How to hunt a known area

[MidMoElkNut]

This will be my 6th year in a row elk hunting solo diy otc in Colorado with no success in previous years. I've had good opportunities but I have passed on cows and come really close to getting shots at bulls but still no luck!

Last year I moved into a new area and seen several different bulls with cows(this was late bow season hunt).

I sat over a big field that ran along side of the mountain that's heavily wooded the first evening and seen a bull with several cows come out a long ways off so the next evening I wanted to get closer so if they did the same thing I may have an opportunity for a shot. I went in hoping to get within bow range but I couldn't find a spot where the thermals or wind was consistent so I moved out to a little over a hundred yards. They came out but never close enough for a shot and it would get dark and I would back out. I did this for a couple more days and it was either this situation or they would come down off the mountain and right before coming out into the field I was setup on they would skirt the edge (not seeing them but he bugled the whole way so I could tell about where he was and was going) and keep going down the draw where there are other narrow longer fields that follow the bottom of the mountain. One time I followed them as they skirted the edge but never could get close enough for a shot so I started to bugle and he would keep bugling but he would keep going with his cows. I caught up to them and knew I was close and soon after they seen me and started heading back up the mountain. The bull was still bugling as they went and I gave up because it was getting closer to dark and I didn't want to blow them out completely.( I think this is the way they would normally go anyway but I think I may have pushed them to go up a little earlier) they did this the night before but I didn't follow them as I was afraid I would ruin my hunting!

Any advice or tips on how to hunt this area would be greatly appreciated! Let me know if any more info would help you understand the scenario and possibly lead me in the right direction or tell me what I may be doing wrong!

Thanks Dave

[Beendare]

I know guys that kill bulls in the same saddle every year. Personally, I like to see new country and figure it out.

I would recommend covering a lot of ground and let the sign dictate your strategy. Remember elk don't usually just hang in the same small area....sure they will frequent spots they like but they seem to rotate through large areas. Example; If you find a hot wallow...its probably worth hunting it....vs trekking all over heck. It has to be red hot though. I try to interpret the terrain and how the elk are using it when hunting. Hunting pressure is always going to be the #1 factor.

[cohunter]

If you were able to hang out in the woods in a more dependable area as far as thermals were concerned, you might be able to ambush them on the way in. The other option I'd try is if you put them to bed in that meadow at night, there is a moderately high probability that they'll still be there at dawn. Set up in the pre-dawn hours along one of those paths they were heading back up the mountain on and you might have a chance. I'm familiar with the type of meadow you're describing and it's hard to guess where they might filter into it from. Your experience also illustrates that you're unlikely to get one to come within range sitting in the middle of one of these open areas. An open park is also not ideal for calling an elk in. They expect to see an elk where they heard the call. If you were out in the open when you called to the bull, the gig was probably up. A calling strategy would be to call from a few yards inside the tree line on the opposite side of the meadow if the winds were more dependable there. Make it difficult for the elk to see you.

[dhoey]

Maybe try a decoy? Poison Arrow staked 50 yards into the meadow with you sitting just inside of the meadow downwind?

[CurlyTail]

I would try to figure out where the bedding area is , and check for game trails leading from the bedding area to your meadow. You could then set up an ambush along the trail.

If you do not locate trails, I would try getting into the woods, and doing a locator bugle periodically ( maybe every 20 min.) starting about 6pm - hoping for the Bull to give up his location as they travel down to the feeding area. You could also attract a curious Satellite with that technique. If you do not get a Bugle response, you could try some lost cow calls trying to get a Bull to reply to that sound.

Another option is to get into a good setup spot, and do lost calf sounds - hoping to call in the cows with the Bull in tow.

Lastly, I would not hesitate to shoot one of those cows, if legal, as they are amazingly tasty. You would not regret that decision. Any Elk with a bow is a trophy in my book.

I would give up on the big meadow - you have minimal chances there. I have no faith in a decoy in the meadow.

[MidMoElkNut]

Thanks guys for the responses all are very helpful as I'm a newbie!

A couple of you talked about finding trails coming to the meadow and setting up close to that.
I planned on doing that but when I went to the area where they came down the mountain it was blowing my sent right up where they would be coming from so I backed out on that idea.
They did come down the mountain almost in the exact same spot at least 4 different evenings. Twice they came out in the meadow and was to far and the other two times they skirted the edge I'd guess 20 yards in the woods and went down to the other smaller meadows like I described before.
Where they come down off the mountain is by a very small ditch or drainage so the thermals would push up that area and blow my scent right to them.

I thought about trying to get above them early in the morning and catch them going to their beds like you all mentioned before but when you only have a week to hunt i try not to push to hard and risk blowing them out of the area as it's hard enough for me to find elk to start with. This year it will be one of my game plans if there are elk in the same area!

