Elevation 'X'

[BrentLaBere]

What are the signs telling you?.....

Ill be honest and say the signs are confusing. Scouting trip is planned and executed. At the end of it, miles were covered with lots of various sign that was found, new and old. Larger diameter trees, as well as saplings, destroyed and rubbed from bulls. My thoughts are they are from bulls rubbing velvet off and prepping for the rut. Above and below this elevation there are "seeps" boggy areas where the water seems to escape the mountain side. Marked these spots on my GPS and maps for the season, anticipating wallowing action and areas where elk might frequent for water. Sure enough when the season comes this elevation is littered with sign. Wallows popping up in different areas and returning to the last to find a hole dug out from what I can assume is more than one bull. Not many responses to calling at this elevation and not much bugling either. Most the elk I saw and encountered were higher up on the mountain side. 2 mornings and 2 nights were spent around these locations with no results. Calling could have been a factor because I did try some and after reading swedes book and talking with him, this could have been a deterrent. Maybe elk were cruising at this elevation and we were at the wrong spots at the wrong time? Pre rut ground searching for territory.....>? Another thought I had was this is where some elk dropped down to during night time hours and hit this lower wallows and springs and retreated back up in elevation to stay away from pressure. These spring really weren't that low on the mountain side either so I am not totally convinced with that.....or any of them.

So looking for opinions on this. How would you hunt it? What are the signs telling you? Trail camera would be ideal but living in a different state and having laws not allowing them during the season hurt that option.

[WapitiTalk1]

Brent, what were the dates of your scouting trip and your hunt?

[BrentLaBere]

Scouting - Late July (24th-26th I think)
Hunt - September (6th-15th)

[Swede]

Brent: What you have sounds like a typical early season situation. The bulls are quieter. They will often come in silently, if you are patient and wait. Tree stands can be great if you can find a place where elk activity/travel is frequent. If the activity is distributed over too large of an area, it will drive you nuts. Getting a bull there is a crap shoot then. I do not think the elevation had anything to do with how vocal the elk were.
Early season is a good time for tree stand hunting. If you want to call some, stay well back from your tree stand area and do it in the morning and leave the stand area until afternoon. Several years ago I got a tip from Elknut about splashing a wallow, raking a tree and giving out a short bugle before stomping off then quietly climbing into my stand. You might try that. More than anything else I would find where several very active trails come together near a water hole, and plan my ambush there.

[BrentLaBere]

Didn't have the tree stand with me but the intent was to wait them out. Set up on the ground with good cover and two spots I did sit had really good trails leading to and from and the higher one having multiple. 5 different ones if I remember correctly, but it was also the smallest and least amount of sign around the wallow.....confusing for sure. Maybe just a water hole.

I know I had posted this picture before but will again because it relates to this conversation. The set up seemed perfect until the winds/thermals were everything but consistent. Not sure if it was the weather or just the way the wind swirls in that hole but I had high expectations that afternoon and don't plan on hunting it again unless I have a tree stand to elevate my scent line. On the steep side hill behind me the water poured out of a small hole and pooled up perfectly below me at 25 yards. trails from left, straight away, and to my right up hill. One also looked less traveled coming down hill over my left shoulder. Thought I heard a small squeal at sundown but couldn't be sure.

This is a larger area I am talking about.....maybe? 2-2.5 miles straight across with 5 to 6 possible draws and creek beds to drop into. Water is very easy to come by so sitting and waiting didn't seem like the right card to play at the time. To me, it seemed to be to inconsistent to rely on something they had over the next ridge in multiple location.......and at the same time, the next time I would visit, there would be new sign! Frustrating to say the least. I knew they were there but when would they stop by.....

Calling did in fact work really well but was over the next ridge...possibly a different herd or a lone cow was in heat, but they were worked up.

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

Sign is always an encouraging thing. But keep in mind that elk sign only tells you where they have been, not where they are !

But in your case, considering the dates you scouted and the dates you hunted, I would have tried the silent calling routine and given it a minimum of at least an hour to develop.

I never was a big fan of beating the mud and water of a wallow with a stick. I figure if there is anything around close enough hear me doing that they would probably see me. And besides, if you was in your bathtub, you wouldn't want some other guy hopping in there with ya, would ya!

[BrentLaBere]

HAHA I hear you on that and you have to wonder what kind of elk bothers to creep on a guy in that tub.
Tried many cold calling setups and always gave them an hour and I started to get frustrated with no results. Ended up changing tactics all together and getting into elk and seeing a lot more. The signs always pointed to recent activity with smelling them, new wallows, scat, ect....but when? and why? is what I have been asking in the off season.