. Elk not there, walk to the next. Elk not there, walk to the next. Elk not there, they were in the first spot and I just didn't see them. If I repeat this circuit and don't see elk, something is very very wrong.

[Washington Wapiti]

Hey mtnmutt, sorry to hear about the intrusion on your area. I'd most likely react the same way if I saw a trail of flagging heading into my "sacred place." Hell, I react that way when the semi-rare hunter wanders in! It is hard not to have a little sense of entitlement when you've put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into a spot, especially over a longer period of time. Anyways, does it look like agency flagging or just ribbon that Joe Scmoe hunter or hiker put up? Every state, administering agency, and NGO has their own specific "key" (combinations of colors, stripes, and such) when it comes to flagging, and what it is outlining. Obviously, I don't know your spot. But if it looks like one of the state or federal land managers put it up, I would make some calls to find out if there are any thinning, fiber optic line, or any similar operations going on in that area that are going to cause disruption. I learned this one the hard way last year, when I experienced both of those things. All summer long things had been quiet and serene up there; the status quo. A week before opening day, I had hiked in to check trailcam pics, and to my horror there was a CAT and 5 other workers digging out a trench right at the start of the bermed-off, overgrown, spur that leads to my area. You couldn't believe the noise. This particular spot is where I consider the "hot zone" to start in the early season. Definitely NOT a fringe, safe area. I was probably pale-white, when I asked when they were going to be finishing up with putting their line in and they assured me within the next day or two they would be done. By opening day they were gone, and according to my Moultrie - a lot of the elk traffic appeared to have gone with them. I was still able to call in a screamer 3 days into the season in that same area, and worked him for a little while until he hung up in thick cover at 40 or 50 yards, and then went quiet. But man was it awesome! I digress. A few days later, start of the second and last week of early archery season, I'm sitting in my blind and about 2 hours after sun-up . . . chainsaws start ripping like 80 yards from where I'm sitting. Yep, they started thinning small DBH alders right in my immediate area. I nearly came unglued. How is it possible to experience two major human disturbances, two weeks apart??? That was a new one. I chose to ignore the new flagging and stakes that were in and around the area. Thinking, "there's no way theyre going to do anything major in here right now." Wrong!!

Lesson? Make the call if you see flagging, stakes, other markings that weren't there before! Especially when they have any weird looking, alien code written on them. I'm part way through Swede's book on treestanding elk. He also makes brief mention on calling the administering agency to find out about any potential forest operation issues. I started laughing when I read it. Sure wish I had that book last season.

Now that I've written my own book . . . as far as determining my opening day spot, it is usually a given I'm going with Plan A. My small cluster of locations range from a 15 to 30 minute drive to the parking area not including any hikes in and out. I usually check things a few days before the opener in-case I see something different and need to make any last minute changes. I'm always ready to make a last minute change. I guess like most here . . . my gut, cameras, and eyes.

[mtnmutt]

Thank you all! Once I complete my last scouting trip, I will make the decision. I am out there the first 9 days of the season, so I can always change to Plan B.

I fully expect other hunters in my areas even if I am >0.5 mile from the road. One year at 10 am on a Friday during archery season, I was 1.5 miles in at the Wilderness Boundary and I heard drill noise. Someone was installing their treestand. I realize that this is public land and everyone has a right to be there. For my first 3 years elk hunting, I certainly did things that not doubt made many veteran elk hunters cringe.

Based on last year's increase in hunters, I fully expect Opening weekend (labor day weekend) to have lots of hunters in the area. Based on conversations with some of them, they usually wipe themselves out on the first day and have to back off on hunting on the 2nd day.

The pink/white ribbon marking a route in looks like stuff you buy in Walmart's craft department and it is close to the Wilderness boundary. I only hope they remove it at some point.

Washington Wapiti thank you for the info and stories. I am not familiar with the colors used by different agencies but this stuff looks like Walmart craft ribbon.

One year, the NF service brought in heavy equipment the first week of archery to rip up a trail to make it impassable by motorized vehicles. Over the years, the ATVs and motorbikes had used the trail even though it was not designated a motorized trail. They would stream down that trail at 9 am blasting their music from their ATVs. Although I did not like the NF Service disturbing the area during archery, it was the best thing in the long run for future seasons.

We can't predict what happens on opening day, no matter how much scouting, researching and planning we do. On August 31st, I will have the best Plan that works for me and it will likely be better than a lot of other hunters who have no plan at all and are wandering around aimlessly searching for elk. In the recent past, I used to be one of those hunters.

[Swede]

I would not get discouraged about the plastic flagging. There are a lot of reasonable explanations why the federal or State agency or their contractor hung the ribbon. It is not reasonable to believe a hunter would lead someone into their honey hole. As you say, "that makes no sense." Washington Wapiti gave several reasons an employee would have hung ribbon through your area. I could add some more. You can call the land manager and ask if someone there knows about the ribbon. Also they may use a color code for their ribbon, to identify its intended use; so ask about that. Look at the bright side of things. If the agency says its not theirs, then it is just garbage that you as a good Woodsy Owl can clean up for them. Remember "give a hoot, Don't pollute".

[Washington Wapiti]

I would not get discouraged about the plastic flagging. There are a lot of reasonable explanations why the federal or State agency or their contractor hung the ribbon. It is not reasonable to believe a hunter would lead someone into their honey hole. As you say, "that makes no sense." Washington Wapiti gave several reasons an employee would have hung ribbon through your area. I could add some more. You can call the land manager and ask if someone there knows about the ribbon. Also they may use a color code for their ribbon, to identify its intended use; so ask about that. Look at the bright side of things. If the agency says its not theirs, then it is just garbage that you as a good Woodsy Owl can clean up for them. Remember "give a hoot, Don't pollute".

Haha . . . it is only the right thing to do!

[Trophyhill]

I like to put myself in a location where I have lots of options with drainages, parks, black timber, ridges etc close by and hopefully elk.

[diggerson]

Easy. I drive around until I find cnelk's truck.

[Z Barebow]

I base my opening day choice upon my scouting/research. My best piece of advice is have a Plan B, C, D.

In 2009, I hunted a new spot in WYO. (I semi scouted there earlier that summer. I was too early to get to where the elk would be in the fall due to snow). I managed to kill a young 6x6 on day 3. Had a bull bugling within 400 yards of my camp on 1st night in there. Life was good!

Fast forward to 2011. My buddy and I go in there. We knew we wouldn't be able to drive to TH due to a recent mudslide. No big deal as I thought it would make my area better due to impassable road. What we didn't know was in late Aug someone parked their truck at the mudslide and left a suicide note. The hills had been combed by S&R and volunteers on foot/horseback/ATV/aircraft. (They were still searching when we parked at the mudlside) Needless to say, things had changed. We hunted it anyway and it was much tougher to find elk.

It might sound cold in the context of someone's life vs elk hunting, but we had no way of knowing and nothing we could do to change the circumstances. (Unfortunately some hunters found her body while we were in there)

It took us almost a week to get up the muster to move on to Plan B. We moved to an area which I had only cyber scouted. And we were into elk almost every day!

What I am saying is be ready for any curve ball.

[Washington Wapiti]

We can't predict what happens on opening day, no matter how much scouting, researching and planning we do. On August 31st, I will have the best Plan that works for me and it will likely be better than a lot of other hunters who have no plan at all and are wandering around aimlessly searching for elk. In the recent past, I used to be one of those hunters.

Go get 'em mtnmutt!

[Washington Wapiti]

Z Barebow, that's terrible. Things like that, that make my semi-botched early season seem irrelevant . . .