Hunting the Thick Stuff
- Thread starter cnelk
- Start date
Brad,
You are probably pretty familiar with what I was in this fall. I don\'t think I possess a lot of stealth, this year was my first time at still hunting but I was very successful at getting close to mulies. Can I assume what I was doing would work on elk had they been there?
You are probably pretty familiar with what I was in this fall. I don\'t think I possess a lot of stealth, this year was my first time at still hunting but I was very successful at getting close to mulies. Can I assume what I was doing would work on elk had they been there?
Our best success hunting thick stuff has been when the elk have been vocal.
We can flank the herd, moving when they do and position for a shot as they come by.
Or slip in on them without calling at all, set up to the shooters advantage and then call.
Usually you can get away with making noise because elk are noisy anyway and they are all ready there.
Its when you hunt them when they are bedded up or silent is when it gets tricky
We can flank the herd, moving when they do and position for a shot as they come by.
Or slip in on them without calling at all, set up to the shooters advantage and then call.
Usually you can get away with making noise because elk are noisy anyway and they are all ready there.
Its when you hunt them when they are bedded up or silent is when it gets tricky
Lark Bunting
New member
- Sep 14, 2016
- 710
I respect the thick stuff and agree they should/could hold elk. On one trip this year I ended up in a baby aspen grove that was so thick that at one point I was suspended like a scarecrow. That was TOO thick!
calling is by far the most success I have had in thick stuff. if rifle hunting by sneaking along I\'ve had fair sucess jump shooting them but I think I spook more than I acutally get a shot at I need to practice with pete I guess but scared at what he would call me I suppose something like you sound like two ton tina munching on corn nuts riding a bull in a china closet making more raquet than a jacka** in a tin shed. or something along those lines but it is a skill I am working on to devlop to become a more rounded hunter
JohnFitzgerald
New member
- Mar 31, 2014
- 1,108
Thanks Brad for starting a new thread.
Copy from other thread.
For the past 15 years, I\'ve been a Contact Bugle type hunter. Then, depending on where they are and what their attitude is determines my tactic. Can be as simple as keeping him bugling while my shooter works in or as complex as the battling bull sequence. Sometimes, I get it wrong and other times I guess correct. But we always use lots of ground noise to portray ourselves as elk and also hide ourselves as hunters. Essentially, we use the thick nasty to our advantage. But, rumor has it that Swede and his son might be hunting our way. Great....their goes the neighborhood!
Very interested in Swedes opinion on possibly tree stand hunting my area.
Dos Centavos and No Mas!
Copy from other thread.
For the past 15 years, I\'ve been a Contact Bugle type hunter. Then, depending on where they are and what their attitude is determines my tactic. Can be as simple as keeping him bugling while my shooter works in or as complex as the battling bull sequence. Sometimes, I get it wrong and other times I guess correct. But we always use lots of ground noise to portray ourselves as elk and also hide ourselves as hunters. Essentially, we use the thick nasty to our advantage. But, rumor has it that Swede and his son might be hunting our way. Great....their goes the neighborhood!
Very interested in Swedes opinion on possibly tree stand hunting my area.Dos Centavos and No Mas!
The area I hunt is almost entirely dead from beetle kill. A lot of guys don\'t like it for a variety of reasons, but I really think these are the areas that are going to start to produce some monster bulls. In some areas the elk are borderline untouchable. The hunting is very frustrating not only in terms of moving through it but, you really can\'t glass and you need to be close for shots. With that said, I think the key to success in heavy dead fall is to have a good game plan. Just diving in and hoping for the best tends to just blow the elk out of the area. Still hunting, when done correctly can be very effective, but your area of focus needs to come from some logical cause like some idea of travel corridors. I think tree stands could be really effective as well, especially if you can find a live tree over a well used trail between feeding and bedding areas.
Being patient and fit, I think, are the two most important hunter traits in the deep, dark, timber. I try to stay positive but day after day of roaming heavy blow downs has pushed my patients to the limit more than an other type of terrain.
