Why do you hunt, where you hunt?

[twinkieman]

Without giving any secrets away, how have you chosen your elk hunting areas? Is it because it is close to where you live, a love of the desert, isolation is what you want. Are you hunting an area your family has hunted for generations? Reading all of the posts, I am just curious how you chose where you go.

[timberland]

LOTS OF ELK

[twinkieman]

LOTS OF ELK

That's the obvious answer, how did you arrive at your LOTS OF ELK location?

[timberland]

A friend of mine told us about it, but he only rifle hunts. We archery hunt, so we took a chance that the elk wouldn't be there, but we tagged a 5 pt and cow in five days.

[Fridaythe13th]

got lucky, We were sick of our area in CO. so I started pounding DOW web site looking for a zone with high success rate. Found 2 zones we like and through a dart. We had 9 possible base camp site in that zone on are map. We missed a turn on our way to what we thought was the best base camp ended up at site #3. good thing, we had a good year no down elk but we had our chances.
2 wrongs does make a right.
Leaven in 18 days hope the elk are still there.

[one_elk]

Close to home, not lots of people, very limited motorized use, not tons of elk but more than enough for good opportunities....

[Lefty]

I spotted a couple bulls while antelope hunting,
My hip was giving me problems side-hilling and the desert was flat.
Not many elk, and even fewer people,.. I like the fewer people thing

[Trophyhill]

I try to hunt different units every year. I know it puts me at a disadvantage as far as punching a tag but there's more to it for me. Life is short and I want to see as much as I can while I'm here. I've hunted several different units in NM and several in CO and each unit I've hunted is unique in different ways. I feel enriched when I see things and places not many others have seen. The elk are the same but each experience is different.

[mjblowers]

Close to home, not lots of people, very limited motorized use, not tons of elk but more than enough for good opportunities....

Exact words I was going to use.

[8upbowhunter]

A friend went on a guided hunt on private property that boarders the forest a few years ago and a lot of the elk were coming from the forest. He marked the property line on his GPS and looked at Google Earth with a forest overlay and saw that spot had private property on 3 sides so we took a chance that not many people would hike in that far to hunt this little place. It worked like a charm and we only saw 1 muzzleloader hunter the entire 2 weeks while checking out another spot and he was still over a mile from our spot. We had 6 encounters with bulls but the wind got us each time. Now that I know the area a lot better and their travel patterns my son and I will be back there for the last 2 weeks of September to try again.

[ishy]

Steep and nasty with lots of wolves. Just like a little excitement. And it's close to home.

[under H2O hunter]

My father passed his spot along to me. He started archery hunting elk back in 1982 he went archery hunting with a couple of guys he worked with. After a few years he started hunting another area. As I grew up I got tired of hunting that area and asked my dad for some advice. His words were this " You will kill lots of elk but you're gonna kill yourself getting them out." I have been hunting unit 14 ever sense. There are so many opportunities to harvest quality elk. I have introduced several new elk hunters to the area, I am always willing to help another guy out. My father was helped out once and he passed that along to me. I think it's only fair to pass this info along to others.

[elk-n-walleye]

plenty of elk, close to home and generations of family have hunted it. I broke the mold last year when I dragged my dad to another unit. It was worth it! Going back this year, can't wait!

[jc957b]

My hunting partner took me about 12 yrs ago. Living so far away makes for finding new areas very tough. I would love to hunt different units just for a different experience, but time and distance doesn't allow that for me.

[planebow]

A few years back the wolves about cleaned out our area so I went east to an area that I had hunted before. We are into elk every day and pretty much have the area down to where the elk are most of the time. The elk are coming back into our old spot but it would be hard to leave this limited area now.

[Fullabull]

Trying Idaho this year because Washington season is so poor this year. This will be the first time ever hunting the last two weeks of September. Can't wait!

[phall]

lots of elk...of course, and so true last year but this year its otc new areas so we are going to try to get away from the crowds but not so deep that we find the outfitters and hunt steep, dark, and deep north facing drainages with plenty of food and water until we find elk. by the last 2 weeks of sept when i finally get to the colorado elk mountains i plan to really go stealth in those bedding areas then try to make a bull mad

[Indian Summer]

First of all the places I hunt I can get a guaranteed license every year... in places where a little effort means no competition. Also.. I can find elk not far from the road if I want to.

Also, both my Montana and Wyoming spots mean visiting good friends and family which is a nice bonus.

My Montana spots I just know so well that I am never without a plan B. Every step of the way I have in mind what I'll be trying next. That's pretty nice.

My Wyoming spots I like because of the openness. I can get up to vantage points and locate elk so I know when I'm hiking that there are elk and hopefully an opportunity ahead. That's really nice. Minimal wasted boot leather. The other thing about down there is I have a very good and reasonably priced place to rent horses and a trailer so not only is there no limit to where I can hunt but getting elk packed out is a no brainer. That's really really nice. The other thing about Wyo is in one spot in particular those crazy bulls keep bugling until mid October. There are different season dates in different areas so I hunt awhile and then move to the bugler spot the day it opens. Last... I live on elk meat and it's either sex elk down there so in the end I'm extremely confident bull or no bull I can still get my grocery shopping done.

[8seconds]

All things are relative in life; for me its the whole package (new ground, preparation, journey to the camp site, etc). I was introduced to elk hunting by my brother back in the 80's when he lived in Seattle. We were both always fascinated with Walt Disney's production of elk, their bugling and so on. It was etched into our brain in the 50's you might say.

From there our elk destinations have varied from the Cascades (4 trips), the Bitterroots (4 trips), the Clearwater area (5 trips), Colorado (2 trips), NM (4 trips), and now for the very first time: Montana. I'm excited beyond words knowing that i will be in some new territory and won't have to prescout it as i have over the years.

With the services of Joe I'm headed to a site I have never seen with confidence that I'm in the elk. My plan is to stay until i get one while trout fishing a day or two in between. With less than a 30% chance of getting a bull and at 70 years old, there is a bigger strain on the odds; but i don't care. There are alot of things i should never have been able to do in those 70 years; why quit now.

Good luck to everyone this season. May the rain fall softly upon your meadows and the wind at your back not be your own!!!

[Swede]

I know my area and my friends find it handy. It is good, but not great.

[Indian Summer]

I forgot to mention... everywhere I hunt has the potential to produce a monster bull. I would never spend my time where I thought a 300 incher was the best I could hope for.

[Rizzy]

Close to home, so I can spend more time in the field. Challenging terrain which seems to eliminate pressure so far.

[SoCo Mark]

In no particular order: A good amount of elk. I know where to go to get away from the vast majority of the pressure this area gets. I've hunted it for about 6 years, and I know it as well as anywhere. It 's a wilderness area. Tag is easy to get. It's beautiful country, what many would think of when asked to picture elk country. The hunters I do run into seem to be locals, who have many areas and never hit this one more than once a year. I've made a ton of memories there, and just love going back...

[Drawnandpinned]

Close to home and hopefully none of you will be there I don't like competition ha ha