How early do you start scouting?

[moocher97]

Hey Guys-
 
When do you guys start scouting or when does it start to become effective for September elk habits? Planning on doing some summer backpacking trips and would like to scout during. 

[RadSav]

Depends on animals, westside/eastside and elevation.  Of course scouting can mean many different things.  If looking for last years rubs any time is good.  Can scout out trails and other terraine related things at any time.  But, trying to watch and scout for animals at elevation or on the east side I haven't found much value to it until the end of June or later.

[buglebrush]

Never too early to locate sign.  Rubs, Wallows, trails, etc...  I wouldn't start looking for elk to be in their september spots before July sometime

[CAMPMEAT]

Well, where I live, I do it year 'round when we can get into the hills when the snow allows.

[Nice Racks]

I put some cameras out last month in hopes of getting some pics of bulls that survived.

[Old Man Yager]

All year round. The more I learn and spend time in the woods, the better off I will be when season starts. God knows I need all the help I can get!!

[coachcw]

I believe  to many guys over scout!  Please limit the contact with elk just makes them tougher to hunt.

[Karl Blanchard]

Deer I scout with glass from a distance.  Elk I don't really scout at all.  Half the fun is to cover country, call, and find them.  Kind of like an adventure within an adventure.

[kentrek]

Being that I hunt the same areas every year for elk I don't need to scoute much...pretty much just find them the day before season an put them to bed .however I do like to try an get a photos (through the spotter) of the bulls in each area....day 8 and the chips are down its always nice to check out pics of that 320 class Rosie lurking in the thickness

Black tail I tend to scout more harder just cuz I like to know every buck in each drainage....then in the end of august il focus in on one buck an watch his habits everyday I can, after that I figure my ambush

[Big6bull]

I believe  to many guys over scout!  Please limit the contact with elk just makes them tougher to hunt.

I agree! please people stop educating elk. Bunch of yahoos running round bugling in the spring driving around on quads does us no good.

I never stop scouting! This means map research (you can spend a whole lot of time on this) permit or gmu research. And especially practice calling and scouting

[CAMPMEAT]

How about the so-called WDFW doing fly overs and scattering the elk before elk season ? I don't know if this if true or not, so why not scout your game animal. WDFW is not our friend.....

[Spawnstar]

Scouting isn't just about finding the animals, it's about learning the terrain, access points and people. So I start scouting as soon as the draw results come out.

[SemperFidelis97]

Honestly this time of year is one of the best times for me to scout the areas I hunt.  It becomes so thick by summer finding rubs, trails, and wallows becomes almost impossible.  I usually do a few loops through my area, and mark well used trails, and rubs from last year on my gps.  I also put cameras out year round to keep tabs on the local herds.  This is also a great time for me to reposition my tree stands as well, I would much rather disturb the area in February rather than August.  I am actually considering getting one of the trail cameras the will send pics to your cell for my better wallows, and such so I don't have to disturb them to check my cards closer to season.

[buglebrush]

I believe  to many guys over scout!  Please limit the contact with elk just makes them tougher to hunt.

[D-Rock425]

Been elk hunting the same spot since i was 13 years old.  I still make 5 or 6 trips a year over scouting.

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

About to hit the gate this morning!  Second trip of the year.  Please let me find his shed.

[coachcw]

How about the so-called WDFW doing fly overs and scattering the elk before elk season ? I don't know if this if true or not, so why not scout your game animal. WDFW is not our friend.....

that makes no sense. If your on a big herd most likely someone else is to.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Year round.

[D-Rock425]

I believe  to many guys over scout!  Please limit the contact with elk just makes them tougher to hunt.

you just have to scout smarter. 

[Ccortez]

I go as soon as the snow melts to go check out new areas I found on maps and then let the trail cameras do the work for me. I have 4 or 5 areas I wanna go check out that look promising

[grundy53]

All year round. The more I learn and spend time in the woods, the better off I will be when season starts. God knows I need all the help I can get!!

[buglebrush]

One thing I will never do is calling before I am actually hunting.  I don't need to see or hear elk to know they are there.  I try to scout a new area every year, and spend a ton of time online looking at maps.  I spend several saturdays driving around checking to see what access options exist.  I am marking waypoints the whole time.  Things like tracks, roads, trails, cell service, etc...  When I've gathered all the info I can put together an informed gameplan on how to hunt that particular area.   At that point I will put boots on the ground, but not to call/see elk.  I try to find good routes in and out after dark, and let my game cameras do the rest. 

