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Tips for thick bush

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Tips for thick bush

Postby Sask hunter » 06 25, 2017 •  [Post 1]

Where i hunt the under brush is extremely thick and tall. Lots of times a guy sees 10-30' only. Should a guy even bother chasing bugles cause odds are it will be too thick for him to see? I'm debating wether I should focus more on cold calling along the sides of small openings or sitting trails this year. What'a the experts opinions?
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby Lefty » 06 25, 2017 •  [Post 2]

I learned to still hunt thick brush for white-tail in northern Minnesota. I adapted that for hunting mulies in Utah. I would slowly work the moose trails.
In Washington state there was a little thicket that was archery hunted for elk and deer. I found a bunch ( 11, I think) broad-heads in that thicket .
The elk and deer were in it, I would practice my stalking skills in that little 2 acre patch.
Binos are really important; that branch at 30 feet, at 8x just might be horn.

A few years after I left Mn. a hunting buddy called. He had a few days off of work to archery white-tails after the slug season had closed. the big buck he was chasing was still alive. He called to cry :cry: it was suppose to be extremely windy on his days off and asked where and how he should hunt. I told him to hunt the cornfields. Look down each row then stalk from down wind. The next night he called and had arrowed his biggest buck ever. He had to step back to make his 3 foot shot!!! :o I also hunted thick and nasty with few trails on windy days for deer.
Some of my toughest waterfowling was jump shooting ducks in high winds.
A trapping buddy in Oregon would walk steep creek bottoms. He would toss rocks to the opposite bank.

Ive played cat and mouse with elk that knew we were there rifle hunting,.. That worked out for the elk.
Archery elk in thick stuff, the elk have come out alive too :? but other game it an be done.
If they are there hunt them
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby Swede » 06 25, 2017 •  [Post 3]

Too much brush is as challenging as too little cover. I agree with Lefty even after pondering what am I thinking. :lol: Openings are extremely valuable and a tree stand could be a good choice if you have a tree in the right spot.
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby Lonnie » 06 25, 2017 •  [Post 4]

I ran into a big bull two years ago that was in thick brush. So thick that you couldn't move with out making yourself sound like a train in the brush. We cow called all the way into the bull. We didn't worry about making noise. My shooter was off to the side. We got in shooting distance of the bull and he didn't mind the noise because we were cow calling.

The funny thing that happened was right when the shooter was pulling back his bow. A bunch of moo cows busted threw the brush and spooked the bull.

After we didn't get a shot because the bull spooked we talked about the amount of noise we were making. It was od that the bull let us get that close making so much noise. My only guess is he could not see us and he herd a cow call. Must have worked for some reason. Lol
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby Roosiebull » 06 25, 2017 •  [Post 5]

lots of very thick stuff here on the Oregon coast, don't get discouraged, it is just as much of a disadvantage to the elk is it is to you, they cannot see you either, and there are areas that are open. chasing bugles is absolutely worth it, and it's a good situation to call that bull into your lap.

knowing the land you hunt is extremely helpful, I cannot emphasize that enough, knowing where elk are headed, knowing where the openings are and how to get to them can mean everything. thick stuff means you can hear them a long ways away, and that can really help when ambushing them. good luck!
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby olympushunt » 06 26, 2017 •  [Post 6]

Thought this might help ya.
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby Lonnie » 06 26, 2017 •  [Post 7]

Olympushunt. Thats what i have been missing all these years. lol I got get one. I hear the bulls think you are just a yard man and not a hunter. Might be a new hunting tactic.
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby olympushunt » 06 26, 2017 •  [Post 8]

That's is what I was thinking Lonnie! Great minds think alike! :lol:
I mean elk will think no person in their right mind would be hunting! Swede used to tell me that logging didn't scare them off and commonly they would show up in active cuts.
I wonder if they make a bow mount attachment to one of those!
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby Swede » 06 26, 2017 •  [Post 9]

This is not specific to thick brush, but is what I have observed relating to elk in areas of logging and other industrial activities in the forest. Elk normally don't go far from their normal haunts due to logging. Loggers and truckers may commonly see them on their way to the logging site.
During the day time, the elk move away from the immediate area of logging activity. In the winter when food is scarce, elk will move back evening after evening to where the loggers were, and forage on moss and lichen brought down by tree felling to where they can get to it.
Years ago I watched a film produced in Wyoming. They were monitoring collared elk or mule deer. What was significant is that the animals would bed down very close to an active highway. Their was no change to their heart rate as the vehicles passed by. When a vehicle stopped and people got out, their heart rate increased and they often moved away. It always concerns me when hunters drive along and stop their pickup, jump out and start bugling or chasing elk. Elk don't get excited about vehicles traffic in areas where it is common like a highway. They can learn to associate predators with vehicles if hunters don't show some discretion in the way they pursue the animals.
I believe logging activity that is confined to limited areas is the same as highway traffin. After all, the loggers are not running around chasing elk.
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby Sask hunter » 06 26, 2017 •  [Post 10]

