Migration Routes

[Indian Summer]

Anyone know of any places where elk stack up as the snow stacks up? I know a spot that is only 3/4 of a mile from a trailhead where they just keep coming. I was talking to MTLongdraw last week about this place. Every day is a new day there. You can kill... or spook elk there one day and hunt it again the next. There are new groups of elk rolling in by the day. Once the snow gets too deep on the road most hunters are lower. We either tough it out to hike up there or use a snowmobile to get up high on the road and then it's all level to the spot.

In the past 7 days my brother and three friends have killed 4 bulls there. Two in one day last weekend. One on Wednesday and one today. One year I missed a bull there, went back the next day and killed a bigger one.... that was bedded next to another bull. As the herd ran off it joined with another group I didn't see. Then another. By the time they rolled around the other side of a big burn there were about 150 head and 4 legal bulls. The first year I hunted the area there were about 8 bulls killed there before I killed mine.

I'm so busy anymore. I know I can't make it to Montana in 2015 or even 2016. So I'm thinking about adding the spot to my list of hunt plans. I'm not sure about that just yet. It will be a spot for the last week of the season so anyone who decided to hunt it would need to be ready to deal with some snow and miss Thanksgiving with the family. You could hunt it the week before but the later the better. There are resident elk there but I'll be honest: For the cost of the hunt plan you'd want to do everything in your power to hunt it at the right time. It won't be my cheapest plan I can tell you. Plus if you go there when the conditions aren't rime there will likely be some competition because it will be easy to get to. Weather is key. But you can sit still, or roam around a pretty small area, and it's just a matter of time. I was thinking the next time I go there I may pack a ground blind in there and park my butt in the same spot until the time comes.

I know a few places where bachelor groups hang out after the rut during gun season. But none are as consistent as this one. Does anyone else have a migration route or staging area like that figured out. I'm curious.

[bowgy]

About 30 years ago we had some places like that in Washington. It was a bow hunt and any elk was legal. There were lots of hunters it was difficult to get into bow range but it was really fun to see so many elk every day and when you didn't see them there were plenty of fresh tracks in the snow to follow. The icy roads were treacherous though.

[Indian Summer]

I know one other area where the elk will eventually pass through. I've been there when there were no elk one day and the net morning 200 of them were feeding on an open slope. But it's a bigger area than the other one I mentioned and not nearly as consistent.

Learning areas like these is really valuable. But I find that not many people know of them because everyone does their hunting earlier and isn't there to witness what goes on really late in the season. Some states don't have open seasons late enough to hunt migrations too.

[Huntrgathr]

I know places where a guy could kill an elk pretty easy during the migration. Specific saddles, draws, etc. where you can count on elk coming through but it tends to be cows and small bulls. In my experience the big bulls stay behind as the cow herds move down...

Having both options I prefer to hunt September for elk and November for mulies...

[njdoxie]

Holy smokes, that is one heck of a honey hole....wow

[Lefty]

I know of a short route here in Idaho for a few hundred head. Fairly well know by the locals.

The area we use to hunt in Montana, A big well known migration. Snow piles up high, the elk move to the last 1000 feet of the valley floor. Sort of a slaughter fest for the locals with cow tags. The cows will mill around a lot until they migrate to the winter grounds. The bulls will stay above the cows. The major migration happens at night as they travel the edge of the valley floor

Summer you are likely aware of the routes that elk deer and antelope take on the west side of Wyoming

I drew on a depredation cow hunt on Deseret in Utah the last days of November one year ,.. Incredible sight so many elk and big elk.That is one ranch I would love to be able to fall archery hunthttp://www.wildcountryoutfitters.com/elkpictures.html

[Indian Summer]

Got a call today from a friend in Jackson. Him and a few friends drew late season cow tags. Not refuge tags... he drew one of those too and starts hunting on that tomorrow. They killed a cow today. As they were dressing it out he looked up and said he about died!!!! A herd of 1000, yes... one thousand elk rolled by them. He said he never even dreamed of anything like it. Can you imagine? All heading for the National Elk Refuge north of Jackson Hole. Last year he called and said he shot a cow as he watched 350+ bulls stroll by. Pretty cool.

Yes njdoxie... it is a heck of a honey hole. Hands down the best late season spot I know. Three years ago a guy I know was heading up there. Halfway up the mountain in a blizzard he cut a fresh track. Open track in a blizzard= smoking hot! He followed it and the next thing he knew there was the bull bedded facing away from him. He shot it and the opposite of ground shrinkage happened. It went 360.