Last year I met a couple guys that were absolutely floored someone had made it all the way back in to "their spot".  They had started at the bottom, and scratched their way clear over the top while I had found an unmarked, gated, and overgrown road that clears out nicely after the first half mile.  I simply biked in from the other side.  A 1.5 hour bike in while they spent 4-5 hours scratching through the brush.  Don't be those guys. 

P.S. I never did tell them how I got in 

[deerhunter_98520]

I never stop scouting....I'm always looking for more animals and better places...whether it before that day, the next or the next year....I look for particular places to hunt and its hard to find them

[Elknut1]

The month of Aug. is when I start getting serious! I may go in to a place or two a bit earlier if I need to cut trail to some very tough to get into spots! I have a couple like this that is well worth my efforts! I would not have had a prayer at this bull here if I hadn't done some off season clearing to this natural dirt mineral lick that he visited from time to time.

  ElkNut1

[RadSav]

I agree 100%!  Even if deer or bear hunting it is always best to start clearing well in advance.  Well before the bulls get in there is best if you can do it!  The first year we guided bear hunters we ruined a number of very productive bait sites when we trimmed too many branches after the bait sites were active.  Missed that whole season in those spots.

Fantastic bull and picture Elknut

[Elknut1]

Thank you sir! I certainly agree with clearing an area well before the season starts! I like giving a two week minimum so the critters return to the area in a relaxed fashion just in case I bumped them. Interesting enough some of these areas I've cleared in the past were so thick that now the elk & deer are using them as well. They too like the path of least resistance! (grin)

  ElkNut1

[KFhunter]

thanks for the reminder ya'll I gotta get going


with the low low snow levels there's not much excuse to NOT get out early.

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

That and the sunny days    this year will be a fun one for sure.  Our group already got three cams up just one more to hang in a few weeks.  Then a few checks before sept.  A little lane clearing and I think we've found a hot spot.

[dreamingbig]

June.  I just love getting into the backcountry.  Put minimal pressure on the actual animals though.  Most time spent assessing feed, general track sign and check on the normal camping spots.


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[Jingles]

For deer anytime I am out of the house and headed into the woods. For elk Sorry can't help ya there have never really been other than the one time I took a stroll out through the woods where there were supposed to be some fell off the hill and lost my glasses

[BABackcountryBwhntr]

we do not do much for elk these days. We are lucky to have a killer area and we basically hike in, camp and hunt.

[Firedogg]

 I start scouting for next season on the last day of the current one. It's a constant learning process, each time in the woods I pick up something on the critters being watched or some dumb thing I find with myself or my gear.

  This time of year is when I check out different areas I am not as familiar with. I find the game trails, shelves hidden on the hillside in the trees, areas that hold food, good bedding areas, old scrapes from the past fall.

  So it's not just scouting, it's getting out to enjoy the outdoors all year long. Finding and learning something along the way is just a bonus.

[pianoman9701]

I was 9 when I started, but it's never too late. 

[coachcw]

There's a huge difference in productive scouting and blowing elk out. The less intrusive you can be the easier it will be to hunt the herd

[blackveltbowhunter]

It seems like it varys from situation to situation. I try to spend as much time in the woods as possible. Timber farms either state or private are always evolving and changing and animals patterns and habits can change with it. These areas are usually less than few hours away and day trip bike rides, or short weekend trips are the order of the day. When going further out, especially into new area I really like to have a general plan of where game might be and then take a 3 or 4 day weekend and explore. This is more based on the time off at work factor rather than ideal Scouting time. But generally I like to shoot for mid June or later, especially if their may be snow issues.
I never call prior to season, and take a low impact approach to locating animals.

[coachcw]

On a side note how many days does it take most guys to throw there game an out of the  window?

[RadSav]

On a side note how many days does it take most guys to throw there game an out of the  window?

Depends on how many morons are in my spot opening morning!  Can't scout how many idiots know about a spot until opening day.  So...

[xXLojackXx]

On a side note how many days does it take most guys to throw there game an out of the  window?

Stick to my plan every year, get up early and head straight down to the bottoms and wait/call. Ive seen 3 people in my spot in 4 years and havent seen the same person twice. In a popular unit, these elk have very little pressure due to geography.

[Barbarossa13]

Just got my drone in the mail today, so I'm starting tomorrow.    But on a more serious note, I combine family camping trips into scouting trips, usually 3-4 summer.