Hunting a familiar spot

[cnelk]

We all have them.
The favorite spot to hunt elk.

What keeps bringing you back to this spot?
Success in the past?
Good wind?
Secluded?
Other?

What would it take for you NOT to hunt a familiar spot?
Hunting pressure?
New area?

 

[Baby Huey]

Our honey hole took a few years to find and then to figure out. It is both secluded (2-3 mile hike) and has yeilded great success on animals. It would take a significant change for us not to hunt this area. Right now it is not easy to get to as it was in previous years since the forest service closed some old 4WD roads :upthumb: There was a pretty good amount of hunters in the past that made it a little difficult sometimes, but since teh roads have been closed we don\'t see even close to the amount of people in the past.

We have a couple other areas that are in a different unit and farther away that we have a good feel for as well; but this one that is closer is our go-to area. This farther unit is really good too, as we rarely see hunters in the spot we found.

 

[Swede]

It is hard to leave an area that has produced so well in the past, but in the last few years it has really gone down as a place to get elk. For that reason I am looking to a new area. The problem is that any new place is going to take years, and a lot of work to figure out. Hopefully along the way I can get elk.

 

[bnsafe]

i didnt hunt my main spot last year to much cause i was saving it for my buddies, then they didnt end up hunting it but a couple times. i found a spot i like as well that is alot easier to get to so if i was still there i have an idea or two i would try.

 

[OldMan]

I have multiple favorite spots. Some last a long long time, but not forever. So, my list is always changing. Some dropped, some added. I might visit 2-3 spots in one hunting day.

Seeing another hunter on one of the spots will get it dropped from the list. Not seeing elk for a few years will also get it dropped.

 

[bowhunter]

I have moved around a lot. I have hunted elk 7 different years over the last 15. I hunted 6 different units. I have been to some areas with no other hunters that both had elk and that didn\'t. I have been to some areas that had loads of hunters, hikers,horseback riders and bike riders that I saw many elk in and the next year hardly any people and elk. There are other things that determine where the elk are besides the pressure. I am off to a new area this year.

If I knew in the past what I know now I would have probably tagged more elk. It takes knowledge and experience to harvest an elk. That and a little luck.

The elk are where you find them.

 

[treble]

The elk I hunted opening morning of 2014...

were directly across the river from where I took my 2013 cow, maybe 800 yds max....

the bull in my avatar was taken in 2003, same side of the river at the 2013 cow approximately 700 yards separated the two....

 

[elkmtngear]

Hard as it is sometimes to be successful in the spots I know hold elk...I\'m admittedly afraid to try a new area.

Especially since I would have to pull off the hunt without scouting. :dk:

 

[Olympushunt]

It is definitely intimidating to abandon a familiar tried and true spot. I suppose it is less intimidating when your area has gone to pot. Let\'s face it...no area, honey hole or proven spot is safe forever. Things change. Wildfires, logging, changes in regulations, insect kill to name a few can change that draw or basin that once was a jewel. But the challenge can also be a ton of fun and be more rewarding. I ventured off a few years ago from an area that I was basically raised in. Talk about intimidating. Not that I recommend this but I wasn\'t even able to take a preseason scout trip to this new area due to a summer full of obligations. I did a ton of online scouting and research. I found an area with what I feel has all the right ingredients to be elky. I was really nervous going in because I talked my buddy into joining me. I was sweating big time as we hiked a few miles in to set up a spike camp and saw NO elk tracks on the hike in on top of the ridge. I was thinking to myself....where on God\'s green earth did I drag us to! I definitely curbed my goals and warned my buddy it might be a camping trip but in the back of my mind I knew I would be very disappointed if it was barren land. I ended up killing a 5pt about two hours after setting up our spike camp the very day we hiked in. It wasn\'t the biggest bull I have taken but it ranks number one in my book because it was something I have always wanted to do.....try an area I had no knowledge of before. I got extremely lucky but it gave me a lot of confidence in my ability to find an area \"online\" and the strong desire to do it again. This coming summer Swede and I will be intensely looking at new ground but I am extremely excited. I think I enjoy the scouting as much as the hunt. My wife is always rolling her eyes...\"On the computer looking at maps again!\" I just say it could be worse trash that I am looking at online! lol

 

[Swede]

I just say it could be worse trash that I am looking at online! lol

I know what you mean there. Cabelas should be banned. I agree finding a new area, and testing yourself is challenging, the road has a lot of potential potholes, but the rewards are great too.