my plan

[buglebuster]

So I've got a spike and about 5 cows coming into my trail cam every evening at the same time on the dot. I only had a salt block out but dumled 100lbs of apples this time. My plan is to go in next week and clear a shooting lane to a spot i figured would be good to sit. I planned on taking the trimmings and building a blind. It will be 30yds away. I also plan on dumping a couple hundred lbs of apples everyweek and possibly some sweet cob. Does this plan sound good? Any other things i need to consider, I've never stand hunted elk before. Thank you!

[lostbackpacker]

So I've got a spike and about 5 cows coming into my trail cam every evening at the same time on the dot. I only had a salt block out but dumled 100lbs of apples this time. My plan is to go in next week and clear a shooting lane to a spot i figured would be good to sit. I planned on taking the trimmings and building a blind. It will be 30yds away. I also plan on dumping a couple hundred lbs of apples everyweek and possibly some sweet cob. Does this plan sound good? Any other things i need to consider, I've never stand hunted elk before. Thank you!

depends on exactly where your blind will be.... let me know and I can tell you if it's a good plan

[bobcat]

Just make sure the wind is right and that you don't walk across the trail the elk are likely to come in on.

Are cows legal too?

[vandeman17]

Just make sure the wind is right and that you don't walk across the trail the elk are likely to come in on.

Are cows legal too?

I agree with bobcat. I would also take an inventory of how much they have been hitting the applets and adjust accordingly. I have never tried apples for elk so I don't know if they prefer them. I learned the hard way not to set up too close to where you expect them to be coming in or else you can get busted pretty easy when trying to draw. I would also consider where the sun will be shining because you don't want to be sitting with the sun right on you because it makes your movements stand out that much more but I would let the wind dictate it more then anything. 

[buglebuster]

I should have been more specific on how i set up, i come into the clearcut from the south west and set up west of the salt lick so the sun will besetting behind me as i am looking east. The elk come in from north and east. The wind usually blows west here so will be in my face, usually. And yes, cows are legal.

[vandeman17]

I should have been more specific on how i set up, i come into the clearcut from the south west and set up west of the salt lick so the sun will besetting behind me as i am looking east. The elk come in from north and east. The wind usually blows west here so will be in my face, usually. And yes, cows are legal.

sounds like your set up should be perfect. Just cross your fingers that their patterns don't change between now and the opener and you should be good to go. 

[et1702]

I'd get up a tree.  Put a tree stand up in the same area you plan to palce a blind.

ET

[buglebuster]

There are no trees tall enough for a stand in this spot. I forgot to mention, when i placed the camerathe elk came in only a few hours later, they dont seem to be spooked by human odor on the ground.

[et1702]

There are no trees tall enough for a stand in this spot. I forgot to mention, when i placed the camerathe elk came in only a few hours later, they dont seem to be spooked by human odor on the ground.

If no tall trees, I'd say ground blind is the next best thing in this situation.  Just make sure you don't hunt it unless the wind is perfect (i.e., in your face).  Also, don't forget to brush up behind you.  You want a dark background behind you.  If not, they could see movement, even thru the brush in front of you.

ET

[motg9_6]

Possibly check out the sniper tripod stand at sportsmanship guide. I just bought one and put it together for a similar setup should work great and seems to be good quality and easy to assemble.

[buglebuster]

here he is  not a monster but ill take him! I wont pass up a mature cow first tho.

[vandeman17]

Is that milk dripping off his lips?  Shooter any day in my book 

[furbearer365]

They only issue I see with "building" a blind is you say the elk are already coming in on a regular basis.  Ive never been one to disturb the surrounding area to much once they are coming in.  Kind of like when you see the guys on TV that put up a ground blind on a water hole to hunt antelope.  They do it well in advance to get the game used to coming in and seeing it there without any harm coming to them.  Then once the hunter slips in they know nothing.  I would just be careful how much you do when building a blind.  May throw them off and spook em.

[buglebuster]

I don't really plan on building a full out blind, but take the branches from the shooting lane and lay them around where I'll be sitting, the spot is pretty concealed as it is.

[vandeman17]

I don't really plan on building a full out blind, but take the branches from the shooting lane and lay them around where I'll be sitting, the spot is pretty concealed as it is.

If you do it early then I think it will be just fine. That will give it a few weeks to sit and I doubt they will really notice if it is already pretty thick.

[bracer40]

When you set up your blind try to put it in position so that you can pull back without the animals seeing your movement.

[bowhunterforever]

Sounds like a good plan to me Good luck

[RadSav]

Some good advise so far.  Only thing I might add is not to get too carried away with trimming shooting lanes.  I've ruined more than one good hunting spot by changing things too much and scaring the animals away.  We've had bear bait sites (back when it was legal) that held multiple bear eating over 100# of scraps per week.  Trimmed a few too many branches and had every last one of the critters hightail it out of there.  Sometimes less is more!

[buglebuster]

I would only need to trim about 4 branches fromone tree... Should be fine right?

[haulinbass]

Apples= bears. I know a guy that had the same situation and the elk stopped coming in land all he had on his can was beards. But I am not telling that it won't work just what we have experienced.

[buglebuster]

Well the spike is coming in daily. Dumped a 50lb sack of cob and some apples out on the 11th, along with trim my shooting lane, and brush in my spot to sit. Him and a few cows were on site only a few hours later. Hopefully he keeps at it!

[johnr060]

I'm excited to see how this plays out on the 3rd

[sjoshea]

I've found a few yards of camo burlap make a great blind.  Easy to pack too.

[buglebuster]

I'm excited to see how this plays out on the 3rd

Me to this poor spike dont even have a clue lol. Hopefully he sticks around. I plan to dump more grain and apples the night before, and come into my blind opening morning after its light enough to shoot, just in case he's already there.

[ghosthunter]

If you use a ground blind get some good scent killer and spay it down good. Inside too. I hunt out of a ground blind a lot and elk will walk right up to it if placed and brushed.

If there are dark shaded areas near by with in range place it in the darkest area you can. Lots of guys like to leave all the window open so they can see. Dont do it. open only the windows towards your shoot lane. Darken all the rest. and darken your face.

Dont forget a bottle to pee in with a sealed lid. A 2 gallon zip lock works well.

Good luck

[ghosthunter]

Also I like to step 30-40 yards away from my blind and than take pics of it. Than I look at the pics to see how it looks.

[MattySuto]

They only issue I see with "building" a blind is you say the elk are already coming in on a regular basis.  Ive never been one to disturb the surrounding area to much once they are coming in.  Kind of like when you see the guys on TV that put up a ground blind on a water hole to hunt antelope.  They do it well in advance to get the game used to coming in and seeing it there without any harm coming to them.

  took the words right out of my mouth.  I would set the blind up well in advance.  Even though elk come there everyday it something is different or looks different it will deffinatly make the elk more suspicious and will be more cautious. Good luck

[buglebuster]

I already did it last week, and they came in everyday just as normal i didnt really build a full out blind, i just used the branched from the shooting lane i cut and propped them around where ill be sitting.

[Brad Harshman]

Whatever your doing it sounds right.  Good luck this season and be sure to pics of your success.  You definitely earned that spike this year.

[oldleclercrd]

Good luck I hope you stick that guy