I copied below from the other thread.
Most of my hunting areas look like John\'s and mostly like the second picture. The areas I hunt are usually very swampy as well with a ton of under growth. The elk in my area love these spots and increasingly, they will not leave them during daylight hours. What has worked well for me is to spend A LOT of time listening before moving and hunting. I think a lot of guys would be amazed how much elk will stick to a routine when they feel safe and I think they typically feel pretty safe in the thick dead fall.
The normal pattern I have noticed is elk will travel to their feeding area at night and return back to the dead fall as it gets light. Many times they use the exact same trail to go in and come out. Listen for bugles during the day from up high and pay very close attention to whether or not the bugle moves. If he doesn\'t move or doesn\'t move by much, you have probably found his bedding area. If you can\'t locate his bedding area listen for the bull coming or going to and from his bedding area. He may bugle every five feet or he might bugle twice. If you can locate approximately where the bull bugled from, go check the spot out and see if you find a well used trail. In the morning or the evening that will be your ambush spot. I try to camp where I can hear into these areas. While at camp I am always listening. You never know when a bull will bugle, but I have become aware of bulls in the area because I heard one of the few bugles they made during the midday. Sounds easy right?
Another technique that works really well that most guys are understandably too impatient for is to move in to within 150-200 yards of the bedding area ALWAYS PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE WIND, then do some light and brief herd talk. Be quiet and wait up to two hours and watching all around but especially downwind. When the cows are down for the day, the herd bull will many times come over to see what the commotion is. Almost every time this has worked, and by worked I mean only that I called in a bull, the bull has come in very alert and completely silent.
I hope this helps.
Being patient and fit, I think, are the two most important hunter traits in the deep, dark, timber. I try to stay positive but day after day of roaming heavy blow downs has pushed my patients to the limit more than an other type of terrain.
I copied below from the other thread.
Most of my hunting areas look like John\'s and mostly like the second picture. The areas I hunt are usually very swampy as well with a ton of under growth. The elk in my area love these spots and increasingly, they will not leave them during daylight hours. What has worked well for me is to spend A LOT of time listening before moving and hunting. I think a lot of guys would be amazed how much elk will stick to a routine when they feel safe and I think they typically feel pretty safe in the thick dead fall.
The normal pattern I have noticed is elk will travel to their feeding area at night and return back to the dead fall as it gets light. Many times they use the exact same trail to go in and come out. Listen for bugles during the day from up high and pay very close attention to whether or not the bugle moves. If he doesn\'t move or doesn\'t move by much, you have probably found his bedding area. If you can\'t locate his bedding area listen for the bull coming or going to and from his bedding area. He may bugle every five feet or he might bugle twice. If you can locate approximately where the bull bugled from, go check the spot out and see if you find a well used trail. In the morning or the evening that will be your ambush spot. I try to camp where I can hear into these areas. While at camp I am always listening. You never know when a bull will bugle, but I have become aware of bulls in the area because I heard one of the few bugles they made during the midday. Sounds easy right?
Another technique that works really well that most guys are understandably too impatient for is to move in to within 150-200 yards of the bedding area ALWAYS PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE WIND, then do some light and brief herd talk. Be quiet and wait up to two hours and watching all around but especially downwind. When the cows are down for the day, the herd bull will many times come over to see what the commotion is. Almost every time this has worked, and by worked I mean only that I called in a bull, the bull has come in very alert and completely silent.
I hope this helps.
There\'s not much thick stuff in NM, but I had the good fortune to hunt some of it last year with friends who knew the area well. Because the elk have to adjust their paths around new deadfall each season, it was easier to find the hot trails. After scouting throughout the summer, we set tree stands along the most heavily-used travel routes between bedding and feeding areas. We also tried to choose sites near the intersection of several trails where we wouldn\'t be winded in the morning or evening.
Deadfall was tedious to hike into and out of each day (and a major pain to haul an elk out of), but it was worth it.
Deadfall was tedious to hike into and out of each day (and a major pain to haul an elk out of), but it was worth it.