Yes.. early on the bulls with the big cow herds are usually 5 points. But there are a few 6s around and if you have the kahunas to stick it out and not shoot a smaller bull the big ones roll through the same spot. The neat thing about this spot is it is pinpoint. You could definitely still hunt around a bit but you'll end up back at ground zero every time.

[MT_Nate]

Dang! So you aren't hunting the area in 2015/2016? I can show up in your absence and take some photos and shoot my gun if you'd like!

That's definitely a late-season spot that I think every late-season tag-toting MT elk hunter would love to have. Congrats on finding it.

[njdoxie]

But.....the wild card is a lot of people know about it, that's bad for honey holes

[Indian Summer]

While that may be true Guy it's interesting that lots of people have no faith. They hit it early and then disappear. And like I said.... when it gets really good not everyone can physically get there.... or maybe it's mentally. A little of both I guess.

Like the moon... lots of people know about it, but not many will actually get there. When it's at it's best anyway. The last time I killed a bull there it was deep. I dropped my knife and never did find it. The snow was up to my crotch. My waist in places. I was literally worried that the next day I might not get it out of there. What a crappy feeling. On the way out I said to myself "Never again!" But... that's when they are stacked up and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. By then there isn't a soul up there. A buddy from Missoula jetted me up on his snowmobile and we owned the place. The other thing is that, like I said... every day is a new day. So if you get there at first light it doesn't matter who may have been there the day before. The other "wild card" is that even though it's only 3/4 of a mile in.... if you don't know the exact route you're in trouble. It's 3/4 of a mile of pixie stix blow downs. When the snow is to the top of them it might as well be 34 miles. ugh!

[Huntrgathr]

The hardest part for me on the late hunts is staying warm enough to sit all day. I was borderline hypothermic when I shot my buck this year. Only the shot of adrenaline I got when the buck finally stepped into range warmed me up enough to actually shoot. I pack an extra set of base layers to change out of my sweaty ones after the hike in and then a full set of Cabelas outfitter wool and extra mid-layers for sitting and I still freeze my butt off...

It's true that most guys can't hack it and you can have some excellent areas all to yourself while everyone else is sitting inside watching football. Again, its mainly the smaller bulls that migrate early with tge cow herds- immature bulls and the ones tgat got their butts kicked during the rut. We refer to these as " bulls with low self esteem". Where I hunt the big bulls don't come down until after the season is over and if you try to get to where they hang in November you have a really good chance of not being able to recover the meat. 4 pack loads in waist deep snow 3-5 miles in is a feat that is beyond all but the toughest SOB's...

[blackwolf]

huntrgathr, You nailed that, wish I was still a tough SOB, but lost that in my mid-50's. Now, I would need a couple of tough SOB's to haul me and my elk in and out. Lol !!! Like Joe said, not too many even willing to make the try under the cold and snow conditions. All my hunting is BS (before snow) !!!

[njdoxie]

That hunt is not for me.....I hate snow lol.....elk hunting is too hard to start with, now you add snow? I'm a fair weather hunter

[Trumkin the Dwarf]

Well I don't know for sure which migration spot you are talking about, but I'd be almost inclined to pay you to never tell anyone else but me! I like Montana when no one is in my spots.

[Ridge Ghost]

Trumpkin, I was thinking the same thing!

[Indian Summer]

Ridge ghost I was just reading your other post about the west side canyons. Where do you live? You and Malachi aren't too far from the ol honey hole. Only 10 feet of snow on the ground between you and there.

Edit: Scratch that I see you're in the Zoo. I know a honey hole up there. It's called The Elbow Room.

[Ridge Ghost]

Ha, I've heard of pretty high success rates there, but that's not the kind of success you want!

[MTLongdraw]

Elbow Room is closed. The cougars have moved on to new watering holes. Now all it is is a 2 million dollar parking lot for the Sunrise Saloon across the street. I often see OnX cars there too. At the rate they're going they need more parking too.

[Indian Summer]

OnX... what's that? I guess I'm old. I liked the Elbow Room because it wasn't full of teeny boppers. Decent bands once in awhile too. If I go to the Fox Club they call the retirement home to see if anyone has wandered off.

[MTLongdraw]

OnX is the new name for the Hunting GPS chip.