Wapiti Talk "It's Your Move" Episode #2

[Indian Summer]

For a change...it's gun season. The Montana season opened on Saturday October 24th. It's now Saturday November 21st so there's about 1 week left in the 5 week season. Next week is Thanksgiving and then the last weekend of the season. You bow only hunters are back home chasing deer or rabbits or something so you can either answer "My bull is in the freezer already" or just sit this one out if you want.

You and 1 good partner are hunting from a base camp right at the truck in an area you've been putting quite a bit of time into but haven't scored yet. It's brow tined bulls only. There are 2 trailheads in the area, one low and one high, and you usually see 2 to 5 vehicles parked at each. Mostly weekend warriors. You've hunted the area enough to know a few of the routes the locals might take. There's 4 to 6 inches of old snow on the ground with some bare spots on the tops and sunny sides with a little dusting from overnight as usual. Skies are clear and the high is right around 28 to 30. It is supposed to stay clear out for the next couple days but Monday there's more snow on the way. Pretty typical for this time of year with a little snow every few days.

There are a couple main ridges that make up the big picture of the area that run east to west away from the main road. There are drainages coming off of those ridges surrounded by secondary fingers that run north/south. The area is a mix of timber and big old burns. No big meadows or openings. Basically timber country with what little is left of browse and grassy patches within the timber and burns on the south slopes for feed.

You and other hunters have been seeing elk. Mostly cows and spikes. There have been a few smaller bulls and one good one shot over the past couple weeks. None super far from the road either, most at 2 to 4 miles or less. All in places you have been hunting too dangit! You've been close but no cigar. There are enough tracks around in the snow, although mostly old, to know there are elk somewhere in the vicinity or used to be. But are they are pretty nocturnal at this time of the season.

The opening week hoopla is long gone. Those early gun season bugles are history. Of course there are some road hunters hoping to get lucky even though most know they never will. It's just their annual late season ride in the truck to get out of the house. Some might actually get out and stretch their legs for a half mile or so.

It's never easy and since there's been a month of hunting already the elk have exactly been standing around in shooting light waiting to be eaten at Thanksgiving if you know what I mean. This is a very typical scenario. Your typical "where the heck are they!!!!" time of season hunt. Some hunters have hung it up or are deer hunting.

That's a lot of information which tells you I have actually hunted this spot a lot! What are the elk thinking? What is your game plan for the next couple days?

[cohunter14]

What are the elk thinking? What is your game plan for the next couple days?

The elk are in survival mode this time of year, which leads to the 'nocturnal' feeling that people talk about. They slip into the dark timber early and come out late, making them very difficult to find. You are seeing cows and spikes, but that isn't going to lead to you filling your tag because the bigger bulls are going to be off on their own or in small bachelor herds.

My game plan would be to spread out and cover ground. Spend the mornings and evenings covering ground by glassing, trying to spot a bull at first light or last light coming to or leaving a feeding area. During the day, I would get boots on the ground and try to find sets of single tracks in the snow that might lead you to where the bulls could be bedded. The issue right now is that the snow is old and the clear skies lead to cold overnight temps, which means it is going to be LOUD to walk in it. This means that you need to find the tracks that give you an idea of where they are at, but you can't get too close to the bedding areas or you will risk spooking them out. My goal would be to get a good idea on where a bull might be bedding before the Monday storm. If I can do that, I can try to position myself in a place to catch the bull moving before the storm. If that is unsuccessful, Monday's snow would give me some quieter ground and I could try to go shoot the bull in his bedroom.

[Swede]

To my way of thinking there is a fork in the road ahead. One fork takes me home to mama and a warm house. The other fork leads to leaving early in the dark and hunting areas that are well away from the roads. This second fork will lead to a mean pack out if my guess is right. Mama is not leaving and I can warm up later. Grab your pack Joe and lets go.

[Lost Dog]

First off, stay positive. If you think you have a chance you will go that extra mile or stay that extra hour. If you don't think you have any chance then you might as well stay home.

