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Newbie looking for any NV Elk guidence

PackMule21

New member
Joined
May 31, 2018
Messages
24
Location
Vegas
Greetings HT group,

Just joined the group here and this is my first post!

So as beginners luck would have it, I drew an Elk tag on my first draw in NV. It's a party cow elk tag for the 061/071 units (late hunt). I will be hunting with my wife and stepdad. I am active duty military and just got stationed down in the Vegas area, which is a long long way from the hunting grounds. Unfortunatly I/we wont be able to do any scouting prior to the hunt. I am in great shape and can cover some good territory, and my wife and stepdad can hold there own on the mountain too. We will have a quad to get around as well.

Once again, I am a very new hunter (hunted deer and hogs while stationed in SC) which requires a whole different technique then here out west. As far as hunting TTP's go, so far I know the Elk will move for water, the cold weather will push them down, and I want to hunt when there is no moon correct?

Specifically, if anyone has any info on where to get a few cows from the 061/071 area I would be super grateful. I have been doing some digging and looking at maps already and the Bruneau River and moving east seems to have some good looking spots there seems to be some nice mountains between the river (061/071 dividing line) and Jarbridge which is the eastren boundry of 071.

I have to schedule my leave around the hunt so I think the plan is the first 10-14 days of December and if not successful, I can head back into the area around Jan 5-15th. Thanks all for any help, knoweldge, tips, and advice. I wasnt raised in a hunting family, but I am trying to raise my kiddos in one!
 
I have seen elk often on Copper Mtn but I have never been there that late. North toward Idaho might be good as I think they winter that direction. I would suggest calling the biologist for the area. Her name is Kari Huebner (sp) out of Elko and can be reached through the Elko NDOW office. She is very helpful. Good luck!
 
Thanks for the tips, didn't even cross my mind to look into that! Exactly some of the intel I was hoping to get out of this post. Cheers!!
 
NV also has hunt information sheets for every species by unit. They are on the NDOW website and written by the area biologist. Look at the elk one for the unit as a start on your research.
 
Thanks for your service, Packmule21. Don’t we live in a great country with opportunities such as public land hunts? I’ll be hunting Nevada elk season also in November. Your youth will allow you to traverse the ridges somewhat quicker than me. Nonetheless, enjoy the time and have fun. Your military training will help out. U.S. Army veteran 1990 - 1998.
 
I can confirm Elkdog"s elk sightings on Copper Mountain. Depending on the weather anywhere along the main road dividing 061 and 071 can be good if there is lots of snow. The northern end of both areas along the Bruneau has rolling sage hills the cows might be using if they have moved down. Sunflower Flat may also be worth checking out if they are down lower.
There are also deep sage canyons to the east and north of Wildhorse Res. that hold elk in bad weather.
Up higher there are big aspen stands between the main road dividing 061/071 and Copper Mountain and lots of aspens stands in the side creeks and canyons.
Be sure and let us know how your hunt goes.
Good luck.
 
I Depending on the weather anywhere along the main road dividing 061 and 071 can be good if there is lots of snowQUOTE]
Gr8bawana is absolutely right but since you have not been there I want to clarify "main road". It is the main road. It is also a narrow dirt road that 2 pickups cannot easily pass in some points. Quite a bit goes along the side of a ridge with a steep drop that can be angled wrong if there is snow or it's too wet. The 14 Jarbidge locals don't travel that road with much snow, or so 2 of them told me. I just wanted to point out that our concept of main road might be different than yours and that time of year can be pretty sketchy up there. Be careful and have a great hunt!
 
Guys, killer info. Really is giving me a good place to start. I actually met a lady today who had spent some time up there and recommended coming down from ID (13 miles of dirt roads) opposed to coming up from NV (66 miles of dirt). This is also what the information sheet previosuly suggested recommened. Thinking we may just find some promising areas and the quad around and see what we can see. I know the weather and when the snow hits will dictate alot. Copper Mtn sure looks steep on all sides, espically on the east side. Is there anyplaces, maybe even like Copper, where you would need horses, beacuse I wont have those, only my legs and back! Also, what are you thoughts on hunting in respect to the moon? Thanks all!
 
