Post by: wooltie on May 28, 2014, 07:18:26 AM
This will be my second year elk and deer hunting the westside.
Last year I scouted and hunted an area--I saw a herd of elk during scouting, followed them, saw observed the mess they made in the woods, and returned to that GMU to hunt. Really cool to be within 50 yards of a herd and listen to all the racket they make while moving through the woods.
I kept working the entire area, finding more trails, older sign, newer sign, but never encountered the herd again (which is common, I'm learning).
I did run into a bull on the road which quickly evacuated into the woods, and later I spooked a cow that was bedded down.
I did get my deer last year on day three, after working the same area (different than elk GMU) and seeing animals every day--it was just matter of picking a spot intercepting them if they moved through.
So with elk, since they can be anywhere in these thick woods, is a good strategy just to keep moving until you find them? I've read that they can travel miles everyday, be in one county today, and the next county tomorrow. When I hunt I typically hike 10-15 miles / day.
Thanks for sharing any input.
Post by: Big6bull on May 28, 2014, 07:35:15 AM
Post by: Old Man Yager on May 28, 2014, 12:05:37 PM
Post by: xXLojackXx on May 28, 2014, 12:57:34 PM
But if you've seen elk and lots of sign, I'd go back to your area and work on not bumping them out. Get back to the fundamentals and fool their senses.
Post by: deerhunter_98520 on May 29, 2014, 04:52:51 AM
Blacktail stay in their 'home" area like stated before they know that area well....but come the rut find the does close by and you will find the bucks....they could travel quite a ways from their home turf looking for does..I have a spot that is loaded with does and over the summer I see a few different bucks but come towards the end of Oct bucks show up from all over....I seen 19 bucks the last week of the season
Post by: wooltie on June 01, 2014, 04:14:42 PM
I'd think elk would run far away from pressure and traffic, but then again I spook some bedded down last year no more than 40-50 yards off the road...and that area was littered with torn up ground and carpet bombed with poop.
That's the thing with the westside it seems--the elk could and would travel far away, but there's so much cover everywhere I'd like to think they would stick close and just go deeper into the nasty stuff.
Post by: deerhunter_98520 on June 01, 2014, 05:28:46 PM
Post by: Eli346 on June 01, 2014, 07:13:01 PM
Post by: billythekidrock on June 01, 2014, 07:24:07 PM
With so many roads on the westside its hard to go steep and deep...they tend to stay where they don't get harassed...that could be 50 yds off the road all season or 500yds off the road....I bumped a herd 3 times in 4 days from the same spot 75 yds off the road last year
Yep, a classic westside mistake is to go too far too early. With the amount of roads over here you can often leave the truck in prime elk country.
Post by: Button Nubbs on June 01, 2014, 07:46:46 PM
Post by: Johnb317 on June 01, 2014, 08:02:30 PM
Post by: washelkhntr on June 01, 2014, 08:05:22 PM
Dog hair reprod? :dunno:
Hell on earth!
Post by: snowpack on June 01, 2014, 08:06:47 PM
10X wetter than rain!!!!! :chuckle:Dog hair reprod? :dunno:
Hell on earth!
Post by: deerhunter_98520 on June 01, 2014, 09:55:38 PM
Dog hair reprod? :dunno:
Hell on earth!
Talk about an understatement :chuckle: ...its the crap that's so thick you don't have room to draw your bow back
Post by: kingpin on June 01, 2014, 10:03:33 PM
Post by: RB on June 01, 2014, 10:08:48 PM
:yeah:10X wetter than rain!!!!! :chuckle:Dog hair reprod? :dunno:
Hell on earth!
