I'm Going Scouting

[Swede]

Monday, July 11th, I leave for my first 2016 scouting trip. I am looking forward to the outing. I have never bow hunted the area and the last elk I killed in that country was in the early 1970s. I have scouted it some in the past, but never found anything that really excited me. There are plenty of elk there, but they are well spread out. Water is abundant. There is an hour walk in to anything good. I don't mind that, but that means there is a four hour pack from everything too.
I might just take some rope and tie one up in a good meadow, and keep it there until the season opens. If I find a good meadow and hold the elk on a leash, do you think it will be good and fat for the season opener? Will someone run in ahead of me to claim it, and steal my rope too?

[WapitiTalk1]

Have an enjoyable and safe scouting trip Swede. I now know why you're not a big fan of manufactured decoys at your stand sites, I've figured it out. You like to use the real thing . I'm sure that elk will be just fine till you return to hunt (you may want to install a feeder unit as the grass around the tie tree will surely run out, and, run a hose down to the elk from a spring/stream for water). Besides those small concerns, I'm sure it'll be just fine and dandy when you return

[Deanmac]

Sounds like fun, you have a good trip.

[saddlesore]

Don't know if I would call it scouting,but I'm heading for the high country on the 11th too. Packing a fishing pole too. Nothing like fresh caught wild brookies fried up. Coming out the following Friday.

Last time I went in there, these two bulls grazed past my camp..





I was camped on the right side of the stream,the elk came along the left side..

[stringunner]

Good luck John. Will be anxious to hear what you find.

If you see more than one, feel free to tie one up for me too! I'm tired of eating chicken this past year!

[Swede]

Stringunner: All of those elk run in herds. I just need to do is tie up one nice fat cow, and the big bulls will be hanging out around her. You just slip in and take the one you like.
I will let you know what we see when I get back. We will leave out several cameras, so I will try to let you know what is showing up when we return right before the season. If nothing much shows, you will know as we will be back in our old camp.

[T.B.]

Swede and anyone who is able to scout I must admit I more than just a bit JEALOUS !!!
Enjoy

[Swede]

I am back from my first 2016 scouting trip. To be honest, I am less than thrilled at the prospects seen for setting up tree stands. I found one location that looks good, but it will take time to determine if it develops into something worth messing with. There are a lot of elk in the area, and calling should be good.
Trails and water are everywhere. I don't want to place a stand just anywhere elk might wander by. I want a focal point where I can expect them to show up frequently. I want a place where several trails come together or in a well used pass, or at an isolated water hole/wallow. I only found one place that fit that description. I plan to go and scout my old haunts again in early August. I still have not made a decision.

BTW: My cousin's friend was going to a predetermined waypoint to check it out. On the hike he ran into 19 elk including two spikes. He did not want to disturb them, so he turned back and vacated the area. As we discussed the situation he said he liked the place, and wants to place his stand where those elk were. He observed a lot of fresh sign near the elk. What would you say to this friend?
He also said (July 14th) he saw a very fresh elk rub tree, and even has a picture on his cell phone.
What do you think? What advise could you give?

[Lefty]

Saddlesore.
I wish I had some sort of fishing where I hunt.


Swede. I realize you cant always grow a tree where you need one. But some waterhole use can change dramatically

I just got back from Scouting,.. Boy scouting,.. Wapiti scouting time now.

[wawhitey]

Saddlesore.

I just got back from Scouting,.. Boy scouting,...

[saddlesore]

Got back yesterday. Luckily the place I went was not where I would be hunting. In 5 days saw no elk and only two sets of tracks. Two moose did come thru camp one morning. Even the beaver ponds were washed out from the runoff and I caught no fish.

[Swede]

Good point Lefty. The area I scouted has springs and creeks everywhere. I just could not find places where elk use could be predicted. Where I hunt there are significantly fewer elk, but they go to certain springs and water holes. The evidence is clear where they are frequenting. Now; where I scouted, I walked down one long hill and found four different wallowing areas. I would guess I did not find the majority of wallows at that location. They are all around.

[Lefty]

Saddlesore.I just got back from Scouting,.. Boy scouting,...

I need to clarify. I just got back from Boy Scouts camp

Where I will be hunting this year there is plenty of water water come out of certain geologic forms. A pattern Im seeing is that some of the elk are "following" those geologic strata,.. it is also where the most timber growth tends to cross ridges
You just may not be hunting over a water hole. I had a buddy near Springfield Or. He killed his elk out a tree stand most years the first morning he hunted

[stringunner]

In speaking to your friend and where he found all the fresh sign, a rub, and elk on July 14th doesn't mean (for me anyway) that that is a good place to set a stand. A few reasons I think think: 1) there is a reason those elk are there now, but will those same reasons be there in another month and a half, feed, water, cover, no hunting pressure. 2) where do they go IF those conditions change. 3) where are the bulls and where will they be trying to move those cows to come late August? 4) Are those resident elk to that specific area or are do they run a circuit?

In the area we hunt these are the questions we have been trying to figure for the past 8 years. I think there is a lot of potential in what you have described, and admitantly I would be excited but I wouldn't put all my eggs in that one location based on an initial trip in mid July. Worth going back and hunting it for a season or two? Sounds like a good plan, just might be a little too early to be completely certain. I have set stands before in specific areas based on June/July scouting evidence only to be disappointed come late August. But I think it sounds like a great place to dig deeper and see what happens.

Swede, I will email you this week to pick your brain about some other thoughts.

[Swede]

Here is my thought about what the friend was saying: He means well but really doesn't understand the things Stringunner discusses.
Bull elk are not rubbing their antlers in mid July. They have not hardened off yet. He saw a fairly bright rub tree in a bedding area. It was last years rub in the shadows of the other timber. This is something we commonly find. Last year's rubs can look fairly fresh to the untrained eye.
As far as wanting to set a stand somewhere just because you see the elk there now is not a good plan. I tried that my first year tree stand hunting. I saw a herd watering in a small stream. WOW! I placed a stand there, but a day into the season I got to noticing nothing had been there for a month, so I moved. The next day after moving I found a well used trail, with adjacent rubs leading to a muddy water hole. I set my stand there and killed a good bull the first day. The key is to find a location where elk use is frequent. If the sign does not demonstrate regular use, continue to hold out for a better location.
Stringunner: I am not sure to go back where I scouted. There are a few locations there worth trying a tree stand, but I am not convinced they are reliable places to get an elk. Of coarse I am not convinced where we have been hunting is a reliable place to set a stand either.