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The exact locations we shot and dropped our elk

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The exact locations we shot and dropped our elk

Postby Lefty » 04 12, 2022 •  [Post 1]

I enjoy google earth, and its too cold and windy to work in the shed or outside.
I shot my elk in thick fog that at times sight was less than 50 feet. At the time I shot my elk I ranged the elk in view at 39 yards so I just call it 40 yards. My muzzleloader elk was 27-28 yards when shot ,then dropped , 14 yards from the shot . I had spotted these elk in the wide open in the early AM, the fog/cloud rolled in as I watched, The elk hadnt moved in three hours. I could hear the elk well over a mile away and made my stalk following the herds sounds.





Andrews bull took us 3 hours to get into shooting position and 300 foot drop in elevation His archery bull took 3 hours to find from the shot, the bull went 255 feet up hill
OnX photo.png
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Re: The exact locations we shot and dropped our elk

Postby 7mmfan » 04 12, 2022 •  [Post 2]

I also like to go back and look at google earth and the places we kill animals. Sometimes it's enlightening. Most of the time I gain very little insight from it.
I hunt therefore I am. I fish therefore I lie.
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Re: The exact locations we shot and dropped our elk

Postby Indian Summer » 04 13, 2022 •  [Post 3]

I use Onx Maps instead of Google these days. I know my area like the back of my hand so I don’t look back at where my bulls hit the dirt. But I absolutely look at where they came from. It’s part of getting into the minds of the elk. That’s part of learning to think like an elk. Often times I know about the places they came from, where they were going and why. But not always. If I’m on the outer perimeter of my area those places can be unfamiliar territory. That interests me! I look those places over a lot during the off season. I’m a map junkie! Big time.

My off season “hunting” on maps definitely contributes to my success when it’s time to hunt. On those days where the elk aren’t where they normally are I already have an idea of where they might be just one ridge away. By then I also have a well thought out route to hunt my way over there. And better yet I already know where I plan to stop and sit. I’ll use the distance measure feature to check out shot distances from my sitting spot to various points in the openings and pick the spot that covers the most ground. If all goes well this is what leads to expanding on my hunting area and giving me plans B, C, D…. X, Y and Z! Never too many plans and developing them on online maps is priceless. And it definitely beats stumbling around during the hunting season trying to learn and potentially spooking elk. If you’re not an off season mapaholic you’re not as successful as you could be.
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Re: The exact locations we shot and dropped our elk

Postby Lefty » 04 13, 2022 •  [Post 4]

Indian Summer wrote: If you’re not an off season mapaholic you’re not as successful as you could be.


Ive always been a map guy.. Where I attended college the Army Core of Engineers had a map depository I used DOT County highway maps, Road indexice, land ownership, public lands, predictor indexic,,,, Geological survey. At one time that was a big deal and sorta secret,,, now nearly all on on-x-hunts.

I made sure I was correct where I was going.
Joe Youve been hunting the west long enough, and Onx brings it out often. Private landowners claiming public lands, blocking public lands, posting public land and access.



Back to last years hunt: I had been watching a big herd of elk,, they had been run off most of the public and private land from overgrazing ,.. There were a couple un razed pastures out in the open where the 200-500 elk were feeding nearly nightly ,An incredible sight. Kind of a sorry sight the extreme grazing last year. More cows than the allotment allowed, No little forest critters, no little critter habitat, cows had eaten everything, brush was browsed like goats do, The forest floor was bare. The the cows kept pushing down fences.
Just devastating the forest

That reminds me need to contact the NF
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Re: The exact locations we shot and dropped our elk

Postby 7mmfan » 04 13, 2022 •  [Post 5]

Like you IS, I use ONx a lot for the same reasons, mainly for scouting out new potential areas. I've been able to use satellite imagery combined with boots on the ground to ID specific attributes of areas that hold animals and then find similar areas. I've been quite successful with this approach. I use both Google Earth and Onx because their imagery are different and sometimes different images from different times of year can be very telling.
I hunt therefore I am. I fish therefore I lie.
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Re: The exact locations we shot and dropped our elk

Postby ABQ_Chica » 04 19, 2022 •  [Post 6]

Indian Summer wrote:I use Onx Maps instead of Google these days. I know my area like the back of my hand so I don’t look back at where my bulls hit the dirt. But I absolutely look at where they came from. It’s part of getting into the minds of the elk. That’s part of learning to think like an elk. Often times I know about the places they came from, where they were going and why. But not always. If I’m on the outer perimeter of my area those places can be unfamiliar territory. That interests me! I look those places over a lot during the off season. I’m a map junkie! Big time.


Same! I love nerding out on maps. Although I do mark where we hang stands and where kills are, I really enjoy mapping lots of little things that offer insight into elk behavior. It's been fun to use OnX Maps to get multiple years of data specific to one area. And when I was a new hunter, studying maps and slowly building all those data points over time revealed patterns that really helped me learn why certain areas hold elk and others don't.
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Re: The exact locations we shot and dropped our elk

Postby Billy Goat » 04 22, 2022 •  [Post 7]

I am a 100% map dork.

I have 1:24k aerials + topos of every area I've ever hunted, or plan to hunt. historically I've mostly utilized GE, Hillmap and Topozone, but just this year started using Onxmaps. love them all! My office is a "map room", by and large. wife hates it cause it doesnt match the rest of the house. course..... neither does the bear rug....

I completely agree with every bit of wisdom shared above in this thread.
"First teach a child to love God,
teach them second to love their family
and third, teach them to hunt and fish,
and by the time they reach their teens, no dope peddler under the sun will ever teach them anything".

-Cotton Cordell
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