Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Elk Hunting => Topic started by: woodrat on November 12, 2010, 06:00:14 PM

Title: planning for weekend, need advice
Post by: woodrat on November 12, 2010, 06:00:14 PM: so, I live in GMU 506, and I've been at this elk hunting thing for seven straight days without seeing one. I've gotten close a couple of times, fresh sign and yesterday I ran into a guy who had spooked a herd and finally given up trying to track them. I went back the way he had come from, dropped into a clearcut and got onto a very fresh trail that still smelled like elk, but they got way, way ahead of me and I finally lost them. For the last few days I've been hunting behind locked gates, walking in a mile or more, and glassing clearcuts and still hunting timber and spur roads. I've seen one other person, each day I've been out. Other than not finding an elk to shoot, it's been really nice. No truck hunters, lots of peace and quiet. Originally I was thinking that when the weekend came I would fall back to hunting behind my property, or at a friend's to stay away from the other people.

But now I'm rethinking that. I kept wishing all week to have someone else working with me on adjacent roads or something, and it suddenly occurred to me that if I go up there this weekend, there might be several people working "with" me, even if I don't know them and never talk to them. It seems like the elk are so freaked out now that they are just bouncing all around trying to avoid running into hunters and maybe if I just picked a good spot, or spots to sit for a while, other hunters might spook them and I might have a better chance at seeing some.

If I were to do this, would the best place to be be near the bottom of the drainage, or near the top, next to a clearcut? I'm starting to get tired of all this trudging around through head high brush and downed timber and branches. Today it took me hours to go not very far still hunting in timber. I was trying to work about 1-200 yards inside the timber, but it's slow going, and the elk that were near there yesterday were long since gone today.

Any ideas? I'm hunting alone, as a self taught beginner, and I could use a better plan.
Title: Re: planning for weekend, need advice
Post by: AKBowman on November 12, 2010, 06:08:35 PM: Near the bottom of the drainage is typically the best spot. I am going to be putting that strategy into action on the opener and I've got one stand hung and I will be bringing in a climber in case I need to move. Bottom of drainage is where these elk escape to...the deep dark nasty
Title: Re: planning for weekend, need advice
Post by: chester on November 12, 2010, 06:16:40 PM: Your hunting in a really popular unit.word gets around. if your on timber company lands and not seeing people, there may be a reason for that :twocents:
Title: Re: planning for weekend, need advice
Post by: woodrat on November 12, 2010, 06:49:14 PM: well, I was thinking that part of the reason was that it's the middle of the week and I'm walking in behind locked gates. Plenty of people driving around on the unlocked roads, but a lot fewer walking for miles behind the gates.

You know, way back in the summer, I had scouted an area where three little drainages come together down at the bottom near the big river, in a messy alder flat full of ferns and brush. I had assumed that elk would move down there to get away from road hunting pressure from the ridge, and it's about a 3/4 mile walk down an old logging road to get to it. I had originally planned to hunt somewhere else on opening weekend, but that place got screwed up somehow and I ended up hunting the alder canyon instead, and seeing nothing. Maybe I played that card too early in the game. I might go check that spot out again.
Title: Re: planning for weekend, need advice
Post by: vtec on November 12, 2010, 08:33:39 PM: Keep doing what your doing it will pay off I think being consistant is important