Where to camp

[poisonarrow]

I live on the edge of the National Forest. The last few years I have gotten up at 3:00 driven and hour, hiked for an hour to begin hunting. That means hiking an hour or more after dark, driving an hour back home. Big day.

This year I am going to change. I bought a six man tent from Seek Outside with a stove. I plan on packing into my hunting area and camping. How close to the hunting area can you safely camp?

James

[Swede]

Sounds like you are hunting with a good sized group or taking family. Hopefully you are not carrying the tent and stove alone. If you can carry your equipment on an ATV or similar, then you have more opportunity. That said there are no absolute minimums for how far back to camp. I would stay off of any trails, saddles and water holes/wallows. Elk move around and if you are in a good location you will likely hear them bugle from your camp.

[slim9300]

I prefer to camp low near water since the thermals are coming down in the mornings (and my partner and I go through a ton of water). I try to pick a thick spot in the timber that doesn't appear to have any elk sign or a heavily used trail. But in all honesty there are many times I have just looked for the first flat piece of ground to get some sleep. That could be a meadow or in the timber. Either way, the elk are normally bugling within 1/4 mile before first light.

Good luck this year. The best thing you could do is take a few backpacking or scouting trips this summer to get used to things. It will pay dividends come hunting season.

[Olydog09]

I live on the edge of the National Forest. The last few years I have gotten up at 3:00 driven and hour, hiked for an hour to begin hunting. That means hiking an hour or more after dark, driving an hour back home. Big day.

This year I am going to change. I bought a six man tent from Seek Outside with a stove. I plan on packing into my hunting area and camping. How close to the hunting area can you safely camp?

James

I like your idea of getting in there and staying rather than spending 4 hours a day in transit. Not to mention cooking times etc before bed. This will benefit both the amount of time you will spend in actual elk killing areas and in my mind the biggest benefit will be more hours of relaxation and sleep and less hiking and driving time which can sap your energy.

As far as distance from camp to elk that is all subjective. Try to camp so the wind does not go to where you think the elk will spend most of their time. Keep your camp out of the sound range as well and camp as close as you can without spooking them. This could be 500 yards if there are a couple of ridges between you and the elk or a mile in open country. Even if you camped where you used to park you are saving 2 hours a day in travel time. Good luck.

[Indian Summer]

I'd probably skip the drive but if you can hike in and have good hunting you could probably camp at the truck too. As far as where to camp... lots of variables. I like to camp high but near water. Since water isn't everywhere up high that cuts my options way down... which is fine. Plus I'd rather get my water up high, preferably right at the source, where there's less chance I'm filtering moose poop elk pee and dead animal juice! Plus I don't like starting my day with an uphill march.

Did you read the thread where people have elk bugling all around the tent? I killed a bull one time in Wyoming that we listened to bugling from the time we woke through breakfast and all the while until he hit the ground. I know a guy in Montana who always bivys solo for the first 3 days of the gun season and literally uses his tent for a blind. He's killed many a bull from inside his little setup.

Elk don't spend an extraordinary amount of time in wide open places so the edge of a big meadow is usually worth considering. If I'm mainly hunting one side of a major ridge I'll camp on the other side. Just pick the place where you feel least confident in killing elk and call it good.

A 6 man tent isn't that big Swede. It has room for 2 guys, 2 sets of gear, space to cook and eat, and also to hang clothes. A hunter needs more than just the square footage to squeeze a sleeping bag which is how they are rated.

[ElkNut1]

James, how heavy is the Seek Outdoors tent & stove? Is all of it packable or are you planning a basecamp type camp not far from the rig?

As far as we hunt & camp, high or low works out just fine, I too like water nearby when it's possible. We just make sure camp isn't setup in a high traffic elk area, it's not a big deal really. Look for sign/fresh tracks, trails around where you intend to camp, if it looks like a hwy pick a different spot. Don't be concerned about a few elk tracks here & there as that's pretty common everywhere in elk country. If you accidentally spook some don't worry about it they 'll stay in the zipcode somewhere! (grin) They're findable! (grin)

ElkNut1

[poisonarrow]

The six man and stove is around ten pounds. I also I do not like to be cold. A hot tent gives me the ability to dry off. One year we hunted for a week with rain every day and snow at night. It was cold. If I am not having fun whats the point. This year I want to be warm, dry, and well rested.

[poisonarrow]

Let me correct the weights. The tent weighs 5 pounds and the stove and stove pipe weigh 33.5 ounces. I plan on packing in about two miles to camp. I do not want to hike up the mountain before starting to hunt.

[phall]

my hunt group always try to spike camp close but not in the elk... still we try to keep it very low impact on the elk. no fire, freeze dried foods, queit camp, etc. im not saying that this is a must but its what we do. our goal is to keep the elk undisturbed and in their normal behavior patterns as possible. we watched elk every night. couldnt hunt becuse it rained everyday from lunch on in colorado last year. on the 4th day some guys came setup camp about 500 yds from us with stove, coffe pots, wall tents camp fires etc all funneling up the draw where we were on the elk. everyeve we watched as the elk fed farther and farther up the mountain until day 8 we were seeing none...

[ElkNut1]

James, thanks! That is unreal lightweight tent & stove there for the size, wow! I'm like you I don't want to be cold either, I will go out of the way to be warm & have a few comforts within reason! (grin) I need to check out that tent you picked up!

ElkNut1

[Lefty]

I try to camp out of the best elk areas but Im hunting open ground
However for deer to avoid the 2 1/2 hour drive and 1 1/2 hour walk I drive in on an ATV trail and tent in the thickest little fir stand I can legally put my ATV in and hide 30 minute walk to my viewing site

So when you see the smilie face cat eye(reflective tacks) to the right is my tent 60 yards

[Trophyhill]

If possible, I want to sleep with the elk. I've had elk in my camp at night and screamin less than a couple hundred yards away in the morning. I love it when that happens I like a cold camp and being a solo hunter mostly, the only time I'm talking is to the elk or in my head

[easeup]

If possible, I want to sleep with the elk. I've had elk in my camp at night and screamin less than a couple hundred yards away in the morning. I love it when that happens I like a cold camp and being a solo hunter mostly, the only time I'm talking is to the elk or in my head

same here but it rarely happens