Anybody hunt elk from Home?

[Toothy]

I mean from your own property? Or at least access public property from their land. I'd like to do that, I'm thinking MT, WY or ID, anybody else do something this ludicrous?

I love it out there, and have been spending the last year looking for land to build a home or maybe I'll get lucky and find something existing that will fit my needs. I'll be back out wandering around in August looking, hopefully buy something the end of next year.

What kind of pros or cons am I looking at? What state would you pick for hunting elk and deer in general.. I'm open for suggestions and thank you ahead of time for any offerings.

[Swede]

There is too much private land around me to just walk out the door and go hunt, but the drive is very short to reasonable elk hunting. I shot a buck in the yard a few years ago to fill my tag. It wasn't much of a buck, but I cured it from eating my store bought plants.

[stringunner]

I moved last year, but prior to that I would hunt mule deer on my propriety and the connecting land we leased.

Not now though.

I can drive 10 minutes and be in reasonably good elk hunting though.

[Lefty]

Someday, maybe Ill have a place closer to elk. But right now I chose to drive about 2 plus hours
I could be a 15 minute drive to elk hunting,.. but too many hunters for my liking,..

If looking for a place you might want somewhere where you can buy a tag every year for your resident or non resident status.

If my wife passes before me I know two choices in Montana I would move too. One for fishing and hunting., the other for hunting and trapping.
There is no way in the world I could convince my wife to live at either place. While I dont aspire to be a hermit either
I would enjoy the seclusion, piece and quiet.

[Northman]

I think this is a dream for most western hunters to pursue elk and mule deer on our own property. The closest most of us will come is to own a small piece of land bordering national forest or blm land. Even if a guy was able to purchase a large tract of land free and clear, he would need to ranch, farm, and guide to generate enough money to pay the yearly property taxes. I'm sure everyone knows someone that inherrited land that has been in the family for generations,is paid for, but had to sell it because they couldn't keep up with the property taxes without working the land. White tail deer are the prime big game species to hunt on small private acerage because they can thrive on smaller tracts of land. Just thank God we have National forest that we all have access to.

[VT Sasquatch]

That sounds awesome. In fact, I have never hunted elk yet and I look at the land listings too. For me, it won't happen, at least not any time soon.

I am in Pennsylvania and I am still in the first half of my working life. I live in an urban area. Our family owns some property in PA that borders public land and it is pretty nice being able to roll out of bed and go hunt in the woods behind the cabin. I also have a small cabin on 130 acres in New England that is a lot of fun. I hunt deer, turkey, and grouse on it, ride atvs, and enjoy working on the habitat. I doubt I would ever sell it but I can say there is good and bad. I have to deal with trespassers and taxes. I also crave variety so I find myself camping on public land even though I have my own spot. In a way, owning land can be an anchor for some people in that they stop hunting other areas.

When I see the property out west, I think it would be nice to buy a few acres out there for a home base but as long as you have decent camping gear, there is no need. If I was wealthy, things would be different. Then I'd buy a huge ranch.

[CurlyTail]

That why I buy a lottery tickey when the jackpot gets over 500 million. My only chance to buy a big ranch in Southern Colorado. Gotta keep those dreams alive!

[VT Sasquatch]

If I hit the lottery, you guys are all invited to my ranch. I'll send the helicopter for you.

[Toothy]

Thanks for all the input..

I think this is a dream for most western hunters to pursue elk and mule deer on our own property. The closest most of us will come is to own a small piece of land bordering national forest or blm land..

That's what I'm leaning too, but it's a daunting task. I feel like I'm researching hunting districts and regulations, studying maps and cross referencing that info from the MLS and overlaying that on Google Earth and on top of that comparing property values and taxes. ugh I have to find an area that has some work, I'm not ready to completely retire, say within a 40 minute drive of town, accessible in winter. Fishing nearby, is a huge bonus. I'd like at least 20-40 acres so my neighbors aren't intruding and of course deer and elk close by or onsite. I grew up in GA and once as a kid took a good whooping for shooting a 4 point from my bedroom, so yeah I'd like the opportunity.




something like this..., unfortunately after looking at the hunting district, elk is at low population levels and require a permit.

I was just curious what pitfalls I'm not seeing if someone here has done the same thing.

[Scrap_Iron]

I've bee hunting elk for five years on the national forest near the property I live on. I don't own the property, just a caretaker there (will likely never be able to afford to buy a property like this unless I win the lottery). National Forest borders the property on three sides. It's about a 10-15 minute walk to the forest boundary from my front door. There can be a fair amount of pressure from other hunters on the National Forest, especially during rifle season but, just like elk hunting anywhere--the further I'm willing to hike, the company becomes less of an issue. It is truly an amazing opportunity that I feel fortunate to have landed. During the rut I can sometimes hear them buggling from my deck. I've really been able to learn a lot about their behavior by more or less living in/on the fringe of elk country. Except for mid-summer, when the elk go to the high country, I have a good chance of seeing them on the property or via game camera on any given day. Despite their huge range, I have observed that elk do hang tight to specific areas or land features under certain circumstances.

Regarding advice for purchasing property to hunt from: based on my experience I'd look for an area that isn't all subdivided up. Ideally I'd want to be situated among big parcels/ranches adjacent to the forest/public land with year-round habitat and food supply nearby and little threat of development. To ensure your elk haven continues to be an elk haven I would look for it to be surrounded by conservation easements, if possible.

