Picking A Unit

[Swede]

A fellow asked me what to look for, as he needs to find a new place to elk hunt. He had tried a limited draw unit in another State, but had to use all of his points. I understand, it was his first elk hunt that he waited years for. Now he is addicted and wants to go annually. I suggested three States that offer OTC tags, and gave him some ideas on what he should look for.
What would you look for, and what criterion would you use? I know, I hunt places I am somewhat familiar with, but this fellow is from California, and is not familiar with any elk hunting area. If you provide me some additional ideas, I will forward them to Chico.
BTW: I invited him to join us here on BTO. If I get some more good ideas I will notify him that they are posted on this web site. :shifty:

 

[Billy Goat]

fine question. I\'ll be interested to see responses too.

My bunch hunts each year in CO. we bow hunt odd years, rifle hunt even years (in a unit requiring a point to draw).

I\'m about to start applying for points in WY too, in hopes that I can start going more often to draw units. I have no clue what unit to apply for there.

My first criteria would be drive time. Second would be elk density, third would be access via logging road. I\'m very interested to hear inspiring words from more experienced folks.

 

[cnelk]

Lets back up a bit...

First off, I have some starting point questions that need to be addressed:

Whats the weapon of choice?

What kind of camp does Chico want? Base camp? Spike camp? Bivy?

What kind of terrain does Chico want to hunt? Steep and deep? Timber? Aspens? Hayfields?

Will Chico be solo or have others with him?

Does Chico want a bull only or \'any elk\'?


We need to have the right ingredients to make a good recipe

 

[Swede]

Brad, the only answer I know from your list is, he is a bow hunter with one hunt and no kills for experience.

 

[timberland]

When I started out the only thing I had to go on was boots on the ground experience from other hunters. I was archery hunting and they only rifle hunted the unit, but the intel they provided was way better than anything on the internet. One question leads to another and another, and using internet resources to fill in the gaps and planning enough hunt time for personal scouting/hunting made for a successful trip, a 5x5 and cow for 5 greenhorns. Some of the things we talked about that you can\'t find on the internet but they had first hand experience: where to expect other hunters, reliable water sources, prospective campsites, meadows that are grazed by moo cows and those that are not, saddles that see continues activity/established trails and those that didn\'t, Easier to walk this fenceline than that trail, etc.
My suggestion would be to try to rub elbows with experienced elk hunters.
I have since hunted areas I have online scouted and have to say the internet can only get you part of the way. My online scouting left a lot of big gaps and unknowns.

 

[Swede]

Chico is in the earliest stage of scouting. I suggested he consider three States to begin with based on his desire not to have to drive too far, and he needs an otc tag.
I suggested he check the three States F&G department web sites. Chico is a long way from being ready to put boots on the ground. I recommended he look at:
1. Unit success for his weapon of choice.

In addition he should consider the kind of hunt he is prepared for. Hunting out of a base camp, or will it be a spike camp miles from a trail head?
Is he going to call, or tree stand hunt? Some areas are better suited for one or the other.
The amount of public land available is probably critical unless he can get private land access.
Hunter density and road access may be important to him. I do not know of any unit that has no roads. The question is how many, and distribution.
For me the #1 item to check is % success. #2 would be how conducive is an area to daily walk in tree stand hunting?
After I narrowed my search down to a few (2-4) units, then I would start calling local game departments, or visiting a forum or two, like BTO, and solicit some general information on those areas.

Anyway that was my thoughts on the matter.

 

[AndyJ]

I quickly narrow down units by how remote they are. I look for areas far from interstates, airports and major towns/cities. The more inconvenient they are to get to, the better.

 

[iccyman001]

I really enjoy talking to local fish and game, biologists, or other experts of the area.
I feel like a good amount of them will give honest feedback of the areas they know.