If I got a battery powered one I could probably sneak right up to the elk with it lol
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby chipick » 06 26, 2017 •  [Post 11]

I got my bill last year in a reprod patch about 15 years old or so most firs were about 8" at the base, and I got him from about 3 yards. All your action will be up close and personal and crazy exciting. I hunt the NW corner of Oregon lots of brush and lots of busts, from coming into a 10'x20' opening and having a bull looking through the trail in the shadows
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby Sask hunter » 06 26, 2017 •  [Post 12]

Sounds like Oregon guys hunt pretty similar terrain as I do. You guys probably have more steep country. It's mainly rolling hills here. Any other tips or tactics?
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby olympushunt » 06 27, 2017 •  [Post 13]

Sask hunter wrote:Sounds like Oregon guys hunt pretty similar terrain as I do. You guys probably have more steep country. It's mainly rolling hills here. Any other tips or tactics?


There is some nasty steep stuff here in Oregon for sure. Some of those 1000 foot drops are real nice as you only have to take like 2 steps horizontally to get down to the bottom. Weeeeeee!
Your first post was asking if you should sit on trails or call the peripheral area more. You can have success at both. Rosiebull is right on about it being a disadvantage for the elk....the thick nasty stuff. Those elk will use the same corridor and make definitive trails. They don't want to buck that heavy brush either when there is a trail already there. If you find a decent trail....it got made by repeated use. If you wait on it.....they will come. Bank on it. Especially the days where your legs could use some down time.
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby chipick » 06 28, 2017 •  [Post 14]

It is amazing how quiet they can be in the thick brush compared to yourself,they will move with there nose to the ground looking ahead and you will be upright walking and they will see your legs under the jack fir branches and run before you even see them. Also if you can get in 6 months before and cut a trail they will start using them as well bit start 30 yards in or so so nobody else can find them hopefully
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby caribow » 07 09, 2017 •  [Post 15]

I hunt In Manitoba so maybe much the same very thick. What we found is the elk will respond and come in close but that doesn't mean you get a shot.
Boy what fun when there is a 350 class bull 4 yds away with no shot. Now it would be more fun if one could get a shot and you will just keep trying.
The last season we called in 13 bulls within 30yds. We only got one shot but boy did we have stories. Now 2 of those where herd bulls thanks to the Elk NUt and sharing his techniques.
Now is it easy no, will you make noise yes keep it natural and don't be afraid to run to get the wind in your favor.
Good Luck
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby Roosiebull » 07 09, 2017 •  [Post 16]

chipick wrote:It is amazing how quiet they can be in the thick brush compared to yourself,they will move with there nose to the ground looking ahead and you will be upright walking and they will see your legs under the jack fir branches and run before you even see them. Also if you can get in 6 months before and cut a trail they will start using them as well bit start 30 yards in or so so nobody else can find them hopefully

Cutting trails is a very good thing to do in really thick stuff, especially Jack fir type terrain, I have killed a few elk walking trails I cut pre season...cut the trails, and they will come.

Thanks for pointing that out, that is very effective. I have done it since I was a kid, and it didn't take long to figure out that they are not just for my mobility, the elk maintain them after you cut them.

Old cat roads are perfect for limbing up, the work is half done, couple days with a machete and you have nice walking for you and game.
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby Jbuff » 07 11, 2017 •  [Post 17]

caribow wrote:I hunt In Manitoba so maybe much the same very thick. What we found is the elk will respond and come in close but that doesn't mean you get a shot.
Boy what fun when there is a 350 class bull 4 yds away with no shot. Now it would be more fun if one could get a shot and you will just keep trying.
The last season we called in 13 bulls within 30yds. We only got one shot but boy did we have stories. Now 2 of those where herd bulls thanks to the Elk NUt and sharing his techniques.
Now is it easy no, will you make noise yes keep it natural and don't be afraid to run to get the wind in your favor.
Good Luck


I hunt Manitoba as well. In the south Interlake we've had elk within 10 yards that we never even saw! Last year in the Ducks we had four encounters in the first two days and didn't even get a peek.

What area are you hunting?


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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby Beendare » 07 11, 2017 •  [Post 18]

That Canadian bush is crazy thick.....

If you are talking the Crown land with cut lines every mile....I like your idea of cold calling in those cuts.....maybe even with a decoy to get them to come out of that stuff.
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby Sask hunter » 07 11, 2017 •  [Post 19]

Beendare wrote:That Canadian bush is crazy thick.....

If you are talking the Crown land with cut lines every mile....I like your idea of cold calling in those cuts.....maybe even with a decoy to get them to come out of that stuff.