[Toothy]

Thanks Scrap Iron, that's a lot of good info and you seem to be living how I wish to retire..

at this point, I'm thinking I may be better off using the assistance of a hunt consultant rather than a real estate agent, I've seen a few online. Possibly one of them may be able to help narrow my search locations.

[Scrap_Iron]

If you have your heart set on finding some land where you can hunt from home I think it would be best to identify a good elky area first and then look for land nearby. Based on my experience there are a lot of factors that contribute to why an area does or doesn't provide good elk hunting opportunities. Some of those factors you're not likely to know until you start hunting an area. For example, one of the reasons my area is productive is because of high hunting pressure in certain areas and lack of it in others. This is due to geographical impediments and access or lack thereof. Another factor you're not likely to figure out until you've hunted or scouted an area for a while is specific areas that elk seem to frequent for no apparent reason. Near my place there are a couple draws, saddles and hillsides that elk always visit year after year. Post-rut there always seems to be a bull or two holed up on this certain south facing hillside. Or, during the peak of the rut the elk are always come down and stink up certain saddles or hillsides. It's the little things like that that can make your land a real gem during elk season.

[RAMMONT]

My wife and I moved to Montana just over a year ago. We found 20 acres on the edge of a national forest that was perfect. Only two other people live within 5 miles of us and we're about 25 miles from a reasonably large city. There are only a handful of land owners around and all of them have been around for generations, none have any intention of selling or developing their properties. Most of the land owners have large properties, sections or more so the whole area is pretty much locked up with very little chance of any large numbers of people moving in any time soon. Our place has a log house, barn, corral, water well, and it's situated just above a good sized creek. So far I've seen elk, moose, deer, bear, fox, and wolf either on my property or on the national forest behind my property. Our place can only be gotten to by a single forest service road that isn't plowed in the winter. The area is hunted by a handful of hunters for bear, elk, deer, moose, grouse, and a few other critters but we don't really get flooded during any season, most of the time we get maybe 5 or 10 people every few days within something like a 25 or 30 square miles.

This was about a week ago when I was scouting about a mile from my house.


What to look for?

Land that isn't destined to be developed any time soon.
Water and power sources that you can use regardless of weather.
An access road that you can navigate in bad weather.
Neighbors that are long term owners who don't intend to sell or develop their land any time soon.
As few public roads around your property as possible.
A house that's built solidly.
Don't buy a house that's in the bottom of valley if it's close to open water. Creeks and rivers flood and ponds attract mosquitoes.
A house that's on the side hill of a valley will probably see some pretty strong seasonal winds, great for a windmill but it can be tough on a house that isn't built for it.
A house with a metal roof can make you feel a lot more secure during the summer fire season.
Making sure that there are no trees close to the house that can burn your house down if there is a forest fire.
Power tools - lots of power tools. If you plan on living there year round you will end up needing all kinds of tools for building, fixing, and maintaining things.
Having a garage to work on your equipment during bad weather is a life saver.
Avoid plastic, winters eat plastic.

Zillo helps a lot, it makes it a lot easier to find a property and get a feel for it before actually visiting it.

[wawhitey]

I know of a house on 20 acres for sale that you could walk 1.5 miles out your backdoor and get here. This is one of the smaller bulls that use the wallow

[WapitiTalk1]

My wife and I moved to Montana just over a year ago. We found 20 acres on the edge of a national forest that was perfect. Only two other people live within 5 miles of us and we're about 25 miles from a reasonably large city. There are only a handful of land owners around and all of them have been around for generations, none have any intention of selling or developing their properties. Most of the land owners have large properties, sections or more so the whole area is pretty much locked up with very little chance of any large numbers of people moving in any time soon. Our place has a log house, barn, corral, water well, and it's situated just above a good sized creek. So far I've seen elk, moose, deer, bear, fox, and wolf either on my property or on the national forest behind my property. Our place can only be gotten to by a single forest service road that isn't plowed in the winter. The area is hunted by a handful of hunters for bear, elk, deer, moose, grouse, and a few other critters but we don't really get flooded during any season, most of the time we get maybe 5 or 10 people every few days within something like a 25 or 30 square miles.

This was about a week ago when I was scouting about a mile from my house.


What to look for?

Land that isn't destined to be developed any time soon.
Water and power sources that you can use regardless of weather.
An access road that you can navigate in bad weather.
Neighbors that are long term owners who don't intend to sell or develop their land any time soon.
As few public roads around your property as possible.
A house that's built solidly.
Don't buy a house that's in the bottom of valley if it's close to open water. Creeks and rivers flood and ponds attract mosquitoes.
A house that's on the side hill of a valley will probably see some pretty strong seasonal winds, great for a windmill but it can be tough on a house that isn't built for it.
A house with a metal roof can make you feel a lot more secure during the summer fire season.
Making sure that there are no trees close to the house that can burn your house down if there is a forest fire.
Power tools - lots of power tools. If you plan on living there year round you will end up needing all kinds of tools for building, fixing, and maintaining things.
Having a garage to work on your equipment during bad weather is a life saver.
Avoid plastic, winters eat plastic.

Zillo helps a lot, it makes it a lot easier to find a property and get a feel for it before actually visiting it.

Welcome to the WT forum RAMMONT. ONE HELL OF A FIRST POST! Congrats on your move to the Big Sky State; sounds like you and your family landed in a small slice of heaven. RJ

[Toothy]

No kidding.. great post and full of insight. Thanks for all of it.
I just this week set aside 10 days in early Sept. to do some more scouting and shopping, unfortunately no hunting.