Versatile Elk Hunters

[Swede]

Just how versatile do you think an elk hunter should be? In the past I thought it vital or nearly so if you wanted to maintain a long-term success. Now I don't think that versatility needs to extend to the use of other weapons, or for that matter different tactics. The spot and stock rifle hunter can hunt the way they have become accustomed to and continue to do well. The same is true of the elk caller or tree stand hunter. Conditions in many areas may mean we need to move, or change time, etc., but that is a choice. We can move and still hunt the way we prefer.
What do you think?

[Lefty]

If you hunt one place every year for a couple of days with a rifle you won't need to be as versatile

Hunting elk is all the same,,, and completely different. ,, Hunting Colorado highlands is different than hunting Nevada Highlands. Hunting the plains of New Mexico,, different than the desert of Idaho. .

[Swede]

I have been hunting the same general area for about six seasons. The 2022 season was very different than any of the others. I had elk including bulls come around many times. There was something totally different for me to contend with.
About eight miles away was a huge forest fire with aircraft, trucks, other equipment and crews there 24/7. It was bad enough that the roads into the area were all closed, but for some reason I was not told to break camp and leave.
The fire and the suppression activities blocked the elk from moving on their normal feeding routes. It kept them confined in a much smaller area with only one hunter remaining in the territory. That hunter was me. I must have been in just the right location. My hunting technique did not change, but I felt like I had a quality draw tag. If you hunt long enough something will happen to improve your hunt. Most times it works just the opposite. When things turn sour, I move.

[saddlesore]

I hunted the same two areas for close to 25 years. Sometimes both areas in the same year Then another area hunting I have been doing for 10 years, still the same tactics. If it isn't broke,don't try to fix it. Although that last few years I did more sitting than hunt and stalk.

[Swede]

Saddlesore: How has sitting more affected your success rate?

[saddlesore]

Saddlesore: How has sitting more affected your success rate?

'

I have seen two elk in two seasons. No shots. Compared to when I still hunted, I had about 95% success rate. Better than sitting at home though
One thing that stopped me is I can't tolerate the snow,extreme cold anymore and now if I get to go in 2023, it will mean only moving 50 yards or from the mule

[Swede]

I thought if you found a good place to sit, you might do well. Certainly, changing techniques presents new challenges. I agree that if it isn't broken, don't try to fix it. In your case it was not the technique that needed adjusting. The body is just not up to the task of doing it the way you had done it for decades.

[7mmfan]

I think versatility is highly dependent on where you hunt. Swede, I know that you can apply tree stand hunting a lot of landscapes, but not all landscapes. You also have the ability to hunt a location every year that has reliable elk numbers and that by all appearances allows you shoot bulls and cows. If I was apply the same techniques here in Washington I'd be limited to hunting spike bulls only on the east side of the state, or 3pt+ bulls and cows and on the west side of the state. Hunting with a rifle is even more limited. I bring that up because as my home state it's the only one I can count on hunting every year. Some techniques may put me in front of animals frequently but finding a legal animal to kill is not nearly as predictable.

My point here is, how versatile you are is highly dependent on the areas you have available to you hunt. If you can hunt the same place every year with a good expectation of encountering a legal animal, you probably don't need to be that versatile. If you can only hunt ever couple of years on out of state hunts, and have to hunt new areas with unfamiliar or differing terrain types frequently, then you have to be versatile and be willing to adjust your techniques to suit your new locations/seasons. If the areas you hunt have strict limitations on what you can kill, that also complicates things.

[Swede]

7mm: You bring up a good point. I am sure that if I had to hunt 3-point bulls or just spikes where I have hunted, my success rate would go down. However, I doubt that changing my hunting technique would improve on my odds. The trouble is that in 2022 the unit I hunt went to a draw to acquire a tag, and only bull elk are legal game. This is likely to change my success from year to year.
If I chose to hunt the rifle season, I would change techniques.

[Jhg]

Versatility is a benefit, although you may not need to use it. My success went up when I was willing to change up. My bad habit is doing the same thing day after day, same area and not improving opportunities. Stubborn.

You can't kill elk that are not there. You can try real hard, but it will not work. I know because I tried it.

