Elk Hunting Techniques

I have a little case of elk fever this week(must be the snowtastrophe coming) and I was wondering how everone else prefers to chase them… Stealth, agressive calling, or ambush. The “locals” I talked to seemed to be split on the subject. Some really liked calling while others thought calling just told the elk were you are. I have called in elk but have seen more by being in the right place at the right time. I hunt national forest in north cental colorado. Just wondering if anyone else hunts in that area and how you like to hunt.

I’ve not hunted that area. My experience with elk has been more the right place at the right time for me. I’ve got A LOT to learn about doing it right. I can’t wait til I can get out west again. Good luck!!

We will be hunting more south central Colorado this fall. I’ve only hunted elk twice with no success yet…but it looks like we’ll be in a great spot this year. What I’ve heard is your best chance would be to hunt them like you would a turkey. Locate them and head right after them…keeping the wind in your favor. Try to get as close as possible and try to sweet talk them right in. We are going to be more aggressive this year then in years past in hopes of doing just that…fooling the big ol “turkey”! Good Luck!

Are you in a draw area? We haven’t drawn a tag yet. We normally miss the deadline. We still have had action every year. We average seeing 15-20 elk in a 7 day hunt. Do you guys see similar numbers? Last year was the toughest we’ve had(7 elk in 7days). Other hunters we talked to were struggling too. I would like to try a different area but it’s tough to drive 1100+ miles and not know what youre getting into. I know thats part of the excitment but we know the area were in. Sorry if it sounds like I’m blabbering but we leave in about 165 days.

We go out archery hunting where we can get the tags over the counter! 2 years ago we hunted the San Juan area down by Durango….very steep mountains! Our 1st weekend was the last weekend on Muzzy out there and the herds were pushed deep into the canyons! We saw elk 1 day out of 7 but heard them every day. This year will not be that way as we are in better country with hopefully less pressure. I don’t mind walking long distances as long as it’s not straight up and down!

I hear you about traveling all that way and not knowing what you’re getting yourself into. Contacting the Colorado Department of Wildlife out there is a great start. Letting them know where you plan to go and how the herd is helps in deciding where you want to go. It also a good idea just in case they had a fire in the area you are going too. I would hate to travel out there just to find the timber all burned! I’m lucky to have a neighbor share his spots since he has been out there more times than I have and he also hunts them with archery equipment. Good luck and I hear ya….only 27 more weeks until we leave!

We typically call to locate general area, then stalk.

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Are you in a draw area? We haven’t drawn a tag yet. We normally miss the deadline. We still have had action every year. We average seeing 15-20 elk in a 7 day hunt. Do you guys see similar numbers? Last year was the toughest we’ve had(7 elk in 7days). Other hunters we talked to were struggling too. I would like to try a different area but it’s tough to drive 1100+ miles and not know what youre getting into. I know thats part of the excitment but we know the area were in.

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Don’t take this the wrong way, becuase it isn’t intended to be harsh.

There is no reason to miss the draw. If you want to apply DO IT. If your partners don’t want to…..well maybe they aren’t into the hunt as much as you? You still have a few weeks get your application in. It will assure that next year you could hunt a limited area (less pressure), which will mean better odds. 7 elk in 7 days, 20 elk in 7 days for multiple people….ICK…whether you know that spot or not….run and run fast! If you’re doing things right you should be seeing a lot more elk than that, a LOT more, especially since you know the area. 1100+ miles, not a big deal. You should be able to use online resources to pick an area. Once you have the area picked start calling, and searching internet sites for the info you need, trust me its available to you. Yes it would help to be able to make a scouting trip to a new area, but it isn’t required. I may be setting foot in my third new elk hunting state in a row this fall, actually kind of planning on it But I have my plans already made. 3 different big plans all with custom maps, premade waypoints, routes, and gps entered. Within each big plan I have multiple “spot” plans to cover once I get there.

I think most people approach a hunt like this the wrong way. Most people hope to kill an animal…..not me. I expect to kill one. Does it define the hunt, absolutely not. In fact I’m looking a great opportunity in the mouth right now, for an OTC colorado unit…because it isn’t the type of terrain I like to hunt in. I like thick heavy timbered areas….this unit has more open area than I like….so its still up in the air. I don’t wait 49 weeks, shoot thousands of arrows, spend countless hours daydreaming/planning about elk, spend the money I do on gas, tags, gear etc…..to hope to shoot an animal. I plan on killing a bull in September…will I, who knows? Check back in October to find out….but its just all about how you go about reaching what you are after.

Good luck!

Thanks for the pep talk Les. I may have come off like we miss the draw deadline because of ignorance but its more calculated than that. I would leave today if I could. Every year we have 10 guys ready to go untill its time to get in the truck then it drops to about 3. Some of our party aren’t willing to commit that early. I would say put up or shut up because I’m going with or without you, but some of the people are family members.
So, I’m fired up. I’ll be shooting as soon as the snow is gone. I’ll be continuing my online research throught out the year.

Good luck zits. Trust me, it will be here and gone before we know it! Some of the fun is the anticipation and getting prepared before hand!

Well put Les We have 4-6 typically that apply in our group, my brother in law heads it up, sorta “in charge”… he lets all of us know when he is applying for a group number and if your in or not. That is his job, if he had us miss a deadline, he would beat himself up Our group is a mixed group, 1 guy goes elk hunting, to get up into the mountains, talk nice long walks, have few cocktails with the guys at the end of the day and if he can do that, he is happy. A couple other guys are like you, they have elk tunnel vision, everything is about getting the animal, which is great. I go with a couple things in mind, 1st, survive the day in the mountains elk hunting, so I can go sit in the alfalfa field in the evening, to watch the whitetails pour in then after a evening in the bottoms, back up to the cabin for a few & discuss the next days strategy I “expect” to shoot a whitetail, a elk would be icing on the cake I imagine once I take an elk, I will be more focused on them First and foremost though, miss the draw and you have no chance Draws are very important, even if you don’t get drawn… it’s all about preference baby Good luck to all

This is a very interesting topic, as it seems to depend greatly on the time of year/season. Its also a great topic because I am a “bowhunter for whitetails” first, and just recently began the trek of heading west for elk. I am not sharing any secrets by saying that I hunt the routt national forest in NW CO. I drove out there with a buddy of mine, having never been to colorado and much less that particular area. We bought tags for Unit 14 (OTC). Took a quick peek at the maps we had bought, drove around until we found what looked to be a good area and parked at about 10,500 feet (2nd rifle season). From what I had gathered during the first two days of scouting, there were a LOT of elk and a lot of mule deer. The temp. at this point was 60-70 degrees. The following day we got a 2 foot dump of snow and temps plummeted into the 30’s. The elk moved very well for the first 3 days of the season. We ended the hunt with one very large cow elk out of two tags. The way we hunted was spot and stalk mostly, just trying to find feeding areas or catch them following the snowline down. I have tried to talk friends into bowhunting this fall and be able to chase some rocky mountain buglers, but it doesnt looks like it will happen, so second rifle it is once again.