Scouting Pics 2017

[stringunner]

Anyone have any scouting pics for 2017? (mods - feel free to move this to a different page if it shouldn't be on this one)

Here are some pictures of our last two scouting trips in May and then this past weekend. We set 9 cameras up. Seen a handful of elk, a few deer and had a great time. Its fun to be able to have my boys on these trips learning and experiencing the elk woods. My oldest son is 8 this summer and he has been going up here with me since he was born. I packed him in a pack when he turned 2 and at 3.5 he started walking a bit on his own up here. These past couple of years he has really nailed down the area and can tell me as we pass a trail or road exactly what water hole is up there and the name we have given it. By the time he is 12 he will no doubt be ready...

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[stringunner]

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[stringunner]

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[Swede]

Those boys look ready now. Just a few more sacks of spuds run through them and they will be able to draw a 50# bow and can hunt elk. I see you already have your stand up at a new water hole.

[stringunner]

Lol. I thought I had found another one of your stands?

When we walked up to that stand, Jayden my youngest says "is that one of John's stands?" I said " no I don't think so, John is way older than that stand"

*weird that on my computer the pics are rotated correctly but viewing in my phone most are sideways*

[olympushunt]

When we walked up to that stand, Jayden my youngest says "is that one of John's stands?" I said " no I don't think so, John is way older than that stand"

I about spit out my coffee on the monitor reading that!

Stop it Jer....you are making it tough to get my work done today!!!

[Swede]

I was looking to see if "M150" was painted on the stand and "NO FEAR" on the tree. Whoever climbed that ladder had more guts than brains.

[Charina]

This guy sat in the bed for about 45 min to chew cud before getting up and leaving the way he entered.

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[Charina]

I've had my youngest with me the last two scouting trips. He loves exploring. Makes it a little hard at times to go deep into the woods. Bit big for the backpack, too small to handle long distances of downfall timber.

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[ElkNut1]

Enjoyed the photos! Thanks folks!

p.s. Charina, is that a trail cam photo or did you slip in on that bull for the photo?

ElkNut1

[Charina]

Trail cam. Caught two bulls, a calf, a bear, and coyote on that cam over a two week period. He's just the nicest of the three bulls I have caught on trail cams so far. Only had two out for two weeks. Have three out currently to check on in a week and a half, and hope to put out several more on that trip.

[Lefty]

Great pics,..

he little guys sure seem to be having fun!!

[Swede]

I enjoyed the pictures. Was that an old trapper's cabin, or do you know? It is interesting that the window was so close to the ground. Was the floor dug down?

[Charina]

I forgot to take pics while scouting this last trip. Fortunately one of my trail cams was unmolested by bears, and didn't forget to snap a pic when this bull came by. I suspect it's the same one pictured above as this camera was only about 200 yards away. Bears messed with the other two cameras and rotated them on the tree so they were pointing off-trail.

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[Charina]

I enjoyed the pictures. Was that an old trapper's cabin, or do you know? It is interesting that the window was so close to the ground. Was the floor dug down?

I really don't have any idea on the cabin, although up the canyon a couple more miles near the talus slopes there is some signs of old mining activities. The east wall were the door previously stood was mostly gone, likely pushed down into the ravine by snow loads. The floor was dirt and shrubs - the roof has been gone a very long time and lots of forest debris has filled it in. I think the window used to be higher, but the dirt level has come up over time.

[Elkhunttoo]

Nice!

[Deanmac]

I am enjoying the pictures, keep them coming

[Charina]

The Bull I've been watching continues to develop. Not a monster, but one I'll likely target at some point if my other spots where I think there are larger bulls don't pan out early on.

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[Elkhunttoo]

Nice pics! He is looking good

[Swede]

Charina: Why did you salt that location?

[Charina]

Because I can? Because it's legal to? It's good for summer pics, but typically isn't used once fall comes around and is worthless to try hunting over. That was my experience the first year I tried anyway, and the consensus I've heard from others.

That particular spot . . .

I hunted the area last year during bow season (spike/cow only - this year I have the limited entry tag for the big boys). I know where a regularly used bedding area is just 200 yards to the north that had recent rubs last fall, and I did end up getting photos of the two bulls in that bedding earlier this year, but I started growing nervous about entering the bedding area every 2 weeks to retrieve photos. Last year there was a really good choke point nearby that I intended to hang trail cams on this summer, and perhaps even a tree stand this fall, but blowdowns clogged it up. Now the elk go either to the west or east on various scattered trails to move back and forth along the hillside. There was not one, or two, or even three main trails to hang a cam on. The trails were scattered. So I decided to bring the elk to a central location to make it easy on me.

The primary consideration for the spot was the ability to exclude cattle. Well, I found out last weekend that they were not excluded well enough and they simply trashed the place. If I post any additional photos in the future, you'll notice the vegetation looks far different from moo-cow intrusion. I think I solved that problem by erecting some cattle-unfriendly, elk-passable barriers with downfall. But I was looking for an opening in the forest that was conducive to ease of photos, could point the cam North or South (not E or W), too much downfall for cattle to typically access (failed on that assessment), but was routinely visited by elk.

[Swede]

Charina, good thinking about your spot. I could not see anything in particular in the pictures, so I was wondering. I too have a cattle problem where I usually hunt. Since using natural materials is not an option to exclude cattle, I have quit salting. In Oregon it is legal to bait, but I have not found it to be effective in archery season. It sure helps in the right spot during the Spring and Summer.

[Charina]

Two best bulls I have pics of so far.

This guy showed up on the cam just once, on July 9th. So, he's had some time to grow in July after that pic. Unfortunately, I really don't have a sense of where he might be hanging out, and I don't see much sign when I circled the area. Just showed up once and done.

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This bull appeared on the cam twice, just passing through. Didn't even stop to get a drink. I'm quite surprised how little this water hole is used, and he seems to have absolutely no interest in it. I might hunt this area, but it feels like a long-shot to figure out where to find this bull. This is the latest pic, taken July 29th.

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[stringunner]

Nice pics Charina.

I'm heading back up this weekend to check cameras and put up tree stand brackets. Hopefully I will have a few pics to post when I get back.

[ishy]

Great pics. Charina looks like your cameras are pretty low. After several years of baiting bears, we found that getting them up to 7-8 feet and angle them down, it will eliminate 95% of bear issues. They still might bat them a little, but when they were lower they would mess with them constantly.