Off season elk education

[Wazukie]

I was out Thursday and saw a herd of about 40.  The elk where I alive are still up about 3000-3500 foot lvl.  We havent had a lot of snow to push them any lower.  Get some snow shoes, a good pack with the essentials and make a day of it.  You wont put any pressure on the the elk unless you begin to push them.  I was probably about 200 yrds fromt he herd the other day and just sat and watchem them a bit.  Best way to have a better chance is to spend more time in the woods.  GL

[funkster]

I would say go to the wdfw and check out some harvest reports http://www.wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/harvest/ . Three years and no elk is not a good ratio.Get into an area that holds more elk and learn how to hunt them.Then if you want to go back hunting your area you at least have some experience hunting elk. Elk are big critters and leave tracks,rubs,wallows..etc. Get a spiral note book and hit the woods and start writing down notes from now until weeks before the season. It does take a good amount of time to find a "honey hole" so don't give up.

[Little Fish]

I know a number of guys who do well during the modern firearm and muzzleloader seasons and I've had fun when I hunted those seasons. After switching to archery a few years ago I see a lot more animals which keeps things exciting even if its hard to get close enough to shoot.