Wapiti Talk | Elk Hunting Forum | Elk Hunting Tips
 

Smarty Pants Elk...

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

Smarty Pants Elk...

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 02 17, 2022 •  [Post 1]

It's actually something we already knew, but, here's a good article on how, why, and when elk seem to know when it's time to fish or time to cut bait.

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-elk-smart-good-utah.html
User avatar
WapitiTalk1
 
Posts: 8732
Joined: 06 10, 2012
Location: WA State
First Name: RJ

Re: Smarty Pants Elk...

Postby 7mmfan » 02 17, 2022 •  [Post 2]

Yes, exactly what we already knew. I'm curious about these landowner tags. Are they like other states where the landowner just has the tags and can do with them as they see fit? Give them to family members/friends, sell them, etc...?
I hunt therefore I am. I fish therefore I lie.
User avatar
7mmfan
Rank: An Elk Nut
 
Posts: 1684
Joined: 09 07, 2017
Location: Washington State

Re: Smarty Pants Elk...

Postby Lefty » 02 17, 2022 •  [Post 3]

Yep I think we knew that :lol:



7mm

Different states different rules. Idaho use to give out landowner tags on how much property you owned,, My district representative was a potato farmer and was selling his tags, and was on the states game commission.
He had pulled another bone head move reduced the duck limit from7 to 4 , because a friend said there were no ducks ,,

Evidently a few of us were persuasive , the duck limit went back to 7 and the landowner tags were changed.
User avatar
Lefty
Wapiti Hunting - Strategy and Tactics
 
Posts: 6926
Joined: 06 25, 2012
Location: Pocatello Idaho
First Name: Dennis
Last Name: H

Re: Smarty Pants Elk...

Postby Swede » 02 19, 2022 •  [Post 4]

I have posted on the problem of elk heading to the ranch on opening weekend for years. I finally got tired of it and changed hunting units, but the elk know where they are safe regardless. I am left hunting for the dumb ones.
Swede
Wapiti Hunting - Tree Stand Tactics
 
Posts: 10215
Joined: 06 16, 2012

Re: Smarty Pants Elk...

Postby Jhg » 02 20, 2022 •  [Post 5]

There is an otc unit I have hunted that has some magnificent elk staging areas. If you go there scouting, right up to opening week, you will have found elk heaven

I talked to a guy who had game cams up everywhere. He said starting a week before opening archery the number elk past the cams dropped daily until he was seeing only a few nocturnals.

Of course by 2 days before opener, the trailheads were packed with trucks and the bivy guys were staked down in their little niches. Because this is not a hike "destination" and the trailhead lots are one car or none affairs all summer, the usage shift is a big, big change.

So the elk had confirmation for their evacuation.

This is the typical elk trail accessing the meadows. All summer these get used heavily. Come opener, nada.

A3641E0A-8E20-457E-9109-387BB99AC528.jpeg
A3641E0A-8E20-457E-9109-387BB99AC528.jpeg (151.39 KiB) Viewed 1212 times
Jhg
Rank: An Elk Nut
 
Posts: 864
Joined: 07 18, 2018
Location: Colorado

Re: Smarty Pants Elk...

Postby Swede » 02 20, 2022 •  [Post 6]

The problem of going where elk were is a huge bugaboo for hunters. WW has posted a lot on this subject. I see it too. The answer is often not simple. The elk not only head to a ranch, but they go miles into areas that we cannot effectively hunt. The elk can read the National Park boundry signs or drop down deep into holes like Hells Canyon.
Swede
Wapiti Hunting - Tree Stand Tactics
 
Posts: 10215
Joined: 06 16, 2012

Re: Smarty Pants Elk...

Postby Tigger » 02 21, 2022 •  [Post 7]

Add in the idiot hunters out there and it makes it just that much worse. The day before opening this year, we had a nice flock of elk located. Opening morning, the local "hunters" driving super loud Razors and other UTV/ATVs blew them all over the mountain to private before daylight. Then they wondered where the elk were. They were too lazy to walk up the mountain.
User avatar
Tigger
Rank: An Elk Nut
 
Posts: 2420
Joined: 01 12, 2015
Location: Minnesota


cron