Elk or cattle sign?

[R.K.]

Playing around doing some e-scouting, and I think I found some pretty good elk sign on the satellite photos. Thoughts?

Public land, but pretty close to an ATV trail that's open part way through archery season. Think it's worth taking a couple days to scout?

 

[LCH]

Ha. Looks like elk to me.

Funny story, last November in CO I was parked on the side of a road glassing for mule deer, when a truck with a couple elk hunters stopped and asked if I'd seen any elk or sign. I pointed out some fresh tracks right on the road where we were talking, and they dismissed them as cattle tracks. A couple hours later I spotted a raghorn bull about 1/2 mile away in the direction the tracks were headed. Never did see any cattle in the area.

 

[riley]

Ha that’s funny. You just beat the hardest level of where’s Waldo .

I don’t elk hunt and i don’t know anything about it . But if they are in the pic I’d say you got a starting point at least?

 

[riv3rbanks]

Check Google Earth. The resolution is usually a little better.

 

[rwc101]

I'd check it out if there are other compelling reasons to think elk will be there during your season. Who knows when the imagery was taken and if they'll be around come archery season.

 

[jtm307]

I killed 3 elk in 2 years within a mile of a spot which shows elk on Google Earth.

 

[MNElkNut]

I found some elk about 1/2 mile away from where we hunt on Google Earth. Kinda cool.

Elk are where you find them. Or put another way, you find elk where they are. A picture in the summer means there are elk in the general area, which is a good thing. Beyond that, it doesn't mean a whole lot.

 

[Colorado]

A helpful tool when you're e-scouting is to download Google Earth Pro to your computer. It's free, and it shows you the date of the satellite imagery. That's helpful to know in case the imagery was before/after a burn in the unit or to see how many trucks and wall tents are there if the imagery is September-November. It doesn't have to change your mind on going somewhere, but gives you a heads up on potential pressure.

 

[belshawelk]

Elk zero question

 

[arwhntr]

I found some elk via satellite imagery just like this in a NM unit for archery tag I have this September. Sure enough I ventured in there on my scout trip and glassed up a herd of cows/calves within 50 yards of where they were via the sat image.

 

[Tomahawk]

They're red angus. Here's some elk for comparison:

 

[R.K.]

They're red angus. Here's some elk for comparison:

View attachment 110819

And that's why I asked. Wasn't sure how red elk get over the summer, and this is fairly close to some large ranches.

Still might go up and check it out, though- it's on the way to some other spots I'd like to look at.

 

[Elkdog]

Cattle. Look at the cow/calf pair on the left. The calf is laying on its side.