VA Elk Hunt Help!

[np307]

The smart money is to buy a NR deer tag and hunt land adjacent to the protected zone since you can kill an elk with a deer tag if it wanders into the wrong county.

 

[Knight.54]

The smart money is to buy a NR deer tag and hunt land adjacent to the protected zone since you can kill an elk with a deer tag if it wanders into the wrong county.

The smart money killed his Bull a couple of weeks ago with his deer tag.
Nice loophole if the bull cooperates.

 

[88man]

Hit the pipe
Corner hop
watch youtube
snag some sheds
take lots of cameras
dont forget your ebike
make sure you age the meat atleast 100 days if you harvest
tell everyone you meet who your sponsors are

 

[VAspeedgoat]

Serious question, are these still considered Rocky mountain elk?

Also, it's fall in Va so don't forget to put your speedo in your pack to cool off when it's 85 degrees.

 

[jvanhoy]

Serious question, are these still considered Rocky mountain elk?

Also, it's fall in Va so don't forget to put your speedo in your pack to cool off when it's 85 degrees.

Yes the Eastern elk subspecies are extinct so all the elk that have been restored are Rocky Mountain.

 

[SaskHunter]

Is corner crossing legal in Virginia?

 

[geetar]

If you find a rhododendron thicket on your hunt, I would suggest that you try crossing it, if for no other reason than the experience.

That is the oak brush of the east. Maybe worse.

 

[geetar]

Is corner crossing legal in Virginia?

In the mountains of the south the main concern is don’t get near anyones hidden liquor still. That’ll get you kilt.

 

[Gerald Martin]

That is the oak brush of the east. Maybe worse.

Or the tag alder of NW MT and N. Idaho

 

[BAKPAKR]

Or the tag alder of NW MT and N. Idaho

Rhododendron is what tag alder aspires to be.

 

[duckhunt]

Not asking for anyone's honey holes, but I'm planning on applying for the VA NR elk tag and was hoping I could get pointed in the right direction.

I'm not going to do any scouting if I draw, because I have lots of other hunts planned and am busy with work. I also have never been to VA and am too cheap to buy OnX for e-scouting... blew my wad this year on this sweet tactical pack with lots of molle straps. It's great for attaching my night vision goggles and hauling around my hatchet collection on Texas dall sheep hunts.

Oh man, sorry for being long winded, anyway if anyone from VA could post trail cam pics and coordinates to this thread that would be ideal, I don't plan on logging in again so please don't PM me, I'm just going to bookmark this thread on my browser.

Also I'm really into this Rob Shaul guy after a couple of podcasts he did about the efficacy of cyber bullying in creating conservation advocates, so I definitely won't come back and tell you guys how it went after I draw.

Oh ps... do you think a .300win mag with 180grain bullets is good elk medicine, that's my go to whitetail load thinking I might need a RUM?

Please PM me with any details. I ll see you in camp. LOL

 

[Gellar]

Bro good call.
But also I never leave home without the shakeweight.

Fify

 

[np307]

If you find a rhododendron thicket on your hunt, I would suggest that you try crossing it, if for no other reason than the experience.

A couple years ago I decided that the public land down here in the piedmont wasn't challenging enough so I wanted to go up to Pisgah to scout during the summer. I picked a section of game lands just shy of Linville Gorge and packed an overnight setup. I had a fishing pole with me and descended toward this creek that was supposed to have wild trout in it. About halfway down the slope I realized I was in trouble. I was in the laurel and rhodo with no hope of escape.

I fought my way down to the creek, which was very refreshing but unfishable (which didn't matter anyway since my fishing rod had gotten snagged on the way down and broken). When I finally got the nerve to ascend the opposite bank of the creek, it took me 6 hours to go 1.3 miles back up to the main trail. Between the laurel and rhodo, berry thickets, and steep slopes, I was exhausted. Still haven't been back up there to deer hunt, maybe next year.

 

[BAKPAKR]

A couple years ago I decided that the public land down here in the piedmont wasn't challenging enough so I wanted to go up to Pisgah to scout during the summer. I picked a section of game lands just shy of Linville Gorge and packed an overnight setup. I had a fishing pole with me and descended toward this creek that was supposed to have wild trout in it. About halfway down the slope I realized I was in trouble. I was in the laurel and rhodo with no hope of escape.

I fought my way down to the creek, which was very refreshing but unfishable (which didn't matter anyway since my fishing rod had gotten snagged on the way down and broken). When I finally got the nerve to ascend the opposite bank of the creek, it took me 6 hours to go 1.3 miles back up to the main trail. Between the laurel and rhodo, berry thickets, and steep slopes, I was exhausted. Still haven't been back up there to deer hunt, maybe next year.

Going up hill through that stuff is terrible. On the flip side, if deer or elk hunting in the thickets, your shots would be close. You wouldn’t even need a scope on a Savage 99.

This photo is looking down a “maintained” trail in a West Virginia wilderness area. The Forest Service really should post signs warning not to wander off the designated trails, even if it appears that game trails do (those are just bait the thickets put out).

 

[TheJason]

Rhododendron is what tag alder aspires to be.

Worse than the ceanothus in the Lochsa?

 

[BAKPAKR]

Worse than the ceanothus in the Lochsa?

Although I am not sure what ceanothus is, I have been in a bunch of super thick stuff from the Selway River north to the border and none of it matches the ferocity of rhododendron. The branches grow at weird angles, interlock with their neighbors, and largely resist bending.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

@BAKPAKR that looks pretty bad… wonder how it compares to whatever the hell this MA vine is

 

[Gerald Martin]

Worse than the ceanothus in the Lochsa?

Very similar. Both bushes are evil brothers from another mother.

 

[BAKPAKR]

View attachment 208456
@BAKPAKR that looks pretty bad… wonder how it compares to whatever the hell this MA vine is

I can see the forest floor in your photo.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I can see the forest floor in your photo.

Yes… many have made that mistake…