when do you start scouting??

[Mike_Parson]

I have my first ever NM elk hunt this year. i drew archery the first 2 weeks in Sept. I have already been to the unit and done some pre scouting with my hunting partner, my 16 yr old daughter. we have found some good spots to check out usuing Google Earth and the BLM maps. we have actually done some camping out in that area and hiked and looked for sign and maybe even some good cold setup places if we needed to do that. My question is when should we be really hitting the area hard scouting and hoping to see elk in the general area. We didnt see any elk on our pre-scouting trips but we didnt expect to see them as it was still birthing times for calves and it was Mid April, but we did se tons of fresh sign and its obvious the areas we have scouted already do hold elk. I was just wondering what others do about scouting an area and how often they go. I am expecting to hear, "Get out there as often as you can" and im trying to do just that.

[elkstalker]

You hit the nail on the head with "as often as you can", but for most of us that's not very realistic. Like you I have been doing google earth and other map based scouting, but I won't put boots to the ground in my unit until late July/Early August. If I can make it out there for two long weekends I would go in July and then mid to late August (or a few days before my hunt begins). I look for the general areas that see elk use, if bowhunting then looking for old rubs, wallows, feeding and bedding grounds that elk use during the rut. I like to look at multiple "areas" within a larger general "area" because elk can and do move around quite a bit between August and the rut for a variety of reasons (hunting pressure, cow/sheep grazing, predators, or just because they want to). These trips are our family camping trips, and I'll either take the kids with to scout, or get up early and really cover some ground. Last year the whole family climbed a "mountain" and got to watch a herd of 40 elk feed out, great memories.

[longbowelk]

I try to get as much scouting as I can but I also am out in the woods a lot through out the summer. Mostly hiking trails but always looking at sign and taking notes of what I see in the forest.

[elkaholic]

Getting out as often as you can will be helpful. At a minimum I would say at least twice into an area you haven't hunted before. Hopefully there are some areas you can sit back and glass without disturbing the elk patterns? Don't overlook the other aspects of getting ready: shooting calling and conditioning. Even if you're not able to scout the terrain you can always work on some aspect of your preparedness each day.

[Scoutman]

I try to go out in may for 5-7 days and scout in my unit. Been doing that the last 7 years. It is amazing how much you can learn by doing that. I live 26 hours from my unit so it is all I can do. I come out 2 weeks to archery hunt so I scout then too. I look for bedding areas,feeding hillsides and water mostly. I also look for signs of people also, trash,ribbons, tracks etc. It is amazing how long sign and footprints last out west, even under snow.

[RooseveltObsession]

I live an hour from most of my hunting grounds, so we're out there all year. The late archery season ends in mid December, so we take about six weeks off, then it's back in the woods starting in February, and we'll get out there 2-3 days a month. Then, when August rolls around, we're out there every weekend until the season starts.

For my girlfriend and I, there truly is no off-season, and we wouldn't have it any other way.