The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Hide > The Hunt

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old December 4, 2010, 08:22 PM   #1
BrianBM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 25, 2006
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 273
Elk hunting from a stand?

Is there such a thing? Most of what I read/see that pertains to elk indicates that you need to be able to do a useful amount of stalking and walking, often on rough ground. I've never read or seen anything that suggests elk are ever hunted from a stand; am I missing something? Perhaps for does only?
BrianBM is offline  
Old December 4, 2010, 08:38 PM   #2
seansean1444
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 28, 2010
Location: ithaca, new york (home of the ithaca shotguns!)
Posts: 395
never elk hunted but i mean it seems like it would work to me? why not? may be sitting there a while but thats hunting.
seansean1444 is offline  
Old December 4, 2010, 09:09 PM   #3
Gbro
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 20, 2005
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 2,084
Where I hunt Elk the mountain slopes are in some cases 800 ft high. walk 50 ft and you are up 40 higher in elevation. There are many natural high points so an elevated stand is mostly unnecessary. I have seen a portable overlooking a wallow that I am sure belongs to an archer.
O and female elk are cow's.
__________________
Gbro
CGVS
For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, But to us who are being saved, It Is The Power Of God. 1Corinthians 1-18
Gbro is offline  
Old December 4, 2010, 09:10 PM   #4
BrianBM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 25, 2006
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 273
As to the proper reference for a lady elk, I stand corrected.
BrianBM is offline  
Old December 4, 2010, 09:30 PM   #5
taylorce1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 18, 2005
Location: On the Santa Fe Trail
Posts: 8,207
I really wouldn't bother with a tree stand during rifle season. There are so many people out pushing elk your best bet is spot and stalk. Elk are rarely in the same place twice, they cover a much larger area than deer do.
taylorce1 is offline  
Old December 4, 2010, 10:45 PM   #6
Double Naught Spy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 8, 2001
Location: Forestburg, Montague Cnty, TX
Posts: 12,714
Quote:
Elk are rarely in the same place twice, they cover a much larger area than deer do.
A given elk may not be in the exact same place from day to day, but being set up in an area frequented by elk certainly may produce a huntable encounter. If you can ascertain a group's daily circuit, the it may be possible for you to set up at their areas of feeding, drinking, travel corridors, or near their bedding areas. Bulls certainly may return to the same wallow several times.
http://www.trophyelk.com/elkinfo/elkinfo.htm
http://www.muleymadness.com/stories/cory.php

Around 1990, I worked out by Apache Creek, NM. Every morning, we would see a herd of elk out in the plain SW of us. That isn't to say that they were in the exact same place in the field each time, but that they were in the same general area every morning

The following suggests tree stands are not idea not because elk don't occupy the same place twice, but since tree cover may obliterate too much view.
http://books.google.com/books?id=RXT...attern&f=false
__________________
"If you look through your scope and see your shoe, aim higher." -- said to me by my 11 year old daughter before going out for hogs 8/13/2011
My Hunting Videos https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange
Double Naught Spy is offline  
Old December 4, 2010, 10:57 PM   #7
taylorce1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 18, 2005
Location: On the Santa Fe Trail
Posts: 8,207
I was speaking from my experience. Elk can surely be patterned but when opening day of first rifle season opens all bets are off. You haven't seen hunting pressure until you have tried hunting rifle seasons in the NW part of Colorado. Remember we are the only State that I know of that has herds large enough to offer OTC tags. Hunting pressure here can be enormous and you have to experience it to understand what I'm talking about.

I have buddies who have been successful with climbing tree stands during archery season. I see it as a waste of time during rifle season. If you want to find elk in high pressure areas you have to be willing to sneak into the deepest, darkest, coldest, nastiest timber and oak brush to find elk. Elk are where you find them and are rarely where you want them to be during rifle seasons.

