Thinking about making a trip out to Idaho before archery season to at least get the lay of the land and get a feel for what I'm working with out there. Question is, when? I plan on hunting the beginning of September. I'm thinking either June, or August. My July days off will he used up on fishing tournaments. I'm leaning towards June, unless there's a reason to go with August.
Best month to scout?
- Thread starter arik1
- Start date
cohunter14
Administrator
- Jul 10, 2017
- 5,278
Between those choices I would definitely go with August. The closer you are to the time you hunt, the better the information will be on where the elk are. Finding elk in June won't really do you any good.
As others have said, August for sure.
Though if you can't make it in August June isn't bad either, it will at the very least give you an idea of the land. I don't know how many times I've used Google Earth to scout an area only to get there and it look completely different than I had anticipated.
Though if you can't make it in August June isn't bad either, it will at the very least give you an idea of the land. I don't know how many times I've used Google Earth to scout an area only to get there and it look completely different than I had anticipated.
Elkslayer83
New member
- Dec 10, 2018
- 5
August
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Jmillgreen
New member
- Apr 20, 2018
- 25
I like to scout every month, but definitely August if you can only go once.
parrotheadkjc
New member
- Feb 1, 2019
- 12
I would also say August. Besides what the others have mentioned, you can get an idea of the forage conditions/rainfall and how the habitat is doing through the summer
hotelhardwood
New member
- Feb 1, 2019
- 11
As it?s been established, you?ll get a better idea of the elk and their patterns during September if you planned your scout nearest to your hunt. An additional thing to consider is access to the area you want to hunt, and the possibility the access may be compromised during fire season. This situation would be less likely in June which would allow you to achieve your minimum scouting goals- lay of the land.
Jmcbowhunter82
New member
- Feb 1, 2019
- 10
August defenitly. Closer to opening day the better in my opinion
Of those two months I would pick June. I prefer to check new areas as soon as I can get into them with the snow conditions. When I scout for elk I am looking for wallows and rubs that would tell me if they were there during archery season. You can also see if the food they like is growing in the area any time of the year. If I am looking for rubs then I am hoping to find several rubs from several different years. That would tell me that they are often there during September. I usually combine my elk scouting into a shed antler/mushroom hunt and try to cover as much ground as possible.