Yea there is a section of the road just south of Jarbidge that has a section that I believe is a 16% grade that I would avoid if there is much snow. Coming in from Murphy's hot springs is a good idea.
You can always ride your quads up the road and check out the conditions.
The main road coming in from the south does get pretty slick and muddy if there is rain and snow so be prepared.
 
Yes the only reliable way into Jarbidge in the winter is from Rogerson, ID. That's a long way from Vegas. You might want to consider Gr8bawanas suggestion of hunting north of Wildhorse Res. Several hours closer and not as dependent on the weather. It just all depends on the weather.

Copoer Mtn is steep, but no steeper than most of the Jarbidge area. You can get an elk off any place there with a good pack. You'll need more than one trip and plan the best route to the nearest road. Unless you hit the elk lottery, you are going to burn some serious calories getting an elk out of anyplace around Jarbidge.

We are meeting my family from WY in Jarbidge the end of the month for a week of camping. We will spread good karma for your hunt!

And I should have said earlier, thank you for your service (you also GreyRider)! Happy hunting to you both!
 
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So after some map reading and Google Earthing, wife and I have a very loose plan. I think we may make either Wild Horse campground or Big Bend campground our base camp in a trailer. Big Bend looks to be about 20 miles down the dirt road from Wild Horse and will use the Big Bend site if weather supports. From there, depending on weather again, we have options of Sunflow Flats to the West, a high peak to the East in Tennessee Mtn, or can travel up the road to the North and pickup the Bruneau River. We can traverse this by truck or quad, once again weather depending. From the Bruneau fork, we also have the option for pushing East again along some dirt roads that will lead us into the West side of the Jarbridge Mtns if necessary. I think we will also prepare to make a hasty camp in the woods if we get onto a herd at dusk, instead of the long way back to base camp. Any inputs, thoughts, or suggstions?? How is the road that goes past Big Bend, North towards the Bruneau River fork. It looks to follow a creek and keep a fairly low elevation with minimal "danger" spots, but not sure how it looks in real life. Just trying harvest 2 cows and raise these kiddos on true organic meat! Thanks for all the support and guidence!
 
I'm a first time NV hunter, second time elk hunter with the same tag. Planning on hunting the opener and will let you know what I find. Question for the experienced folks, has anyone seen the cows in Unit 73 or 75 in mid November? Thanks!
 
Hey there FreeAir,

How did your hunt go? Getting pretty excited as we are headed up in 2.5 weeks. Looks like we will catch some of the forcasted snowfall. A few in our party went out scouting this last weekend and saw zero cows. Only a few bulls that were in camp. Shoot me a message if you can with any intel. Thanks brother!
 
Thanks guys for all the info. Sorry for the long overdue update. I was not prepaired for how much snow and rough the 061/071 units are. I was also not ready for the longer shooting distances. Like i said in my original post, I am a newbie. Long storg short, went out for 7 days on the opener and saw no cows, just far off bulls. Hit the road to regroup and extended my shooting range. Came back a few weeks later and got a wonderful cow @ 425 yrds. Dropped her instantly with my .270. It was a hard hunt, road conditions were dangerous, but we stuck with it and filled the freezer. Thanks for all the tips!
 
Congrats Packmule! Thanks for coming back with an update. Thats how its suppose to go :)
 
Long overdue,....... but had my 3rd kid, moved with the military, and been on the road a bit! I will say it was a wild hunt and we even hauled the little kids with us, becasue my wife also had a cow tag. She didnt fill hers, but we did hit -25 degrees with kids in a trailer, and everything froze solid....everything. It was an experience for sure. But we roll together and I am teaching my son the things I was never taught. Probably bringing them along this year, but it will be much warmer with no snow!
 

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