Scouting Elk

[4_Plesur]

Today at work we had a discussion about scouting for Elk and some of our opinions were different. I would like to see what others here think.

I know some just go two or three times and the main focus is to see elk and that's all. Whereas others go and they focus more water holes and habits.

What do you guy's think? Is seeing elk 2 or 3 times before the hunts enough to call it good scouting?

Jason

 

[ELKMASTER101]

spot, but don't stock,
this time of the year there in the nursury range,
the bulls are off in there own habitat,
first look for well used bedding areas.
on leadges, with heavy dark timber. facing north, deep shade, and a good pine needle floor,
and good fresh droppings,
now check of trails, either going up or down, they typ, will lead you to water and usaly with in a couple hundred yards or so, and usaly in site of there bedding areas,
then where is the food.typicaly with in a mile or so of the bedding areas, it also will hold water close to it.
if i was to give my best guess on when to scout,
it would be the tail end of summer,don't go running all over the mountian.
find a high spot and glass, very early in the morning, and late in the evenings. just sit down and wait.
don't go rambling thru there bedding areas during the day,
you may just jump them out of their beds and they will change there location.
scout again a week or two prior to hunting,
this last one depends on weather or not there has been a hunting season open before you get out there.
if there has been presure they could be just about any where,
but typ. they head to the deepest darkest most extreme terrain,
and only come out at night.
or into privet ground where there isn't any presure.
if you can find that link to there rought, you"ll be bringing home back straps.
best bet is to get a hold of some good maps, terraserver has some great shots from satalight that can show you the dark holes that may be the key to your scouting.
they can be saved down as bit maps and plotted.
water is the key to success, you find there drinking holes,
there is a good chance in finding elk,
but they may change locations if pressured,
also look for good parks with lots of good grass, its like holding a candy bar out in front of you wife or girlfriend,
morning hunts, put your self in the rought back to there beding areas, and evening hunts in there water holes, of food plots,
I personaly can't find the time to scout,
so I try to get to the field 3 or 4 days early prior to the season and sit and wait.
watch their movements, the're creatures of habbit, they will walk the same trails, stop at the same spots before crossing openings, eat from the same plot, and sleep in the same beds if not disturbed.
so do'nt go on a rampage thru their grounds. if your dead set on scouting, sit back and scout from a far.
once you find their secret. thats when your scouting begins. plan that ambush.

 

[Hondoarcher]

There are different types of scouting depending on what you are trying to accomplish. Below are some of the scouting techniques that I use.


Discovery
Each year I try to find a new area that contains elk. I study topo maps and try and find a place that looks like a safe haven for elk. My requirements are at least 4 square miles of road less terrain that contains both water and feed. I take a camping trip and go hiking and look for sign (trails, bedding areas, droppings, wallows, and especially rubs). I glass the area all the while I hike around. I give the area a rating based on what I see and try to find a way to visit the area during rifle season to see how much hunting pressure the area gets. During archery season I may try to hunt this area for a short amount of time to see what it is like but save the best part of the archery season for areas that I have classified as having more potential.

Locating & Sizing
Once I have determined an area contains elk I try to determine how many and how big the bulls get in the area. Big bulls have large droppings and rub big trees with their antlers. Small bulls have droppings the size of cows and rub smaller trees. If the hunting pressure during the rifle season isn't too heavy then you may be able to even see them during your spotting sessions. If the pressure is high the bulls are wise and it will be hard to catch them out in the open.

Patterns
Like Elkmaster101 when I try and pattern the elk I look to see how they use the area. I look for trails from bedding areas to feeding areas and where their water sources are. Reading sign is helpful but actually watching the elk helps even more because it tells you when they move through a particular area. Last year I hunted the same herd for 3 days because I figured out their pattern. On the third day there was a bull with the heard. I have discovered that during the early stages of the rut the bulls come down from their bachelor pad and start following the cows. The lead cow for the heard is usually the one that determines where the herd will go so the herd follows the patterns that the lead cow has set. The bull can only push them along when he wants them to leave an area. I feel the secret to pattering the elk behavior during the rut, is knowing where the cow herd likes to go.

Hunting/Scouting
Because I have limited time to spend scouting prior to the season much of my scouting occurs when I am actually hunting. After the elk have gone to bed for the morning (sometime after 9:00AM) I search for sign to determine where the elk are congregating during the morning and evening hours. I search for trails leading to parks and waterholes to find the heaviest used areas then try and setup an ambush point along those routes for the evening hunt (around 4:00PM). If I'm not finding enough sign in the area I start to investigate other areas for sign until I feel I am in the best location. This requires a lot of hard work and I am out in the field all day, showing up at camp just after dark.

 

[PleaseDear]

I think the best scouting a person can do for the next 2 months is to get familiar with the lay of the land and to find little bodies of water that could be wallows come late august and into the sept. rut activity.
Watch the movements of the elk and keep some notes on your topo's of where you are seeing bulls and the main area of the cows.
Alot of the elk are following the snow line up the mountain as spring turns into summer. Watching for good feed and water areas as the heat of the summer continues is always helpfull.
If it is a unit you have never hunted before, it is always best to spend as much time as ya can getting to know as much about it as posisible.
Your a good elk hunter Jason, go with your knowledge from previous years of hunting and harvests and it will all fall in place for you.