Yes I am talking about the thick crown land. Unfortunately no cut lines. I have been doing some Google eart scouting and found a potential old logging road and maybe a old clear cut.

I hunted the same area last fall and there is a creek about half mile back into the bush from the field edge. The creek is only four ish feet wide but the creek bed is about 10' wide. I think if I can find a creek crossing that will be a good ambush spot. With how hot and dry this summer has been this far the pools on the creek may be a valuable drinking spot come fall.
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby caribow » 07 16, 2017 •  [Post 20]

Jbuff
Where I hunt is not up for discussion. How I hunt I'm willing to share.
Since I took to heart what " Elknut " says in his instructional tapes serious my success in calling elk in went up 3-4 times.
Now you have heard this so many times hunt the wind. I'm here to tell you the same thing. When the wind is wrong or changes pull out.
Just to relate a story to this. The beginning of a 2 week hunt 2 days in we find a bedding area of about 30 beds. Never seen anything like it in early September.
Not sure if that was a one time bedding area or repeated bedding area which I thought it was. We were excited to say the least. We backed out and waited for the right wind to hunt.
Now that was 7 days and now we had the wind coming 180 degrees wrong so we came in from the other end. Stayed maybe 300 yds shy and called in the evening.
We almost got a bull at about 10 yds and knew there were other elk. Now 3 days later the wind was finally right and got an elk that evening.
One time during the 7 days we thought it was good but once we were in to within 400 yds we new it was wrong and pulled out.
I would rather hunt an area that I was unsure if it had elk then go in and educate elk just because I knew they were there.
Thick would not stop me from hunting an area although we all like to see.
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby Jbuff » 07 18, 2017 •  [Post 21]

caribow wrote:Jbuff
Where I hunt is not up for discussion. How I hunt I'm willing to share.
Since I took to heart what " Elknut " says in his instructional tapes serious my success in calling elk in went up 3-4 times.
Now you have heard this so many times hunt the wind. I'm here to tell you the same thing. When the wind is wrong or changes pull out.
Just to relate a story to this. The beginning of a 2 week hunt 2 days in we find a bedding area of about 30 beds. Never seen anything like it in early September.
Not sure if that was a one time bedding area or repeated bedding area which I thought it was. We were excited to say the least. We backed out and waited for the right wind to hunt.
Now that was 7 days and now we had the wind coming 180 degrees wrong so we came in from the other end. Stayed maybe 300 yds shy and called in the evening.
We almost got a bull at about 10 yds and knew there were other elk. Now 3 days later the wind was finally right and got an elk that evening.
One time during the 7 days we thought it was good but once we were in to within 400 yds we new it was wrong and pulled out.
I would rather hunt an area that I was unsure if it had elk then go in and educate elk just because I knew they were there.
Thick would not stop me from hunting an area although we all like to see.


It's not like there's big secrets to where the pockets of elk are up here. If you're bowhunting every year, it's either in 25/21, 18 or maybe 30 (they pulled from level 9 last year). I wasn't asking for gps coordinates. There are thousands of square miles within those areas. At the same time, I respect the fact that you'd like to keep your spot to yourself. There's already enough pressure on our elk without broadcasting something on the interwebz (for what it's worth, my application this year was area 30, with 18 and 25/21 as my next choices).

Im curious to whether or not the elk up here behave any differently than those to the west. I hunted south interlake for 10 days (two years ago) and never heard a bugle, even though we had encounters with bulls and had some show up on our cams. Last year in the Ducks I heard bugles but it was well after dark. I've never had a bull reply to a bugle, but that could very well be due to my abilities. I've also heard that they tend to stay quiet because of the high predation rates and rights-based harvester pressure.

Sorry to sidetrack the thread.


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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby Indian Summer » 07 18, 2017 •  [Post 22]

That Canadian Bush is like steel wool. Tree stands seem like a great tactic.

I prefer neatly trimmed or the landing strip myself. Grin ;)
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby JKaboom » 07 18, 2017 •  [Post 23]

Indian Summer wrote:"I prefer neatly trimmed or the landing strip myself. Grin ;)
"

Finally found some bush after 17 years and fortunately its fairly thin and fine so I have no useful tips but I am happy again! :lol:
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 07 18, 2017 •  [Post 24]

Get close, very close and try to find a shooting lane/hole. You've gotta go where the elk are and oftentimes its thick. Doesn't always pan out with a clear shot but it's all part of the stuff that makes us love this thing called elk hunting, yes?
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Re: Tips for thick bush

Postby Roosiebull » 07 18, 2017 •  [Post 25]

Roger that. Archery hunting has always been a game of close calls for me. Get enough close calls In a season, one will work out....could even be the first encounter of the season.
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