Learn an elk unit?

[mtmuley]

I

Hunting and fishing on memories doesn't work all the time.

Buzz, I have good elk spot. Not giant bulls, but a good place. mtmuley

 

[mtmuley]

Till it doesn’t I hunt same unit stay mobile have spots in that unit if I stayed in the same drainage id have a rough time

I've hunted this place for over 30 years. mtmuley

 

[cgasner1]

I've hunted this place for over 30 years. mtmuley

I hope you get another 30 on it

 

[mtmuley]

I hope you get another 30 on it

I'm 58. My kids have learned it. mtmuley

 

[williaada]

IME, if a person gets too one dimensional even in spots you know well, it's not good.

Going back to the same well will bite you eventually.

Things constantly change. Places I could kill elk just about anytime I wanted to have dried up for various reasons. But I've kept moving and finding new places.

Buzz and Mtmuley,
I think elk hunting is very similar to walleye or salmon fishing in that the location of the fish changes based on water temps, structure, and what time of the year I am fishing. Based on the conditioned listed above there is a high probability I will find active fish. I have been chasing these fish since I was 4 years old with my father and uncles. Only 4 years into chasing elk out west and I have hoped from one state to another. Second time I am going back to the same unit.

 

[FREAK]

It depends, I try and learn elk behavior for the season I’m hunting and apply that knowledge to the unit. For example, some areas are migration corridors and can be incredibly difficult to hunt if you are there in the early season. You basically have to move around till you locate a resident herd. Some areas can be heavily influenced by private/public boundaries and pressure. If it’s high desert, you may be sitting water or spot and stock hunting. I think it can be easier to master one season in one unit but if you’re hunting different times in the same unit it can be a totally different strategy depending on the time of year.

Lots of factors, just don’t hunt them like they’re a whitetail deer. I did that the first couple years out west and I didn’t punch many tags.

 

[Dsnow9]

I have hunted the same units for about 12 years now. I have learned a lot. When I first started I always went to the same spot because I killed a bull the first two years. I had a dry streak for a few years after it got overgrazed by sheep and cattle. I have since explored and figured out a lot more country. Depending on which season I draw my strategy differs. And even in the same seasons I have learned to adapt if I can’t find them in my go to place. Those skills I have learned though, I apply to new units and states and have been successful.

 

[williaada]

I have hunted the same units for about 12 years now. I have learned a lot. When I first started I always went to the same spot because I killed a bull the first two years. I had a dry streak for a few years after it got overgrazed by sheep and cattle. I have since explored and figured out a lot more country. Depending on which season I draw my strategy differs. And even in the same seasons I have learned to adapt if I can’t find them in my go to place. Those skills I have learned though, I apply to new units and states and have been successful.

I think the lack of confidence in not getting an elk or having a shot at one where I am not rushed is what I am hoping to achieve.

 

[Forkyfinder]

It depends, I try and learn elk behavior for the season I’m hunting and apply that knowledge to the unit. For example, some areas are migration corridors and can be incredibly difficult to hunt if you are there in the early season. You basically have to move around till you locate a resident herd. Some areas can be heavily influenced by private/public boundaries and pressure. If it’s high desert, you may be sitting water or spot and stock hunting. I think it can be easier to master one season in one unit but if you’re hunting different times in the same unit it can be a totally different strategy depending on the time of year.

Lots of factors, just don’t hunt them like they’re a whitetail deer. I did that the first couple years out west and I didn’t punch many tags.

Is that typical? People who move from elkless states try to hunt them like whitetails?

 

[BuzzH]

Is that typical? People who move from elkless states try to hunt them like whitetails?

Maybe, I've ruined many good whitetail hunts because I shot an elk.

 

[FREAK]

Is that typical? People who move from elkless states try to hunt them like whitetails?

I was way overly cautious when I first started elk hunting. I was just used to hunting spooky whitetail. Lots of sitting and hoping something would walk through. When I’d see an elk I’d sit still and hope it fed to me like I would with a whitetail. It worked a few times but I’ve since found a lot more success being aggressive and moving a lot. My BIL grew up in Montana, he always wants to sit meadows and be patient. He’s killed one bull in the 13 years I’ve known him. I’ve killed 9 and only 4 of them came from the same 2 mountain ranges.

Maybe, I've ruined many good whitetail hunts because I shot an elk.

Yeah, late season mountain whitetails can make for a nice surprise elk hunt. I’ve killed a couple bulls as a consolation prize while trying to find a nice MD late.

 

[SAJ-99]

I think the key step in the learning process is determine when you can tell (or sometimes admit) elk are not currently using a spot.

 

[brymoore]

Is that typical? People who move from elkless states try to hunt them like whitetails?

I find it very typical that whitetail hunters new to elk hunting revert to what they know. They want to sneak into the woods a half mike. Sit down and wait for an elk to walk by them.

However, the new trend is to rent llamas or backpack in miles to set up their heated teepee camp as seen on TV. They use their Vortex glass, with its great warranty, to glass areas that won’t hold elk.

Success rates are similar to either method.

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

Stop trying to find elk and learn how elk use terrain and why they use terrain the way they do. Then things will be more likely to fall into place in any unit.

 

[COraggy]

Yes, be able to kill a bull consistently year in and year out. Each year I have pulled a bull tag, and have bumped into bulls but have not been able to out the pieces together.

how many years have you hunted the same unit? and found elk in the same area? if you are finding elk in the same area 2 or 3 years in a row and not sealing the deal I'd change strategy you've obviously "found" them consistently. some units obviously have more elk than others and hunters as well. if I run into more hunters than elk id relocate until you find the opposite. Hunting time is short don't waste it chasing hunters or calling in hunters.

 

[Caseknife]

Where I grew up we had a camp in the bottom of a drainage. I hunted that area for 36 years from that camp, we killed 58 elk out of that camp. When we started there was open grassy hillsides an open lodgepole stands, lots of feed for elk. Game trails everywhere, like worn to the mineral soil trails. You could essentially know ahead of time where the elk were going to be opening day. When I quit hunting there the white fir had overgrown all the open hillsides and choked out all the feed. The only elk in the area now are passing through, not nearly as productive.

 

[noharleyyet]

I've learn't that you can ruin a good pig hunt by shooting a nice whitetail buck...

 

[Nameless Range]

Been hunting the same elk unit for 30 years. Have probably walked on every mountain of significance within it regardless of ownership. Don’t claim to be a great hunter, but fairly reliable over the course of a season.

Weather, roads, ungulate populations, beetle kill, hunter pressure - a lot of what one knew about those things in 1995 isn’t relevant to 2025.

Makes it fun doesn’t it? Even in a single unit, you never stop learning.