Which Spot Would You Choose?

[ElkNut1]

If you had 5 days to hunt & knew of these two places where elk had been& you were determined to set one or both in this 5 day span which photo would get your most sitting time? Too, is it wise to try & set both in this short time span? Both can be reached in one hour even though they are miles apart.

ElkNut1

[BrentLaBere]

I was burned by this a for a total of 4 sits. How high on the mountain are these? - Relatively speaking. If they are half way up or less, I would have to pass on both from my experience. Too many options that low for elk to find water like that. Possibly the dry one. I have not encountered something like that myself yet.
an hour? Difficult to say how close that really is then but I would guess its possible it is pressured in the surrounding areas and I would also venture guess the elk would be moving a lot later because of this. Bad taste in my mouth about hunting these! haha. I am convinced if it is half way up or less (in my area) they only hit them at dark.
....But if I am choosing one, I would have to go with #1.

[Elkduds]

I can't sit still for 5 hours, let alone 5 days

I'd hunt whichever one had the best hunting around it, so I could walk or stillhunt most of the day, and set up over the wallow during peak times.

Curious, though. Which one smelled elkiest??

[WapitiTalk1]

Hmm. A good predicament to have (both some hot looking spots) The wallow appears active so it would probably get my attention at least a few evenings out of the alloted hunt period. If access to this spot isn't too brutal (steep/brushy), a packed in tree stand could be the ticket or perhaps even a natural material ground blind. The natural mineral lick could get some of my attention in the mornings, or, evenings for sure. If I had to choose one, I'd probably hunt in the vicinity of the mineral lick as first option and the wallow second (wallows can be finicky things, expecially after early SEPT). Like Elkuds mentioned, the spot that seems to have the most activity "around" is important in the decision process also (hunt general area around the pictured spot(s) and sit them during prime time).

[cnelk]

The top one is a wallow/spring
The bottom is a mineral lick

5 days?
I will probably hunt the mineral lick - and the area around it.

To me, the mineral lick keeps elk in an area more days out of the year than a wallow does

[ishy]

Both look relatively flat, which has the better wind at prime time? What is there location relative to bedding feeding areas? I'd put a camera on both and your answer will be self explanatory for the next season. That being said, baiting is illegal in Idaho so I'd stick with the wallow.

[ElkNut1]

It's a natural mineral lick not man made therefore it can be hunted legally.

ElkNut1

[Still Hunter]

I never sit, but i'd hunt those areas.

[JohnFitzgerald]

Depends...how fresh is that mud at the wallow? Can't really tell from the picture. Although the water looks pretty murky!

I found that bulls visit mineral licks less after their horns fully develop. We call it less salting.


I choose (c)! Bugle down the bull that made them!

[stringunner]

For me it would depend less on the actual sign at the specific location and more about the amount of sign in close proximity to each spot, looking to see if elk are actively "living" in the area of each of these two spots.

If all I had to go on was the pictures, no boots on the ground or trail cam scouting I would sit at the mineral lick. Bulls may frequent it less once antler growth is complete (we see this as well in the area we hunt) but cows and calves will continue to use it and in September, that means bulls are hopefully with them.

[Swede]

Both spots would be of interest to me, but I would not decide just on what is visible in the pictures. Mineral licks and wallows can go cold. I would look at the trails nearby and see how much traffic they are getting. I would look over the area for rub trees. I get excited if there is a line of rub trees showing a bull is returning frequently. The one other thing really helps make a spot exciting, is the strong scent of elk. If I hang a stand there, and it stinks when I return, it is much better than if the smell is dissipating. If the water clears and the scent goes away, you may have a one shot wonder.
My observations on mineral licks, bot natural and man made is that they get use, but it can get very sporadic during hunting season.

[otcWill]

I'd have had trail cams on both in the preseason so my decision would have made itself. I don't come across many mineral licks but I see wallows like this and bigger literally by the dozens in most all my otc spots. If I had to sit still for 5 days in one of the two, I guess I'd sit the mineral lick.

[ElkNut1]

Very good points folks! I too have difficulty sitting all day let alone 5 of them. (grin) But there are plenty that do have the patience so I wanted to see what ones decisions were & why to some extent. Lots of good thoughts here the most important ones are reading the surrounding area for additional sign as well as checking for elk stench at both places to note freshness.

We too have more wallows than natural mineral licks in our surrounding areas but when we find these licks they do get our immediate attention. Trail cameras are a great asset but not all live close enough to elk country to utilize them so they must go on gut feeling & reading the sign. It's still a good idea to bring ones trail cameras to hunting camp & put one on the one you are not sitting, you just may get lucky & see a pattern! We have a mineral lick in one of our spots that elk go to daily for weeks at a time, we also have others they rarely visit. We find the ones that are more dirt oriented and secluded/or tough to get too, those seem to be the ones that get the daylight action the most. (Photo) If the lick doesn't wreak of elk stench we don't give it a lot of thought at the time.

ElkNut1

[Swede]

I am satisfied that the mineral licks that Paul is showing us here are natural and being used by elk. It is elk tracks and manure on site. Where I hunt, you need to examine these spots carefully as the cattlemen set out a lot of salt for their cattle. They will carry the salt on ATVs back away from the roads. The next season, or even a few weeks after the cattle are gone and there has been a thunder storm or two, all you have left is a few old cow piles and a few old elk tracks and some pellets. A quick check of a spot might reveal that an elk or even a herd was there recently. You might be inclined to think eureka, but the mineral lick is actually dead as far a continuous use goes.
The difference between the cowboys and bow hunters in their use of salt or other minerals, is in the placement. Cowboys don't set up tree stands near by, and they usually avoid putting out their minerals near the water hole. Where I hunt you want to be very careful about your use of salt, as it draws cattle just as well as elk.

[>>>---WW---->]

Something to remember about mineral licks is that there are times when an animal needs them and other times when they don't. A good example of this is one of those plastic buckets of mineral supplement that you see at the farm and ranch stores. I put one out in late winter for my horse and she gobbled it up as if it was candy. The whole thing was gone within 10-15 days. So I bought another one and placed it out in late spring and she wouldn't even touch it. So this pretty much showed me that most critters know when the need or want something and when they don't. I also notice this when placing regular salt blocks out. There are times when they work on it every day and times when they won't use the block much at all. I feel that elk are no different than most livestock when it comes to minerals or salt.

So to answer this post I would set a trail cam up on each spot and find out which the elk were using most. Let the camera do the work for you!