Last edited by taylorce1; December 5, 2010 at 09:17 AM.
taylorce1 is offline  
Old December 5, 2010, 02:36 AM   #8
Tomas
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 9, 1999
Location: Blue State
Posts: 441
taylor nailed it. Even in areas without lots of pressure, once the first hunters hit the woods, and the first rifle shot cracks, all patterning of elk goes down the crapper. Plus, in Idaho now, the wolves are running the herds wild (and ragged).

You don't have to be in shape to hunt elk, but, where we hunt, it increases your odds.
Tomas is offline  
Old December 5, 2010, 06:51 AM   #9
Kreyzhorse
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 12, 2006
Location: NKY
Posts: 12,463
Kentucky has a pretty large elk herd and from what I've read, it's pretty much a spot and stalk on them in hilly, rough country.
__________________
"He who laughs last, laughs dead." Homer Simpson
Kreyzhorse is offline  
Old December 5, 2010, 08:06 AM   #10
YARDDOG(1)
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 24, 2008
Location: GATOR COUNTRY HA HA HA!
Posts: 721
Floridas Elk heard has gone down, I Don't recall EVER seing a Elk in FL
Y/D
__________________
There's a GATOR in the bushes & She's Callin my name
>Molly Hatchett<
YARDDOG(1) is offline  
Old December 5, 2010, 09:12 AM   #11
hooligan1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 18, 2010
Location: Independence Missouri
Posts: 4,582
All you dang elk hunters are crazywalkin around a big mountain looking for Mr. elk , when all you got to do is nail up a stand and sip coffe til he show,s up!!! Hey just kiddin,,,on a serious note though I watched Tiffany Lakosky kill a huge bull out of a stand!!!!
__________________
Keep your Axe sharp and your powder dry.
hooligan1 is offline  
Old December 5, 2010, 10:50 AM   #12
BrianBM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 25, 2006
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 273
Thank you all. Taylorforce, would it once you've found the thickest, nastiest, densest timber/scrub you can find, would it be a viable hunting strategy to simply head into the densest part of the mess, sit, and wait for other hunters to chase something within (short) gun range of you? If so, it might be possible to substitute patience for a high degree of physical fitness. (And a suitable lever gun or carbine for the scoped bolts that I see on the idiot box.)
BrianBM is offline  
Old December 5, 2010, 12:22 PM   #13
ZeroJunk
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 14, 2006
Location: Browns Summit NC
Posts: 2,589
I put a stand up on a big mineral lick in Montana to bow hunt out of in the afternoons after the bugling had stopped. If you would sit there a few days sooner or later elk would come in, cool down, wallow around, etc. Somebody in our group killed three elk there and made a bad shot on a couple more over the years.
ZeroJunk is offline  
Old December 5, 2010, 01:57 PM   #14
Tomas
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 9, 1999
Location: Blue State
Posts: 441
Brian:

You could probably do it that way. I know sometimes I'll sit and wait in an area for a while, mainly when I need a rest, we call the 'gnarly hole'. They are in there all the time, but we've only killed one down in it - mainly because they are there a lot at night. It's loud down there if you are not very careful, and they have lots of escape routes.

It just seems to me, at least in the area we hunt, that covering ground always yields better results. It goes back to some of the previous comments: elk cover tons of ground, so you need to.

I hunt with a group, and we kind of hunt like wolves...we'll take an educated guess where they might be, and will send a couple guys to sneak in. Those guys rarely get a shot because the satellites always bust them. But we send the rest spread into an area where the elk will hopefully exit - they usually do the killing. As tags get filled we start losing hunters, but it still more or less works.
Tomas is offline  
Old December 5, 2010, 02:54 PM   #15
taylorce1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 18, 2005
Location: On the Santa Fe Trail
Posts: 8,207
I see you are posting from NY, so if you are considering an elk hunt out West my best advice to you is hire a guide your first time out. Check their refrences and call on the previous hunters guided. I know it is expensive but this isn't a hunt you can probably do every year being a resident of NY so it would probably be worth it in the long run to invest where you will get the highest opportunity for a shot on an elk. Just don't have the same expectations of a guided hunt on public land vs. private.

