north Idaho panhandle elk archery tactics?

[grilla]

Hi guys, I'm new to the board. I live up by CDA and will be going out for my second year for elk in Sept. I have some friends coming from out of state during the rut and wanna make sure I have my tactics down before they come to increase our chances of success.


We'll be hunting in either units 4 or 6 and I wanted to know what the best tactics are for archery during the rut in those areas. They are heavily wooded and I've heard there are some wolves around there so the elk might not be that vocal.


What's the elk behavior / movement like up here? I'm guessing spot and stalk is out of the question since you can't see much through the trees... although there are some bald spots here and there.


Most of the how to videos I see are in more open country down south / spot and stalk. Any info on how you would approach an archery hunt up here in the dark timber would be awesome.  ;D

 

[cowboystl1]

i dont know about where your hunting we had our best luck hunting around the big open timber near the slides blow downs and burn areas. that is till the game dried up do to the wolves. good luck brother there are some there but since the wolves took over they are even harder to come by. im done with the pan handle for at least 10 years before ill go back

 

[grilla]

thanks for the info... sounds grim!


I might drive further south if I don't see much on my scouting trips.

 

[AWHunt CDAID]

I am in CDA and have hunted around the area that you speak of. It is tough for sure but the animals are still around. I will hunt unit 3,5,6, but I like to find areas where private meets public due to I never see people in places like that. The dense brush definitely makes it tough and I have had opportunities to arrow one but have not closed the deal. I am typically solo hunting which makes it that much tougher, I did order the Montana decoy today though.

 

[grilla]

Cool! I hope the decoy works out for you.


Do you find the elk are down in the creek bottoms at first light? Where do you usually start hunting from? up on a ridge or at the bottom?

 

[grilla]

Thanks SPOTnSTALK, I already picked up the ELK101 University DVD and love it. I was just wondering if the tactics are different in an area like the panhandle

 

[AWHunt CDAID]

Cool! I hope the decoy works out for you.


Do you find the elk are down in the creek bottoms at first light? Where do you usually start hunting from? up on a ridge or at the bottom?

I will typically be able to drive to a spot and hike mid mountain from there, then it is all about the wind. I have rifle hunted the areas I hunt for quite a few years so I am familiar with the terrain. the wind is always the killer. Swirlly.

 

[Bullhunter]

Tell you what, it is a little tougher to find the bulls especially when the wolves have the elk all hush hush.  I hunted a lot further south in unit 23, 24, 25 last year for the last two weeks of season.  I could get the bulls to bugle a couple times in the first 30 minutes of day light and then after that they were quiet for the rest of the day.  Just be patient because they will slip in silently when your cow calling.

 

[grilla]

Thanks BullHunter, yeah I was speaking to my neighbor and he echoed what you said that they don't bugle after the morning / first light.


I appreciate everyone's insight!

 

[lang]

Well, I beg to differ.  They bugle all day some days, maybe not the quantity of first and last light but they will call.  Most hunters are back napping, and eating lunch in their campers.  Another thing is with mid day thermals you usually have to be closer to hear them and there bugles have less volume while they are bedded.

 

[AWHunt CDAID]

Well, I beg to differ.  They bugle all day some days, maybe not the quantity of first and last light but they will call.  Most hunters are back napping, and eating lunch intheir campers.  Another thing is with mid day thermals you usually have to be closer to hear them and there bugles have less volume while they are bedded.

Agreed, if you are not in the woods you will not hear the bulls bugle.

 

[montanaelk31]

Well I hunt the 2 of the densest areas of Montana that is inundated with wolves. (not to mention elk populations well below management objectives)  The best advice I can give you is spend time now to locate multiple small groups of elk. (5-6 cow calf groups are common).  When the season comes, go to these areas directly and bulls will be stuck in with these cows and calfs. Be there all day. Even if your not hearing anything, you know from your scouting that they are there. Elk will be vocal at some point.  Most of my success calling has been between 11 am and 3 pm.  Bugling works so don't be gun shy. 
People telling you it can't be done is all the motivation I ever need.  The elk are there. Get after it (and post pix!) good luck!

 

[MT_mulies]

I just moved from Moscow and hunted elk up there. I am originally from western Montana so hunting that dense forest was a change for sure. I always hunt the first week because I don't seem to see as many people and I like to hunt for big racks........but I will take the first legal elk that walk in front of me every time, because I would rather have the meat than the tag at the end of the season. The biggest thing that I learned was to be patient and set up where you can shoot in multiple directions. I called in the biggest bull of my life at noon one day. I was sitting on an old logging road and because the forest was so dense I couldn't jump off the road and then finding a shooting lane. So I just sat on the road. He came in straight on and looked at me chest on at 50 yards. We had about a 30 second stare down and then he split. I never made the mistake of calling where I was so vulnerable again. I made sure I was in a place I could shoot up to 50 yards and had multiple lanes to shoot or places to move in case a bull was coming in where I didn't want him too. Also be prepared. The cover is so thick that if you bugle there could be a bull within 20 yards and scare the crap out of you and him! I did that once and there was nothing I could do. He jumped to his feet and there was brush about 3 feet high between us and 1 lone tree.

The pictures are fuzzy because I took them off of a screen, but his is the bull that came in straight on.

 

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Been hunting the jungles for three decades...they still bugle plenty but this ain't no tv show hunt..be willing to work, sweat, sound like an elk, cover ground, scout,rake, have plenty of time and if wolves are around better to jump to another drainage....always be flexible and willing to try another spot where they are talking.

 

[DIRK DURHAM]

Learn to bugle, and be aggressive. Don't be afraid to dig in and take the game to the elk.

 

[grilla]

thanks for all of the wisdom and encouragement guys! It's easy to get impatient and start doubting what's out there.


I'll def be scouting a few different areas to find some groups of cows. I plan putting up a few cameras. Do you find the best place for cameras is down in the creek bottoms where the water is? or try and find a bedding area?


There isn't much flat ground in unit 4.... it's either creek bottom or side hill..

 

[lang]

If 4 is too flat for you can try 4a!  Creek bottoms are good, the only problem is some will have a wallow every 100 yards, so unless you find one they particularly like you get a real small sampling size.