ABC's of New Elk Country Scouting

[WapitiTalk1]

So, you've locked in the state you're gonna elk hunt this fall. It may be your first elk hunt ever, or, just the first time you've hunted this particular area of an elk state you've hunted before. What is your game plan for scouting the target area to maximize your chances for success?

[Indian Summer]

You've red mine on the Hunting Elevation thread. That's how I approach it. Pick the contour and run it out.

[Swede]

I guess you just read mine too on the elevation thread. Locate the best looking water holes in or adjacent cover and check them out.

[BMF11]

I hope ALOT of you experts chime in on this one! I'm a newbie and attempting to do such a thing now for new areas in MT. I'm looking for benchy, north northeast facing slopes with parks and water in the area-within a mile or so. Trying to find these approximately 2/3 of the way up in each area. Anymore tips anyone?

[Swede]

BMF11: That should be real easy. You will never need to leave your home or computer to find all you specified. Now if you start looking for elk, you might want to do some on site investigating. I too hope more people write here, as I know that finding those areas you write about is only intended to be a means to an end.

[WapitiTalk1]

Now we're cooking a bit. Bring it on! Many elk hunters don't have the luxury of hunting the same areas each year and many more, will be using distant scouting methods in an attempt to put them in the best position possible to put an elk down. Perhaps you're a new elk hunter, or, you've hunted elk before but are hunting a new state, or, perhaps a new area within a state you've hunted in the past.

[BMF11]

The frustrating part of my "scouting" is just that Swede. My boots wont hit the ground until my hunt. I will only be able to read maps and use mapping tools in hopes that it puts me in the vicinity of the elk. The fun part of the process is getting to hear different opinions on here and then applying them to my research. Thanks again. Brady

[Swede]

I hear you Brady. I understand your dilemma. Just don't lock yourself in too soon. Elk country is huge and the areas your can find elk vary a lot. Considering your situation, it will take time to really get to know the area you are hunting. I have been in your shoes, so to speak. Fortunately you can jump start your hunting plans here. Good luck.

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

You can listen to other hunters tales, read maps and aireal photos, And heck ya, even fly over the area. But honestly, until you burn some shoe leather, you'll never know for sure if the elk are there when you want to hunt them.

Sorry, I know that is not what some of you want to hear. Wish I had something better to offer. But the good news is, once you hunted an area enough you'll learn how to spot those honey holes, rutting areas, and bedding & feeding areas.

Some guys stumble into hot spots right off the bat. Others may take some time!

[cnelk]

When I learned the area I hunt now there wasnt a thing called the 'Internet'.
I rode horse thru the country ever chance I could.
Amazing what you can cover in a few days, a few times a year, for a few years.

Either you hike or ride thru the new area, but regardless nothing is better than BEING THERE.

[Trophyhill]

i'm certainly no expert but i scout google earth first and look for certain features. timber, open parks cut out in the timber, finger ridges and ridges that converge at drainages that hold water, multiple drainages that come together, and elevation routes about 2/3's up that can help me cover alot of ground without too much difficulty. as part of my scouting i also contact the local bioligist and ask questions about the food supply, water, bull to cow ratio in the area i'll be hunting. then if i can i will go scout it boots on the ground and trying not to spook too many animals and lots of glassing. if i scout early enough it's a good time to follow the snow line and follow the elk up the mountain. in July i am glassing above tree line pretty hard as i have learned that bulls like open areas for several reasons knowing they will be coming down at some point to rub off the velvet and getting ready for the rut. i've hunted 5 different units in 5 years and i seem to be able to find elk most of the time.

[WapitiTalk1]

Solid recommendations David. I would add that many states offer hunter harvest success statistics for various areas which is something to research if said stats come out before your hunting season begins. Additionally, I'd say attempt to limit your targeted hunt areas to places that have a significant amount of area away from roads and main access trails. Not to say these roads and trails can't be used for ingress/regress, but again, look for wide expanses of hunt able areas that most folks won't venture into. I understand that there is no substitution for boots on the ground scouting, and/or previous hunting experience in a given area, but in many cases, that is not a feasible opportunity for folks hunting elk for the first time, or, hunting a new area when they live 2K miles away. Just trying to prompt some dialogue/recommendations from those who have scouted an area from afar RJ

[Swede]

Trophyhill: You are doing exactly what you need to be doing. You are putting home research, that includes several resources, together with field research. By not boxing yourself in too soon you have a lot more to consider. Even though the problem seems a lot bigger the way you are approaching it, ultimately the rewards are greater too.
By no means is anyone trying to discourage new hunters. If you are willing to pay the cost in time and effort, you can become an effective elk killer. Hunting public land elk in OTC units on a DIY hunt is never easy. Oh, you can get lucky once in awhile, but even that is likely to be misleading. Understanding elk is not rocket science. Understanding elk may be more complex than rocket science! I don't want to pull the veil back on the Great Oz here, but the most experienced and most knowledgeable hunters here are constantly learning and updating what they think about elk. They are learning to take advantage of every little vulnerability they can legally exploit.

