How Long

[Swede]

It is relatively simple to figure out that there are no elk in an area. You may spend too much time somewhere one year, and end up going home with just some photos of camp, buddies, and some great scenery, but you will soon learn that you are not into elk. How long does it take when you are into elk, but not getting any shots, before it is evident something(s) is wrong? What convinces us to change.
My story is probably a lot like many others. I hunted for years. I would run into people that got elk on a regular basis. I understood they had a honey hole but they weren't telling anyone where. I thought that was a major factor. I did better than average with my hunts through hard work, but it was mostly a matter of luck and time in the woods. It took a long time to see that there were flaws in my hunting technique that was limiting my success.
What have you found out for yourself, and what theories do you have?

[zpd307]

I have gotten progressively smarter each year. I thought I knew what I was doing the first year, even got into elk for a first timer. I just blamed the quiet elk on the muzzleloaders. took my time with google earth and found some feeding spots so I figured that I could find them and then dog them back up the mountain. but wait, I still wasn't hearing the elk that I thought I should of. when I couldn't come up with a new game plan I knew I was in trouble. also found out why the elk were so quiet. locals were up on the mountain hiking, camping and driving there atvs all over on the forest roads. and lots of target shooting... since the elk were not acting the way they were supposed to, according to all the videos I watched, and I didn't know what to do about it. I knew that I needed to spend more learning to figure them out. we decided that we were not smart enough yet to be able to hunt such a pressured spot so we started looking at new areas. that is when Idaho came into play for this year. and that is why I have so much time trying to find an area known to have elk and have harder hunter access to keep most hunters out.

[Indian Summer]

I found that you can kill elk two ways. You can work hard or you can work smart. There will always be hard work involved but it shouldn't be the number one or deciding factor in success. Eventually everyone gets older and can't run the hills like they did when they were younger. So how do us older hunters manage to increase our success rate instead of watch it go downhill as we age? By using your head.

Sometimes that means recognizing your weaknesses. I can't hear very well so over the years I've come to cherish good binoculars and hunting in areas where my eyesight can make up for my hearing loss. That's hunting smart. I still hunt just as hard but I focus on places where my efforts are more likely to pay off because I'm using my strong points to get it done.

[jswbga]

zero minutes.

when I took up elk hunting in 2008, I started reading actual elk books, (Elk 101 series, etc) in 2007, more than a year before that first trip.

I still dont know much, but I know alot more than I did before I became a student of the elk (and of successful elk hunters).

I'm reading your Stand Hunting book now, and am really enjoying it, even though I'm not (yet) an elk stand hunter. Someday I may decide to become one.

its (almost) funny to look back at the foolish mistakes I've made chasing them so far. With time and trips, I hope to become part of that 5% club.

until then, I still enjoy every minute out in elk country. I remain convinced that heaven is just above treeline.

shane

[Swede]

jswbga: I am glad you are enjoying the tree stand book. I don't think you have to be a "tree stand hunter", to hang one at an actively used water hole or where well used trails come together to benefit. It sure could pay off well to slip into the stand the for last couple hours of a long day, and just rest and wait.

[jswbga]

the notion of a "water hole" in elk country still confuses me. all the areas I've hunted so far, have a long, skinny run of water every 1/2 mile or so in the form of a creek draw.

in fact, when I "map scout" an area, I'll make a topo plot (off USGS) of the area, and use a red highliter to identify driveable 2-track roads, and a blue highliter to identify all creeks. it always seems to me that there is water "everywhere".

so far, I've tried to focus my hunting efforts on the "most constricted resource" out of the following list:

1. bedding areas
2. food sources (grassy looking parks)
3. water

in areas without very good vehicle access.

[Swede]

The term "water hole" varies quite a bit. It can be a spring at the head of a creek, or a small lake. Often where I hunt, they pop up on a bench or in a draw and go nowhere. I hunt them a lot where they are near bedding areas. I look for trails coming into them and for rub trees around the area.
Also you may look for significant fresh sign around a small area and just see where it is most concentrated. If there is a long stream, sometimes you can find where active trails cross it. I have found where trail cross a long rock outcrop. That is the only pass on a long hill. Finding water holes is not your objective. Finding elk is really not your objective. Killing elk is, or maybe killing a specific elk is. You can set up a tree stand in a saddle where elk cross. You can hang your stand in an active bedding area. The key is to find where elk will very likely be.
I would recommend you do not set up a stand where elk "might" come. Only place a stand where the probability is high. Nothing is more boring and discouraging than waiting where you have no confidence in your stand placement. I have suggested to some people to bring along a tree stand in their truck. Pack it into where you will use it, only if and when you find a great looking spot. You will know it when you see it.

[stringunner]

I have mentioned it before, for us success came slowly, we found an area that we knew held elk I.e. Sign, trails, brief sightings, hearing them, etc. for the first couple of years it was hit or miss, but we stayed committed to the area. I personally committed myself to learning the area inside and out, and though I don't yet know every little rock in the area I have learned enough that I feel confident in finding elk throughout the season. It was staying committed to the area and learning about the patterns of both the elk and the hunters in the areA that has led to our success in the past couple of years. But first we had to find an area that held elk year after year.