To Sit, or to Roam? Hike-in hunt strategies

[outtabreath]

OK folks,
Got some good feedback (once again) on the hike-in hunt tips. Now what about set-ups? If you are camped relatively high up on the mountain ( in a roadless/wilderness), what would you do in the mornings and in evenings? If there are elk in the area, do you sit and wait? Call? Move around? I'm the restless type and I really like to stay on the move. I glass alot. Especially everything I'm about to move into. I have never had any luck at all with calls. ( cow /calf). Except for about four or five bulls that were answering bugles about two weeks before my season last year. Anybody got any tried and true methods? Hey, I'm still guessin...

 

[sjhgraysage]

As I recall you will be starting on Oct.8. If you are the first rifle hunting in a roadless area and sometimes even if there are some roads, There is a good chance that bulls will still be bugling, if so that helps a great deal as then you know where you need to be. If no calling going on, then maybe your preseason work will show you where the elk have been active. Then its time to be in position to intercept at first light if possible. As you already know those elk won't be out in the open long once it starts to get light. If I knew where a bull I wanted would be traveling to bed for the day, I would try to be downwind of a shooting lane at or before daylight. my $.02 After bedding time, its time for looking for fresh sign for an evening stand or a place where spooked elk will travel away from other hunters, like a timbered saddle with an elk trail through it going to security cover. If an elk sees you it may or may not get badly spooked, but if one smells you its usually over.
Scott

 

[DonV]

IMO for any hunt if terrain allows glass and go after any elk that you see is a shooter immediatly no matter where it is! Only 5 days to hunt might never see him again. If there are elk around and you are high enough and have parks etc to glass into you are near sure to see elk and a shooted somewhere - no you know where a shooter is and he does not know you are there, this is a huge advantage.

Read Dwight Schus stalking open country mule deer - great info!

 

[outtabreath]

I'll check it out Don. How did you like the video clips? Hope to get some more good ones. Trey

 

[Gator]

If a bull answers your call, don't over-call switch to cow call after he bugles only use the bugle to locate then try to cut the distance to him in half then call again, Hope you do well.

 

[usa]

someone probably already mentioned it but just in case, you said you didn't have luck with cow/calf calls, many times a cow/bull will come in downwind and you will never see them also I've had great success using a cow call to cover the noise I'm making when still hunting, I've also used a cow call to calm muledeer down and get closer for a shot.

 

[outtabreath]

Well, this last weekend I did have some luck with a call. I video-taped a bull and cow for awhile ( she was about 30-40 yards off) and when i was done, I got up and intentionally stomped on some dry branches and then cow called . That cow hardly even looked in my direction. A whitetail would have been in the next state. So, I guess it works to calm things down. I cow call periodically while I'm hiking. I seem to walk up on them more often now and maybe the sporadic cow calls are the reason.