Wapiti Talk | Elk Hunting Forum | Elk Hunting Tips
 

Hunting the same place 2 or more days in a row

Moderators: Swede, Tigger, Lefty, Indian Summer, WapitiTalk1

Hunting the same place 2 or more days in a row

Postby Tigger » 05 17, 2021 •  [Post 1]

Lefty brought this up in another thread and I thought I would expand on it. Do you hunt the same place 2 or more days in a row? How about if you boogered the elk, would you return? The day I shot the bull in my avatar, the mountain was alive with singing bulls. I know there were more than 10 bulls bugling that day over a mile of mountainside. probably quite a few more. The next day? Nothing.

On the flip side, we bumped the bull I shot this year off a water hole and 2 days later I shot him in the same place. A buddy gave me that spot and said he hunted that spot a year earlier 3 days in a row and was into elk every day and was sure that at least some of them were the same elk.

What do you think?
User avatar
Tigger
Rank: An Elk Nut
 
Posts: 2420
Joined: 01 12, 2015
Location: Minnesota

Re: Hunting the same place 2 or more days in a row

Postby >>>---WW----> » 05 17, 2021 •  [Post 2]

I have hunted my favorite spot for many days in a row and never have boogered the elk out of there. The secret is to never let them know you are there. As soon as the thermals shift, I'm out of there.

Elk can see you and they can hear you and you might still get away with it. But let the smell you and the jig is up every time!
User avatar
>>>---WW---->
Wapiti Hunting - Strategy and Tactics
 
Posts: 2351
Joined: 05 27, 2012

Re: Hunting the same place 2 or more days in a row

Postby Old school » 05 17, 2021 •  [Post 3]

Once we find them - yes, we’ve hunted them 2-3 days straight. As long as they don’t wind you, we’ve not had a problem.
User avatar
Old school
Rank: An Elk Nut
 
Posts: 549
Joined: 06 20, 2015
Location: MO

Re: Hunting the same place 2 or more days in a row

Postby saddlesore » 05 17, 2021 •  [Post 4]

Depends on how I hunted it. I have eased into a watering hole several days in a row and saw nothing until the third day. I have still hunted thru some areas and pushed some elk out and they are gone.In older past days,I would wait 3-4 days and the elk are back,but I think it is always a different group of elk pushed in by some one else.I have shot elk in a location and sent someone else back in there the next day and they have killed another elk .

Generally, I think it is best to let an area soak3-5 days,but except in archery season, the seasons are too short now to allow it. Then too,in todays crowded heavy hunting pressure, it is more than likely someone else will move thru the same area while you are letting it soak.

Hunting when you are the only one around takes a different set of tactics than hunting in the orange pumpkin patch.
User avatar
saddlesore
Wapiti Hunting - Strategy and Tactics
 
Posts: 2162
Joined: 11 07, 2015
Location: Colorado Springs,CO

Re: Hunting the same place 2 or more days in a row

Postby Swede » 05 17, 2021 •  [Post 5]

I tree stand hunt the same place for weeks if necessary. The elk move around and cover a lot of area. My constant presence is seldom a problem. The squirrels complain every once is awhile, but they get used to me.
Swede
Wapiti Hunting - Tree Stand Tactics
 
Posts: 10215
Joined: 06 16, 2012

Re: Hunting the same place 2 or more days in a row

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 05 17, 2021 •  [Post 6]

Swede wrote:I tree stand hunt the same place for weeks if necessary. The elk move around and cover a lot of area. My constant presence is seldom a problem. The squirrels complain every once is awhile, but they get used to me.


Yes, this. The patience of Job will pay off sometimes (I’ve seen Swedes resolve in action). Me? No, I seldom if ever hunt the same area day after day, particularly if I’ve ruffled a bull or bulls feathers without a shot. I’ll usually do a three-four day rotation during September.
User avatar
WapitiTalk1
 
Posts: 8732
Joined: 06 10, 2012
Location: WA State
First Name: RJ

Re: Hunting the same place 2 or more days in a row

Postby Indian Summer » 05 18, 2021 •  [Post 7]

Yes. Don’t leave elk to find elk.

I love giving this example of how wildlife can be. True story. Everyone knows how hard it can be to catch muskies. One day I was out with two friends. Best day EVER! We caught 32 of them. Thought we died and went to Heaven. Two days later in the exact same spot we boated 37! What!!!! But.... the day in between those two days, in the exact same spot using the exact same techniques we only caught 3. Mother Nature can definitely turn things on and off. But if they are there they are there and if they are off they’re probably off everywhere.
User avatar
Indian Summer
Wapiti Hunting Consultant
 
Posts: 5247
Joined: 06 14, 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
First Name: Joe
Last Name: Ferraro

Re: Hunting the same place 2 or more days in a row

Postby Lefty » 05 18, 2021 •  [Post 8]

Indian Summer wrote:Yes. Don’t leave elk to find elk.,,,,,.

I think Joe made a similar remark last year.

Thanks Joe: And thats what we did this year .Previous couple years I would head up spend the day , find elk. Then we would go in.
Generally we dont have interference by other hunters, in the areas we hunt. And lets face it most archers arent like too many rifle hunters.

Ive mentioned before but this coming season I plan to hunt out of a stand ( Read Swedes book and now Im an expert :lol: )between hunts when my daughter come up


I think Ill take muskie fishing lessons from Joe next!!
User avatar
Lefty
Wapiti Hunting - Strategy and Tactics
 
Posts: 6926
Joined: 06 25, 2012
Location: Pocatello Idaho
First Name: Dennis
Last Name: H

Re: Hunting the same place 2 or more days in a row

Postby Elkhunttoo » 05 18, 2021 •  [Post 9]

One of my favorite seasons many moons ago I hunted the same area for 12 or so days...only missed 1-2 days...I was in elk every day. It became almost clock work, park the pickup, walk slowly down the road, climb to the top and be in elk all morning. Bugles just ringing some days. And as always i cannot bring myself to sling an arrow when I have a big bull in sight so I passed on several opportunities that season. Still some of my best memories came during that season.

Last year I hunted the same basic area almost all season. I was really trying to get one bull and he stayed in the upper half of that canyon and moved back and forth between 4-5 draws almost all season. I was within 60 yards of him 4 times...my buddy was about 100 from him once and then 60 or so from a bull we couldn’t confirm was him. Then you had other hunters in and out of the area some days too....he never left... last morning of the hunt (Elktimber 30) I found him first thing in the morning about 200 yards from where my trail camera took a picture of him august 28th
Elkhunttoo
Rank: An Elk Nut
 
Posts: 1160
Joined: 05 23, 2016


cron