Hi all,
My friend and I are brand new hunters this year.
We each have an any bull tag and an antlerless control tag but are really only looking to fill one anterless tag between the two of us for the freezer .
We intend to be ethical hunters and we know the serious nature of a elk hunt. I've got a stack of books on elk biology, behavior, and hunting techniques, all of which I've studied.
My question is regarding scouting. I've twice scouted near the Hayden peak area where I've seen sign but no elk. I've been on the ground and have also been glassing from high ridges around 7am. Our next step was to scout near Christmas Meadow and/or closer to the WY border rather than the areas nearer to Kamas as I've read pressured elk often flee into WY.
I know we need to put in more time scouting. My question is this: would anyone be willing to give us some more specific direction? By direction I mean anything from from a large area to look, a basin, or something more specific if you're willing. In addition, are the best hours for looking dawn and dusk or is there any use in scouting during midday hours?
In addition, we're curious about glassing from high ridges vs. scouting the timber. We've read that you should hunt it but not scout it because it spooks the elk. But then, how do you know which dark timber to hunt if your ridge glassing is showing no elk? We've been focusing on the Uintas so far but are willing to change our plans to another unit if something else makes more sense (my friend is also looking in the West Desert as a family member mentioned seeing a small band there).
We're not looking to steal anyone's spot they've worked for. Neither of us grew up hunting and neither of us has mentors we can reach out to. The Uintas are a huge area so any narrowing down help would be very appreciated.
*we do not have horses or ATVs so while we are willing to get off the road we cannot haul quarters miles and miles out of the deepest country.
My friend and I are brand new hunters this year.
We each have an any bull tag and an antlerless control tag but are really only looking to fill one anterless tag between the two of us for the freezer .
We intend to be ethical hunters and we know the serious nature of a elk hunt. I've got a stack of books on elk biology, behavior, and hunting techniques, all of which I've studied.
My question is regarding scouting. I've twice scouted near the Hayden peak area where I've seen sign but no elk. I've been on the ground and have also been glassing from high ridges around 7am. Our next step was to scout near Christmas Meadow and/or closer to the WY border rather than the areas nearer to Kamas as I've read pressured elk often flee into WY.
I know we need to put in more time scouting. My question is this: would anyone be willing to give us some more specific direction? By direction I mean anything from from a large area to look, a basin, or something more specific if you're willing. In addition, are the best hours for looking dawn and dusk or is there any use in scouting during midday hours?
In addition, we're curious about glassing from high ridges vs. scouting the timber. We've read that you should hunt it but not scout it because it spooks the elk. But then, how do you know which dark timber to hunt if your ridge glassing is showing no elk? We've been focusing on the Uintas so far but are willing to change our plans to another unit if something else makes more sense (my friend is also looking in the West Desert as a family member mentioned seeing a small band there).
We're not looking to steal anyone's spot they've worked for. Neither of us grew up hunting and neither of us has mentors we can reach out to. The Uintas are a huge area so any narrowing down help would be very appreciated.
*we do not have horses or ATVs so while we are willing to get off the road we cannot haul quarters miles and miles out of the deepest country.