Mapping Stratagies

[Cbb]

I live in PA, scouting during summer isn't an option. What are you guys keying in on? Are you focusing on terrain features like benches, points, saddles? Or looking more at travel routes and water holes?

[WapitiTalk1]

What general area are you gonna hunt? What are your tentative hunt dates/weapon?

[Elkhunttoo]

I try to look for "forgotten areas" places that people might just pass by because of a creek or a road. Places I have a chance of being with no other hunters.... doesn't always work

[Swede]

I tree stand hunt elk. I look at springs/pond, saddles, benches and bedding areas in drier fringe areas. How and when we hunt makes a big difference in what we look for. I need good trees for stands, so open areas or brush won't do. For much of what I want I look over Google Earth. There I can see trails, the nature of bedding areas or what a saddle or bench looks like.
After I find what I think may be a good stand location, I look for the best access to it so I will have the least disturbance on the elk or other game in the area.

[Cbb]

What general area are you gonna hunt? What are your tentative hunt dates/weapon?

Region 3 MT, Sept 14 - 28th

[Brendan]

Google Earth with topo map overlays that I can turn on/off. Generally mapping out roads and parking areas / trailheads first. Then adding trails. Then - I start looking for likely areas based on how thick the terrain looks, how easy it is to access based on roads/trails/parking, access to food, etc. The primary area I hunted in MT started only about 3/4 mile from a road, but it was a hard mile that kept people out.

If the area you hunt is anything like where I was - limited glassing, thick timber with open parks. I leave the spotter and tripod in the truck and carry 8x30 binoculars on my chest.

[RAMMONT]

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This is one of the areas that I really like and know of at least 3 elk taken out of here in 2 years (got mine here last year). The key features are east/west ridges with north/south fingers, running water in the draws, grass surrounded by trees (normally on a bench or at least places where the ground slopes less), and easy paths/saddles that lead to heavy cover (usually on the northern facing slopes). There are two small herds that work these slopes and although there is a forest service road close by, most people drive right past it because they haven't scouted it to find the elk, deer, moose, and fox that are all over the place. The slopes leading up to the grass average around 30% or more and that's why most people wont walk in to it, the only access is by horse/mule or walking because the forest service prohibits ATV traffic. And by the way, any time the Forest Service prohibits motorized traffic it's a good sign that elk are in the area, they don't want you disturbing their feeding and bedding areas with vehicular traffic. The big grass on the top is very popular with the elk and the mountain top has so many escape routes to rough timber that they can pretty much run in any direction and find a safe hiding place when a hunter pops up. The travel pattern I've seen in this area is elk moving up from the creeks along the south facing slopes first thing in the morning. By 10 AM or so they are in the trees on the south or east facing slopes next to one of the grassy parks. They come to water sometime in the afternoon after bedding. While bedding they lay in the trees chewing their cud for an hour or two and then move to the small grass parks to eat some more. Somewhere along the way they move toward their favorite night time browsing spot and then stay in the trees until the sun sets. Some will venture out to the grass just before the sun sets.

[CurlyTail]

Some guys go deep to find unpressured Elk. I prefer to hunt from a roadside base camp, where I can use my truck to move miles if needed to find the Elk. There are lots of Elk within 4 miles of the road. You just have to find a spot that has elk without other hunters. If a valley has one or more vehicles parked there, I will often pass and move to a different spot.

One of my favorite strategies is to find a road that parallels a medium sized stream. A stream that is just big enough that most guys don't want to cross it in the morning and in the dark, but easily crossed by a determined hunter. This stream crossing is normally followed by some ungodly steep climb to less severe terrain. This is preferably not an established trail and trail head, maybe not even a good pull off spot on the road. Sometimes I even park on the other side of the road and down a bit so other hunters think I am on that side of the road. Paved roads can even be better than a gravel road as nobody thinks that elk would ever be close to a paved road. I shot my best elk less than 1/2 mile from a 2 lane paved highway.

A short steep incline with no established trail is all you need to get away from 95% of the other hunters, and getting away from other hunters is essential if you hope to call in Elk. Two or three groups all calling to the same elk never works and is no fun at all.

Check out old burns. The edges of burned areas are hot spots for Elk. There are web sites that show the perimeters of old burn areas (GeoMac).

Look for stands of Aspen, which normally indicate wetter spots and lush grass which elk favor.

Finding a low spot (saddle) on ridges between two good valleys is often a good area to ambush elk moving from one valley to the other. If you can locate an established well used game trail that is even better.

Get a National Forest service map, and identify valleys that do not have established horse or game trails, these will often hold elk. Be aware that Google Earth is not good at identifying roads that are open vs. closed roads. You need at National Forest service Motor Vehicle Use Map to get that information. Also check out maps that indicate roads and trails that are open to ATV use.

Finding a small pond or potential wallow on Google Earth is great fun, and a good spot to check for fresh sign. Only hunt them if you see sign of recent heavy use.

Use Google Earth to identify Vantage Points that are easy to reach and can see a large area. Learn to use the Street View on top of a Vantage Point to really get a feel for what can be observed from that area. Learn to use the distance tool to measure the exact distance of various routes and locations. Click on all the pictures to get a better feel for what the area looks like. If an area has many, many pictures available to view - it is not a secret area.

[Game Planner Maps]

I live in PA, scouting during summer isn't an option. What are you guys keying in on? Are you focusing on terrain features like benches, points, saddles? Or looking more at travel routes and water holes?

Some really great advice. All I can suggest is to checkout the Free Game Planner Map Viewer. It makes it easy to find the terrain features and overlooked areas. Just register for free here and check your inbox for our confirmation email.

We also make Custom Hunting Maps, and can make any map you want. Each Custom Map comes with a free phone consultation to make sure you get the map you need.

Good luck and please email me: ed@gameplannermaps.com if you have any questions.

-Ed