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How Far?

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How Far?

Postby Swede » 01 19, 2018 •  [Post 1]

Hunters hike miles into the back country to try to avoid other hunters and to get into elk, or more elk. I too have tried this with mixed results. I have found that you don't have to get far away from human activity to get into elk. The next ridge over is often adequate.
A few years ago we had a forest fire nearby with all of the attendant activity that goes with that. We had trucks, crews, and even aircraft. The elk were just a mile away where they usually are.
A person might be tempted to think that since the elk were pushed back just a ways, so there should be a dense population of the critters nearby, but I cannot say that I observed that either. It was just normal away from the fire activity. I have seen the same thing as it pertains to logging and road construction. The elk get used to the activity and may even come into the logging area at night to forage. They get accustomed to the loggers going home and returning, so they leave when the loggers arrive in the morning and may return when they leave.
Hunting activity seems to be a different proposition. Fire fighters, road builders and loggers don't pursue them. That is probably the big difference.
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Re: How Far?

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 01 19, 2018 •  [Post 2]

Interesting and astute observation mister. It takes a lot, I mean a lot, to move elk out of their areas. What do I mean by areas? Well, good feed and safety. Those items are oftentimes located in close proximity with main roads, and as you mentioned, nature disrupting phenomenon like fires and logging activities oftentimes perpetuates a change in their mannerisms but perhaps.... not as much as some would think. I recall a place in MT I hunted 4 or 5 years ago that had a major logging operation going on smack dab in an area that I previously hunted with good success. What I learned from talking to the loggers (mostly rifle hunters which worked in my favor), is that the elk had merely moved from the their normal haunts to down in the deep draw to bed but would be up in their old feeding areas close to the logging job when the loggers came in to work at zero dark thirty. My buddy and I adjusted the hunt plan (the one designed for what I had previously know about the area) to targeting their "new" travel and bedding areas and we had no issues getting into elk. I also know that I have had success is targeting areas that are not far off main or secondary roads that are steep, thick, and..... steep and thick. Dogmatic scouting and a history of areas is paramount to elk hunting success. They are creatures of habit and again, seek both good feed and the big S word/need....safety. Safety can mean a lot of things but as a "general" rule, elk like to bed high enough on the mountainside to smell what predators may be coming from below (daytime thermals) and, hear what is coming from above...... It's all part of the hunter/gatherer education game and it plays into one's hands to not merely thing that busting cat bells miles into the backcountry is a recipe for success (more elk, less hunters, etc.). Good thread John... I'm curious to see what others chime in with.
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Re: How Far?

Postby Indian Summer » 01 20, 2018 •  [Post 3]

Do you think it would help if I dressed like a logger and disguised my weapon as a chainsaw? I’ll try anything to outsmart those rascals!

This past season I sold a Montana DIY hunt plan to a pair of bowhunters. By August there was a fire nearby that eventually moved into their hunt area. They asked all of the normal questions. I told them to calm down. I’ve hunted around fires many many times. Just move one ridge over and you’ll be fine. I’ve hunted around the perimeter of burns that were still smoldering. Some people panic and think oh my God if I were an elk I’d run for my life. That’s a human thought process. Critters don’t panic. They just step aside. Just like they feed in active logging areas at night they are back walking through burns like nothing ever happened.

The next question asked is will we be able to hunt the area next year? My answer is I can’t get back to new burn area fast enough! The new growth is the most nutritious around. The perimeter of the burn will have rub lines. Any unburned patches of timber within the burn can be gold mines. There are variables. Namely how hot was the burn. A white hot burn can sterilize soil making the recovery process take longer. But that doesn’t change the hunting around the main burn.

When I first saw some of my honey holes on fire I about cried. But it didn’t take long at all for me to realize that fire can be a good thing. It opens up the canopy creating viable food sources where there were none. It makes it easier to see elk too! Now as I hike and hunt there are many times when I look at a huge expanse of timber and say “This place could use a good burn” Two years ago one of my Wyoming areas experienced a medium sized fire that didn’t get out of hand or too hot. I just smiled. That side of the ridge is surely an elk hunters paradise now. It was good hunting because the elk were too safe! It’s much more user friendly now and I’m sure the elk are chowing down in there.

My last comment in line with Swede’s question of how far is this: Once the fire is gone the elk go right back to business as usual. The places they bed regularly are handed down through generations. I was surprised to see that elk bedded in those exact same spots even though the trees were now just black pixie sticks. I was also surprised to find that if you underestimate the potential for burns to hold elk you might not glass well enough to see them. It’s amazing how you can miss 6 or 8 elk laying in an old burn.
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Re: How Far?

Postby Swede » 01 20, 2018 •  [Post 4]

I prefer a patch work burn as opposed to a moonscape burn. I watched some critters bedded near a smoldering stump, that continued to burn after the fire workers were gone. I think the elk were back before the dust settled from the last vehicle heading out.
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Re: How Far?

Postby Indian Summer » 01 20, 2018 •  [Post 5]

On another note we have watched multiple bulls bugling while standing next to the truck loading mules snd I’ve killed elk and could see my truck from where I quartered them out. About 6 years ago a buddy in Montana parked his truck, got out snd dropped the tailgate. When he did a bull bugled. He cow called and it bugled again and had cut the distance in half. He called again and readied his bow. He ended up killing it while standing next to his truck. It was a freakin 7 by 7 monster! If you have to hike 3 or more miles just to find elk you really need to consider relocating. I’ve killed my share of bulls and not many were more than 2 air miles from my parking spot.
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Re: How Far?

Postby Lefty » 01 20, 2018 •  [Post 6]

Years back A 12 year old hunted killed his buck behind my parked trucks tailgate.


Twice this year my daughter and I chased elk on our way up to camp that we spotted driving down the freeway.
We also discovered a bonus area with bulls that nobody is hunting, too small and too close to the freeway. 8-)
I think if you dont have morons chasing elk, many elk are hunt able close to the road during the archery season.
Also nearly Impenetrable blow down also separates the real hunters from the slackers, :shock:

However I still prefer to hunt away from others 1 1/2 miles in and 1000 feet of elevation tends to get rid of the slackers
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Re: How Far?

Postby elkstalker » 01 24, 2018 •  [Post 7]

The first area I ever hunted elk in, and my old "go to spot", would hold elk throughout archery and rifle season. The lower elevations of the minor ridges coming off of the main timbered ridge held many sagebrush parks and eventually the lower slopes became entirely sagebrush. At the beginning of the season you would catch them out in the sage feeding quite regularly, and could cut them off on their way to the timber to bed (early season they would bed on the edge of the timber or 1/4 to 1/2 mile into the timber). By the later parts of rifle season you were extremely lucky to catch an elk out in the open. The elk were still feeding in the exact same areas, but had adjusted their routine and were bedding down 1-3 miles into the timber. In fact, one rifle season I killed a bull who was with about 20 cows bedded about 2.5 miles back into the timber. The next day I returned to finish the pack out and the herd was bedded again in the same area within 100 yards of where my bull lay. If there is something drawing elk to a certain area (food, water, security cover), they can be very hesitant to leave.
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