The only real thing that has ever worked for me well is is to find elk and then figure out how to approach within shooting distance. Best thing you could ever hope for during rifle season is fresh snow. Your plan to find the nastiest hole and wait for them to come in migh work or it might not. Like I said elk are where you find them and where you least expect them to be.
taylorce1 is offline  
Old December 5, 2010, 06:34 PM   #16
BrianBM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 25, 2006
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 273
Thank you all.
BrianBM is offline  
Old December 5, 2010, 07:12 PM   #17
elkman06
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 14, 2006
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 885
Quote:
all patterning of elk goes down the crapper.
Really? I'll have to quit going to the same place. The last two elk I killed in the same place,,the same way,,15days into the season must have not seen this post.
I killed 4 elk in a different spot,,several days into the season., My folks took at least 5 elk in this spot as well.

I actually believe that if you look carefully at the terrain, you find natural funnelling factors than can be used to justify a stand for elk. Especially for bow season.
elkman06
__________________
"The right of the citizens to bear arms in the defense of themselves and of the state shall not be denied." Wyoming Constitution Article 1, Sec24

"Better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6"
elkman06 is offline  
Old December 5, 2010, 07:25 PM   #18
Double Naught Spy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 8, 2001
Location: Forestburg, Montague Cnty, TX
Posts: 12,714
Quote:
Elk are rarely in the same place twice,
Quote:
Really? I'll have to quit going to the same place. The last two elk I killed in the same place,,the same way,,15days into the season must have not seen this post.

I killed 4 elk in a different spot,,several days into the season., My folks took at least 5 elk in this spot as well.
See, but the elk you killed there never came back did they?
__________________
"If you look through your scope and see your shoe, aim higher." -- said to me by my 11 year old daughter before going out for hogs 8/13/2011
My Hunting Videos https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange
Double Naught Spy is offline  
Old December 5, 2010, 08:26 PM   #19
elkman06
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 14, 2006
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 885
Wow, DNS,,you state the obvious.
The poster said(in so many words), that elk are not predictable, and would not travel a reliable path over and over again. Particulary after hearing gunshots.
I have seen elk step around their fallen(shot) comrades and follow the same path by the hundred.

So, DNS, how many elk have your tracked, patterned, or hunted..Just to clarify your expertise for us?
Do you have a basis for your feelings or are you just jabbing at me like a little kid?

I have been hunting, patterning, tracking elk, summer, winter and fall for 35 years.
Lead cows, have instinctual, and hereditary knowledge that tell them to lead their herd over familiar terrain for their entire life cycle.

Sorry, hunting elk from a stand would be a very viable method.
elkman06
__________________
"The right of the citizens to bear arms in the defense of themselves and of the state shall not be denied." Wyoming Constitution Article 1, Sec24

"Better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6"
elkman06 is offline  
Old December 10, 2010, 02:52 PM   #20
FrankenMauser
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 25, 2008
Location: In the valley above the plain
Posts: 13,400
Like most plains game*, Elk are very predictable - but lazy.

As long as they can take the "easy route" between any two points on their daily / weekly / monthly circuit, they will. As soon as they feel pressure, though, it's into the deep, dark, nasty areas. The lead animal will still generally lead the herd to the same spot, but they take some serious detours to do so.

Hunting from a stand is possible, but you would absolutely need to know the area very well. And since most states that have Elk hunts don't allow party hunting or game drives, it's all up to mother nature to steer the Elk down the trail you chose. -Choose wisely.


*Most people forget that Elk belong on the plains. Humans have taken their land, and pushed them further into the mountains than they typically venture naturally. ...Which, is also one of the reasons wolves are such an issue. It's not that wolves are such a bad thing to have around. It's that we humans are trying to bring back the number of animals that were on this continent before it was conquered, but we're trying to force all of those animals to live in the same, small areas.
__________________
Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.
FrankenMauser is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:54 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.09189 seconds with 10 queries