How many people in my hunting area - What is your criteria?

[americanbwana]

How do you judge if an area has to many people?

My primary criteria is how many camps are there at the trail head. I say this because that is where I used to start from everyday. Each one of those camps represented at least one other person trying to get to \'my area\' before me.

I suspect my definition will change now that I\'m packing in a ways.

Anyway, how do you define to many people?

 

[elky McElkerson]

where we are all camp bothers me less.

seeing hunter way out there with me? i\'m bothered. i like just getting away..bums me out, when \"away\" isnt far enough.

 

[OldMan]

I learned a long time ago. If you don\'t want to see other hunters. Hunt where most hunters don\'t want to go. Coincidentally, that\'s also where the elk will be when pressured by hunters in the easier areas.

 

[Colorado_Lew]

I prefer not to see any other hunters, which is pretty rare these days.
If I continue to bump into others while in the field I start hitting the nasty stuff to get away from them.
Most that I\'ve seen in the field are not far from a road. Once I get back a mile or more I rarely see anyone.

 

[cnelk]

You wouldnt believe me if I told you how close to roads/camps/people some of my good spots are... so I wont

But I also have places where I can \'get away\' too.

No matter if there are people o not, you still gotta go where the elk are.

 

[Swede]

Never mind the trailhead: I start to think it may be a little crowded, if Friday afternoon before the season opens, I have to wait for the traffic light in John Day to turn, so I can cross the road going into camp.

 

[OldMan]

To follow up on what Brad said. I have one area that\'s not more than 400yds from a heavily traveled asphalt road. It has a small herd of elk year around. It\'s a fairly wide bench with a creek running through it. During hunting season I watch truck after truck full of blaze orange driving by it oblivious of what they just drove by. I have never seen a hunter there, or a truck parked in the area.

As is always said..........Elk are where you find them.

 

[cohunter14]

A lot of this has been said, but I could care less how many camps I see or how many ATV\'s or trucks are cruising down the roads. What I care about is seeing orange when the sun comes up and I am in the woods. I have very, very rarely ever had an issue with this. And I have to say, I am not one of those who gets 5+ miles off a road. 99% of hunters that I come across are no more than 1/4 to 1/2 mile off of a road or trail. Most hunters are just lazy or afraid of getting lost. I love how Colorado has a reputation for being way over crowded. Everytime I hear that, I just laugh. It is not too difficult to get away from hunters IMO, no matter how many camps I see.

Dana, one thing I will say in regards to your situation is that this might change if I was camping and hunting from a trailhead. In that situation, every person enters and exits the woods from the same spot. It is the main reason that I choose not to hunt in those locations. Wilderness areas sound great, and could potentially be, but not if every person is entering them from a handful of locations. If I were to ever hunt a wilderness area, I would park on the side of the road nowhere close to a trailhead and hike in from there. Just my two cents...

 

[otcWill]

If I see one other hunter while I\'m hunting its too many. Call me lucky. I\'ve only ever encountered two other hunters in one of \"my\" honey holes while bowhunting in CO, public otc. They were both in the same spot and were both local oldtimers who most wouldn\'t have believed could have gotten where they were let alone pack an elk out. Both were solo, like me, usually. I sure hope I am still hunting that spot when I\'m their age!

 

[elky McElkerson]

Only time it hurt me. I was at 80 yards to a couse deer. Easy 50 yard stalk to get me to 30. Guy pokes up over a hill and skylines himself. Deer went from laying down dozing to 70 mph in one second. I was crushed.


Sent via Jedi mind trick.