Elk Camp is setup!

[Golden]

Meeker area has a lot of elk.......you should do good.

[fireboat]

Originally Posted by Stu

Nice camp, I like the flag. Where do you hunt?

I'll be north of you in unit #8, 8400', rancher has been seeing 75+ head several times a week. Good luck, take lots of pictures.

[Morton]

Fireboat, Glad to hear your tag came through .....
I will be waiting to hear the stories and see the pics.

I'll stay on the fish here so you won't have to work so hard when you come back.

Best of luck to you also Golden ... awesome camp.

Morton

[Golden]

What season are you hunting fireboat?

[fireboat]

Originally Posted by Golden

What season are you hunting fireboat?

3rd rifle. We didn't get in the draw so we had to get leftover tags, at that point our only option was 2nd or 3rd season. Two of our group coach their kids football team so 3rd season worked better for them. There is something about Elk hunting in the mountains that pulls me back year after year. We had a really great private ranch near Leadville Co. but the ranch changed hands this yr. This yr. we'll be hunting private land near Diamond peak.

[Stu]

Couple of questions. Will the bulls still answer to calls during the 3rd season? Also, what is the best strategy for locating elk this late. I am planning on hunting the high areas in the morning and setting up an ambush in the evening when they come out of the timber. What do you think?

[Golden]

3rd season is usually a little late for calling elk....but it depends on the year and the location. Usually though.....that's too late.

As for location.....wow.....tough question.

Depends on what area you are hunting and whether you are hunting a "resident" herd or a migrating herd....and snow depth.

I do it the hard way I think.

But, since it's archery season I do have a better chance for hearing bugling elk and that really helps in location.

I go into the woods and wander around looking for sign, listening for bugles or cow chirps......basically putting miles on my feet trying to locate them.

No sign......I move until I see sign or hear elk (was that bugle a person or an elk?). Usually I want to see fresh sign before I concentrate in an area.

Of course.....the freshest tracks are when an elk is standing in them ;-)

I like to hunt the dark timber all the time. Especially in later seasons.....but my experience is that elk are always in the timber.

I've never killed an elk in a meadow.........always in the woods.

But, I hunt public land where the elk are under pressure and pushed into the woods.

On private land..........no pressure.........totally different hunt.

[fireboat]

By the 3rd season the rut is well over. You will probably hear some bulls before shooting time but not much during the day. I have called in cows, with a cow call only, and they sometimes will drag a bull in with them. The last 4 yrs, all successful, we hunted from ground blinds watching major travel routes. The ground blind keeps our scent contained and we stay warm and dry. Go to Google Earth and study the area you will be hunting. If you walk too much and kick them from their daytime bed they will leave the area and the hunters on the next ranch will thank you for that.

[Golden]

Like I said, I hunt public land on pressured elk.
Totally different hunt.

Sitting in a ground blind all day isn't an option that I like.

I have a tree stand and I will sit in it early and late sometimes but I've had better luck on my feet.

I've shot a dozen elk in the past 20 years....only one from a tree stand.

Only 3 with a rifle.

All on public land.

Here's my two best so far:

[fireboat]

Originally Posted by Golden

Like I said, I hunt public land on pressured elk.
Totally different hunt.

Sitting in a ground blind all day isn't an option that I like.

I have a tree stand and I will sit in it early and late sometimes but I've had better luck on my feet.

I've shot a dozen elk in the past 20 years....only one from a tree stand.

Only 3 with a rifle.

All on public land.

Here's my two best so far:

Nice Elk! The private land we hunted for the past 4 yrs was only 2 sq. miles. If we walked the ranch we would get dizzy going in circles. We had no choice but to let them come to us and they did every day . The ranch was their food and water source. We let the neighbors do the walking for us, I should send them a thank you card some day. In 4 yrs I had to sit all day only a few times. LONG day too. We tried to pattern them but their not like deer at all. Seems like they were on a 3 day revolving clock. They would feed in a certain meadow every other day. I'll keep going back until I'm too old. You have an advantage, your 1 1/2 hrs away, I'm 12 hrs away. Good luck!