I've told myself that if I got a chance at a cow this year that I would take it. Well that went out the window when it was the first morning of the hunt and there is a bull 20 or 30 yards behind her telling me to wait for him but he never came any closer haha but that's how it goes and that's why I love it!

[CurlyTail]

If the thermals are wrong, you can't go in. But you can be in position nearby, waiting for the thermals to switch, then make you move. Sitting patiently, waiting for thermals to become consistent is an Elk hunting skill - and none of us are very good at it.

Do not hesitate to hunt this herd in or near their bedding area. Just because you hunt them, doesn't mean you have to blow them out of the country. You can sneak close, and call. If you get no response, just back out and try again at a later time. I love to hunt bedding areas since the Elk are not moving, thermals are reliably moving up the mountain, and the Bulls are restless after a couple of hours. I try not to hunt the bedding areas the moment they bed down. I like to give them a couple hours to settle down, relax, take a nap - then sneak in around 1-2pm.

My first year Elk hunting we had many close encounters but could not get a good shot. The second year we decided to shoot a cow if the opportunity presented. Sure enough, we shot a cow opening morning. And wouldn't you know it, before the cow stopped rolling - up comes an entire herd with a beautiful 6x6 herd Bull, and we had a perfect shot opportunity at less than 20 yards on that Bull. It was 4 years later, that my brother finally got his first Bull Elk with his bow. Does he regret shooting that cow? - NO (OK maybe a little bit). It is still the best tasting Elk we have ever taken. These are the highs and lows of Archery Elk Hunting.

[Swede]

Curlytail is right on the money. If the thermals are bad, stay out. The one possible exception is to get in early and climb up into a tree stand if a good tree is available. Probably calling the elk off the field is an effort in futility. You can't effectively threaten the bull from far off, and he will try to call you to him.

[MidMoElkNut]

Thanks guys I appreciate all of the info!
You all mention using a treestand, where would you put one and when would you hunt it?

I know where they come out in the field in the evening but where they bed and exactly are throughout the day I don't know much about.
If a person would hunt them in the morning should I try to follow them up as they go or try to get to the top before they get there?
My recent tactics this year in the morning was to get in an area and hear one bugle and I would follow them and try to get within bow range, I would call when I though it was necessary but I'm not the greatest at calling so I try not to get carried away with it!
In the evenings I tried to sit as close as I could where I knew they was coming down off the mountain but that just wasn't close enough because of bad thermals/wind so I would back off but stay as close as I could with a good wind!

Also since this is the only Year hunting this area how likely is it that they will do the same or close to the same thing the next year?
Do they normally follow the same routine or stay close to the same areas Year to year or does it vary?

I know a cow would be a trophy but being able to show off horns when I got back to Missouri would be awesome!
If it wasn't the first morning I probably would have shot and I thought hard about it but that bull 30 yards behind her just got my blood flowing : )

[cohunter]

In my opinion, elk are fairly transient. Just because they were there last year, doesn't mean they will be in the exact same place next year. The same general area most likely, but not necessarily in the same park or series of meadows. In my experience they haven't proven to be 'patternable' in anything but the most general sense of the word. I cannot reasonably expect a bull who showed up at a wallow around 4:00 the day before to show up in the same time and place. BUT it's obviously a good spot and the likelihood of seeing elk in the exact same places is much higher than when striking out into the unknown. If I were you, I'd start this year's hunt in the same meadow and go from there - it's your best shot! If there aren't elk, don't get discouraged. They're probably not far off. Instead, treat it as an opportunity to get to know more of your area. Elk DO follow general patterns and as you learn your area, you'll discover what those are. Don't try to pattern an individual in the whitetail sense. Instead look for herd patterns: the way elk respond to pressure, the areas they tend to collect after a big wind or rainstorm. They tend to move along certain corridors from feed to bed, just like any other animal, but you're not going to find them in the same feeding or bedding areas night after night. They'll hit an area hard for a couple days, then move on, returning in a few days.

You ask about trying to follow the herd or get ahead of them. You'll only be able to get ahead of them if you can somehow use the terrain to your advantage but if you can get ahead of them or cut them off with the wind in your favor, go for it! My last two bulls were just that scenario. It can be really hard to keep up with a herd once they actually start moving from feed to bed - not impossible, but really hard.

[MidMoElkNut]

Thanks cohunter!
That was the plan to hit that meadow first and see what happens!
I know there were at least 3 different bulls if not more in a close area there so I would think there would be some in there next year.

I was hoping to get to the top of the mountain before they come up from feeding if I were to use that approach but I've never really done this so that will be a whole new learning process. I've had most of my luck in the mornings by following the herd and trying to get within their comfort zone and then trying to call one to me or just try to get lucky and one walk by. I did this last year and got within a hundred yards of 3 different bulls and one in 2015 and got a shot on him but I wasn't able to recover the bull, but that's just not good enough and I'm not proud of not recovering him but I guess that's part of it.