I busted out of the timber one year short of where I should have and had to bushwack through some thick stuff and was wetter than if I had jumped in the creek and needles in places I did not think they could get! My rifle was absolutely trashed and picked needles out of my gear for days
Post by: wooltie on June 03, 2014, 05:16:46 AM
With so many roads on the westside its hard to go steep and deep...they tend to stay where they don't get harassed...that could be 50 yds off the road all season or 500yds off the road....I bumped a herd 3 times in 4 days from the same spot 75 yds off the road last year
Yep, a classic westside mistake is to go too far too early. With the amount of roads over here you can often leave the truck in prime elk country.
My thoughts exactly. Yeah I think any animal would travel away until they feel safe...but for example, I was checkout out some lowland areas between 1000-2500', the low end being mostly flat---there's plenty of thick thick cover down low, but of course they could venture up into the steeper country---but I think the point is the elk could be anywhere, but they won't be everywhere.
I think finding well used trails and following them from end to end, evidence of bedding areas, any wallows, etc. would indicate where they've been--especially if you saw recent sign...then it's just a matter of bumping into them.
I know though, I've scoured westside maps, and roads are everywhere--which is good and bad I guess.
I'll be hunting either 454/460 or down south in a 500 series for modern.
So, generally does one approach the westside elk game as you would for blacktail, just expand your range because elk might move more? Or do you actually search for different vegetation, types of cover, etc.?
Post by: grundy53 on June 03, 2014, 06:30:25 AM
:yeah: we kill a lot of bulls within earshot of logging roads...With so many roads on the westside its hard to go steep and deep...they tend to stay where they don't get harassed...that could be 50 yds off the road all season or 500yds off the road....I bumped a herd 3 times in 4 days from the same spot 75 yds off the road last year
Yep, a classic westside mistake is to go too far too early. With the amount of roads over here you can often leave the truck in prime elk country.
sent from my typewriter
Post by: deerhunter_98520 on June 03, 2014, 07:29:49 AM
Post by: wooltie on June 06, 2014, 03:17:40 PM
If you were walking down a logging road on the west side, and there's timber all around you on both sides, what about the woods might persuade you to venture forth?
Obviously if you saw trails...go in!
I've seen trails in really thick stuff (where you'd shoot something no more than 10 yards away at most) and very open timber (where you can get a 30-50 yd shooting lane). Also chased em into huge acres of mature regrowth, the kinda stuff where you'd be better off just going the animal with a machete.
I like working the logging roads that switchback down draws....always find trails there.
Post by: Eli346 on June 06, 2014, 06:40:43 PM
Post by: wooltie on June 09, 2014, 06:38:09 AM
I do a lot of scouting on Google Earth and look for draw or drainages between the roads. I've got quite a few bulls within 50 yds or so of the creeks; bedded down. I try to work downhill but I'll go uphill or sidehill depending on the wind. I like the timber as they seem to bed down there alot. Sometimes the brush looks pretty thick under the timber but you'll get a bit off the road and find that it opens up to make it a pretty good hunt. If I'm following a drainage I'll try to get close enough to the bottom that I can see the other side and spend a lot of time glassing as I'm going. It's not a horse race. They can be sneaky as hell. I always carry a cow call and have stopped a few bulls after I busted them by just running after them and calling. I stopped 2 bulls 3 times on one hunt before I got a shot at the rear bull. He was the bigger of the 2, a 5x5, but there was a 4x4 ahead of him. I took the 5x5 home that year.
I see the same thing as well. Brush looks thick at first, but go 20-30 yards in and you'd be surprised how much the timber opens up. Either that or it just gets thicker >:(
I tend to find trails more often in "moderate" timber--there's enough floor cover but it's neither high enough nor thick enough where you're constantly walking through it, wishing you're pants were more "waterproof", and its open enough to where a 20-40 yard shot is probable.
Sometimes I also find trails in burnt out sections of the timber--those dark, black areas with next to no ground cover that are quite open.
Sometimes I find lots of poop along the way; sometimes none.
Love creeping down those draws with big, wide mature trees, tall canopies where it's dark enough, but light enough at the right time of day, with moderate height--but sparse, lush green ground cover.