How many different states have you hunted elk in...

[iccyman001]

How many different states have you elk hunted in?
Did you hunt each one different or the same?


What types of things to you look into before you travel to this new state?
What I mean by that is, let\'s say you\'re a caller, do you go right into a different state and just start calling?
Or do try to get gouge if calling is good at that spot at that time?


I.E. Lets say I am a caller in NM and I am successful.
From the gouge I have received, there are certain Colorado units that it would be silly for me to even bring a call.


I was talking with Travis who will be most likely hunting a state or two in the US this year (NM because he better draw ) and he will be hunting Canada.
So it got me wonder if someone would go into all the different areas with the same game plan, or be flexible!

 

[otcWill]

I\'ve hunted WY and CO. State to state there isn\'t much change, its the terrain that changes things. I\'ve hunted elk in 5 or 6 different terrain/forest types here in CO. In open country I try to find elk before I hunt them. In thick timbered areas I check the spots I\'ve internet scouted first looking for sign until I find elk. In dry areas I stick to the few water sources. In heavily pressured areas I like to find migration routes to \"safe zones\". These could be hard to access areas or just spots that take some \"outside the box\" thinking to discover. In terms of out of state scouting, I talk to biologists and ask them about specific spots. I look for a success rate that is decent but not enough to garner much attention from others. I like to hunt \"small\" areas because they attract far less hunters than large NF or wilderness areas. When I say small, I mean areas of about 1-5 sq miles. These look tiny on a map compared to the larger tracts of land but one can do a whole lot of hunting on 2 square miles. In terms of tactics, nothing changes. I ALWAYS try to kill elk without calling if possible. Calling is a backup for me and I only use it under the right circumstances. This is a game time decision. If I feel a bull is primed to come in and I don\'t think I can get there without calling, then I\'ll call.