[Swede]

I think we are getting off track here. In the first post I tried to lay out what I was referring to as "versatility". If you tree stand hunt you do not need to give up on that tactic just because you do not see elk regularly at your current location. Just move or change the time you hunt. If you call, you do not need to stay in the same small drainage every day. If you spot and stalk hunt with a 30-06 and it works for you things may change in your 1st season hunting area, but you can move or go 2nd season.
The point is to learn a technique, perfect it as best you can and adapt it to where it fits. There are hunters that have perfected the various techniques. They make them work most of the time and if they don't on a hunt, they know it was not for a lack of skill on their part They have a long history of using that tactic successfully.
My concern is that hunters give up too soon because they never adapt or learn to maximize the potential of their hunting tactics. I completely understand Saddlesore's situation. He has had to change because his body demands a change.

[Jhg]

I should have been more specific. Hunt same way, but change area.

[7mmfan]

Let's dig a little deeper though. I'll use my 2022 Idaho hunt for example.

We had hunted the same general area several times. Every time we had experienced similar results, I.E: we were able to find animals in similar areas, at similar times of day, with a a predictable pattern, group size, and activity. Beyond just our group, a couple other groups of hunters that frequent the area had confirmed that over a much longer duration of hunting it than us. We had a very good idea of what to expect when we hiked into that area on October 14th.

Description of the area. Large basin with a south facing aspect. It's 6 miles and 3000' up and over a saddle from the trailhead. While I've seen some new guys in there the last couple of years, it's generally the same guys in there year after year. The basin burned about 10 years ago. It was a spotty burn, some areas scorched, some areas untouched. There is a good mix of open ground with good feed, dense regrowth, and mature timber. There is water. The bulk of the basin lies well below the trail, so you have great visibility and can glass almost the entire thing while navigating along the trail across the top of it throughout the day. The elk have consistently been in a couple of key locations within the basin historically, centered around water and feed. They are generally very visible and vocal as they don't get much pressure in there. Relatively large herds are common, and being right at the tail end of the rut, there are usually bulls with those herds until the shooting starts.

My game plan and chosen tactic has always been to glass, glass, glass, find the animals, and make my move. It's been pretty successful for our group, with 100% success on our elk tags in there. However, this year when we arrived, things were different. There had been more people than usual in the basin, indicated by foot and bike tracks in the trail. There had also been wolves in the basin, which we had not encountered previously. Lastly, it had been extremely hot and dry, and was still very hot and dry when the season opened. The feed within the basin that is usually ample, was pretty dried up. Opening day I completely circumnavigated the basin, even dropping into it to glass the hidden benches and timber pockets that you couldn't see from the trail. There was nothing there, and hadn't been for some time. I had 6 days to hunt so I was not going to waste my time in there if the elk weren't around. I decided to glass the next morning from a slightly different location and then pack out if nothing was spotted.

As luck would have it, right at first light I spotted some elk, but they were not in the basin. They were significantly higher up the main ridge, moving around to the north side of that ridge just as the sun was touching the first tree tops there. If I had not glassed there at that exact moment, I would not have seen them because they were gone within 1 minute. It was enough to keep me in the basin for another couple days. That afternoon I positioned myself where I had seen them that morning. They had clearly been feeding there at night. I hoped they would return before sundown. They did not.

I knew based on what I saw that the elk were timbered up on the north side of the ridge where it was cooler and the feed was better. There was water close by, and they weren't being bothered in there most likely as it was well off the beaten path away from the trail. My assumption was that no matter where I went in the area, I would likely encounter a similar situation. So I had a choice to make, I could bail and continue to use my chosen technique of glassing, glassing, glassing, and covering ground knowing that I likely only had minutes a day when the elk would be visible, or I could change my technique, and go into the timber after them. I chose the latter.

The next morning, I was at that spot I'd seem them at daybreak the day before hoping to catch them in the open. They were already in the timber. A couple of cow calls and sticks broken got the bull to respond immediately and a number of cows to respond back, but they were in thick timber. Now, with a location ID'd, I made a long circle around them and using the thermals to my advantage came in from downwind right into the timbered bench they were on. I was able to move excruciatingly slow over the next hour or so essentially right into the herd. I was eventually busted but was able to get a shot at one as they milled around in the timber confused.

Anyway, that's a very long story explaining how by being versatile in the tactics I used, I was able to call an audible and find success by being willing to change how I was pursuing the animals. If I had continued using my chosen method of glassing and covering ground, I think I would have eventually found success somewhere else, but I don't like to leave elk to find elk, I'd rather change how to get after the elk I have.

[Swede]

7mm: You just made a great case for some versatility. Going from spot and stalk to still hunting is not a major shift, but you were better off than the musician having only one string and two frets on his guitar. Knowing the hunt area and the elk that inhabit it helps hunters know when it is time to play a different tune. I am pleased you recognized the need to change and made it work. Thanks for the lengthy writeup. I appreciate the more complete explanation.