You mentioned two trailheads, one high and one low. Since there are two hunters I would look at the topography and try to figure out if one guy can move into a saddle or basin to sit and wait while the other guy comes through or makes a circle, hopefully pushing some animals toward his partner. As the second hunter moves he can watch for fresh sign. If nothing moves to the first hunter they can make a decision where to hunt next based on the second hunter's observation.

If the "noisy" snow softens a little bit in the afternoon the hunters might be able to still hunt, maybe staying on top of the finger ridges and watching for animals or tracks to follow.

Because there is snow you should be able to determine if the tracks that you come across are cows or bulls. Don't follow cow tracks because that will be a waste of time.

Hunt the day before the storm and the day after. The elk are usually moving and/or feeding during those times. Plus right after the storm all tracks that you come across will be fresh.

Good luck!

[elkstalker]

When I lived and hunted in MT this was a scenario I faced often. The snow is both your best asset, and your biggest obstacle. The new snow allows you to cover ground and try to cut fresh tracks. I would try to hunt the burns and areas that have exposed feed at first light, in hopes you catch a bull out feeding still, especially on a very cold morning they have to feed out longer to keep their energy up. After the first hour or so, I am moving, covering ground between burned areas/feed and potential bedding locations in attempt to find some fresh tracks. I know the area well, so I should have an idea where the elk are heading to bed after they have fed.

Ideally I'm looking for a set of large tracks, hopefully by themselves, as this time of year mature bulls tend to be by themselves. I definitely don't want to chase a large herd only to find out that there are no legal bulls with them. If I only have a day or two to hunt I'm following those tracks no matter what the snow conditions are, I don't have time to wait for a bull to come back out to feed, and I'll risk bumping him from his bed. If I have the whole five days to hunt I can afford to be more conservative and try to wait him out.

If the snow is soft enough, I'm following tracks right to the bedding area, moving very, very, slowly, looking for movement, a patch of brown fur, antlers and keeping ready to make a quick shot if one presents itself. I've killed a number of bulls using this strategy. And just like nay elk hunting, use any new information to inform your decisions as you go. If there are no fresh tracks on one ridge, keep trying adjacent ridges until you find fresh sign.

[cohunter14]

IS, I'd love to hear what you would do or what you have done in this scenario...

[Indian Summer]

Hmm, I posted here last night but this morning I saw it wasn't here. grr

I figured I'd let this thread sit awhile. First my partner and I will leave one truck at the lower trailhead and start from the high one. We'll get going early and cross the next drainage over from where we've been hunting during the week. The weekend warriors will be out so we'll go hunt a little further in. But first once we cross that first hole and get part way up the other side we'll stop and turn around and glass across into the burns looking for elk moving our way. We'll give it a couple hours. No hurry because we probably won't catch elk out feeding somewhere anyway. After that we turn east away from the road again and into the next hole.

You guys are pretty good. The replies were great. Maybe why we didn't see more feedback. Cohunter14 nailed it pretty good right off the bat. The elk are pretty nocturnal. Like both cohunter 14 and elkslayer said, ideally I'm looking for a set of large lone tracks. Maybe a pair of them. But it's late in the month so time for elk to stage before move down so there can be 5 point bulls in those herds. I'm keeping my eyes open for that if I spot a herd

One thing is always for sure and that is elk have to eat. So when I'm glassing I'm looking for tracks and pawed up bare spots as much as I am elk. They could be on the upper benches or they could be on the mid slope benches that lead to the nice flat spots on the fingers where they might catch some sun. So one guy will go high (I volunteer!) and the other low. We'll have a pre determined meeting place to compare notes and regroup & plan the evening hunt.

I know there are elk in the area. Otherwise I wouldn't be there. So every move I make is calculated and careful. I don't want to get busted. I'm glassing every chance I get keeping in mind how easy it is for a herd of elk to vanish on a hillside. On the way back I"ll hunt the lowest of benches and eventually drop out the bottom trail. From down there I'll be glassing the other side of the main drainage too looking for anything down low over there.

I like the late season when I have a good plan. I feel like this is it! Plus with one week left I'm feeling some pressure to bring home the groceries. So I'm hunting hard. Tomorrow's plan is obviously based on what happens today but it could very well be a repeat of the same hunt.