[CrazyElkHunter]

Before there was Google Earth, I would look for topo maps of the area and find benches on North East slopes, drainages that showed springs and small creeks and steepness of the terrain. Now with Google Earth, you can do a virtual tour like your hiking there already, mark gps spots and walk right to them without ever being there before. Find and view the canyons and draws farthest from the roads. You can order custom maps. One thing I always do is contact the Game Warden ( biologist) for the area and let him or her know this area is new to you and any help would be appreciated. You can contact them at the nearest DOW office for the unit your hunting. They are very helpful and have put me into elk numerous times. They have been watching elk all summer. Chances are they will show up in your camp anyway and if you talked to them on the phone before your trip they will remember you. I have 3 wardens phone #'s on my cell phone, and have used them a few times for emergencies or game violations. When a very good friend died in elk camp a few years back, the warden was 1 of the 1st to respond. Another way is to google the unit you are going to hunt and you will find forums that someone posted something about that area. If they are still active in the forum, message them for any info they are willing to share. I did this on a draw unit in 2010, and a guy gave me all of his waypoints where they killed 5 bulls the year before. He knew it would be several years before he could draw a tag again for that unit so he was eager to share. I shot my biggest bull to date from 1 of those waypoints.

[easeup]

was he from Texas?

[ctdad]

I'm hunting a new area this year. My scouting trip plans are focused on big picture details. I want to find the access to multiple areas and make sure the roads are all where they say they are. I want to find a good place for base camp. Those things can take up precious hunting time if I find a surprise in September. Once that is done i plan to get boots in the ground. However i don't expect the elk to be in the same places in June as in September. My focus will be learning the type of terrain. Also cnelk recommended studying the wind currents as those won't change. A great piece of advice. I'm lucky to have a local contact also so I'm hoping to learn something there too.

[Indian Summer]

Great gameplan CTD. I always drive the whole way around my hunting area if possible. Yes that is an all day trip but mid week I may decide to come from another direction... or I may end up cominng out there. I'll stop at various access points such as trailheads and mark them on my GPS. Then when I'm on the interior I can look around and know what options I have to get in & out of the area to hunt or to retrieve downed elk.

[WindedBowhunter]

If the unit is identified in the specific state, then I order my USGS maps (or MyTopo and Rugged MAPS).
Then, I start looking a Bing Maps online to get a layout of the land.
Once I have identified my locations, I will upload them into Google Earth as this allows me to see how the "view from the ground" will be at different times in the day
I then upload my waypoints into my Hunting GPS Maps on my Garmin GPS

Another GREAT tip is to check out ElkNut's DVD Scouting Elk Countryhttp://stores.elknut.com/Detail.bok?no=85

If the unit has not been identified, I do research by talking friends, game wardens, other personal connections and or Worldwide Trophy Adventures http://www.worldwidetrophyadventures.com/

[cnelk]

However i don't expect the elk to be in the same places in June as in September.

Be careful about that... dont overlook some good areas.... [take that as a hint ]

[bnsafe]

i didnt use google earth last year. had plenty of maps and my gps and hit the new ground with an idea of how it laid and what i wanted to check out. spent the first 2 days scouting, and by the time i could hunt i was exhausted and didnt hunt well the last 3 days, so basically i got 2 good days of huntin in. now that i live out here i will scout before the season, but, if i didnt an was coming fresh again i would study the maps, buy a good map for your gps and mark waypoints before you ever get here, and add 2 days onto your hunt to scout WHILE you hunt. im sure thats not the best solution but thats what i did.

[sreekers]

Nathan and I are going to cover this in depth this summer on the More Than Memories series.

I am going to take a LOT of pictures, and start going over google scouting in depth.

If i go in blind in general units its all about knowing where secluded parks are. If its a little steep it helps a lot too.

[Lefty]

My approach has become more common.
I use to set up traplines in places I had never been. One state I looked at preditor indexies, then road indexies

I have always been a big fan of any and everytype of map

The internet has made that so easy
Ive mentioned this before but the area we now hunt bear in we had never been there. There was a bear season,.. well that was a start. I got on a couple internet map systems, land ownweship looking for public lands. The kind of access I wanted and travel time from home to tree stand.
We did the same thing with antelope map work and Fish and game stats.
Where I elk hunt I looked at road types and the worst access I could find and elk ground, then water

Do your map and stat work at home. When you get where your going glass a lot, while it doest replace boot leather it sure can speed things up.
Elk are where you find them not always where I thought they should be. But make sure to check where they should be.
In the past Ive been on some private ranches that nobody hunted, just one or two bulls ( how many do you need anyway?)
I found a monster 36" buck that lived in a 20 acre piece of cover that was county property with nothing but private farm ground surrounding it
Ive found a bull and a few cows staying in a deep canyon less than 300 yards from a highway

[Raghorn]

Nathan and I are going to cover this in depth this summer on the More Than Memories series.

I am going to take a LOT of pictures, and start going over google scouting in depth.

If i go in blind in general units its all about knowing where secluded parks are. If its a little steep it helps a lot too.

I for one will be looking forward to reading this! It sounds like it will be a great help...patiently waiting!
Raghorn