Thoughts on walking an area before the season...

[cohunter14]

We have probably all heard people talk about elk and how you should never be in the woods right before the season starts or you can blow the elk out of there. How many of you abide by this rule? Does anyone go into the woods after getting camp set up and go check game cams or go check some areas for fresh sign? Or do you sit tight and wait until opening morning?

 

[OldMan]

If I don\'t blow them out during the hunt. I won\'t do it before the hunt. What\'s the difference?

If you blow them out during the hunt. You probably should stay out all the time.

 

[Swede]

Sure I check game cameras. I also hang tree stands. I try to minimize any disturbance to the elk, but I have spooked them on occasion. I don\'t think it is much of a problem if you stop, and then just go to where you will hang your stand and check the camera. Don\'t call the elk, don\'t follow or chase them, or even move closer for a better look.

 

[Ol' Arky]

As a non resident I would walk the roads just to make sure I could and look for what sign I could... Didn\'t get off the roads much since the wife was close by in the truck just in case she needed to pick me up...

 

[mainebrdr]

\' If you blow them out during the hunt, you should probably stay out all the time\'. Pete, that\'s a good one!

 

[cohunter14]

I like the responses and am kind of surprised actually. I have heard that saying so many times and I don\'t really understand it. Truthfully, I think people cruising around on ATV\'s and vehicles has much more of an influence on the animals that walking in the woods. Having an opportunity to check trail cams or check a few spots for fresh sign will give you a much better idea on where to go opening morning. Otherwise, it seems like you are spending opening morning doing just that.

 

[OldMan]

Animals get used to ATV\'s, or any vehicle traveling on the roads/trails pretty fast. It\'s when you come off the trails that they get nervous.

One thing i\'ve never mentioned before. If you come up on an elk, or deer, and it doesn\'t bolt right away. Ignore it, don\'t ever stare at it. Make like you could care less it\'s there, and move off slowly in a direction away from the animal. It will stare at you the whole time, but just give it quick glances so you know what it\'s doing as you move off. If you are still when it first sees you stay frozen as long as you can. They have a hard time figuring out what you are if you don\'t move.

I have a place that I take my dog for a hike. It\'s near the winter range, and I always come up on small herds of elk, and also small herds of mule deer. Very few humans go there. If any. I can walk very close to them if I ignore them. Of course my dog is staring at them, and they\'re staring at him. As the days go by there\'s fewer of them staring at us. After a week or so just 1-2 will be looking. The rest will continue to feed.

As a test i\'ve gone there alone, and I can walk by without any of them stop feeding. They knew I wasn\'t a danger, and as long as I stayed on the trail they were fine. However, if i take one step in their direction, and all the heads come up, and they\'re watching me. One more step, and they get nervous, and start to move around. One more step, and they begin to walk away. They aren\'t scared yet, but are worried enough to move off.

It takes another week to get them to accept me again if I walk by ignoring them. It\'s all about knowing what you can, and can\'t do around animals. With enough encounters you can figure out what you can get away with.

I\'m sure none of this will work for whitetails. They\'re way too spooky. As are bears.

 

[bowhunter]

I think what stillhunter said is correct. Animals do get used to people. If you are on the trail they just watch as long as you keep movin. I have hunted in places with lots of human activity on trails and found elk not far off the trails.

Whitetail are a little more skittish than elk. I have them feeding in my lower field by my driveway and if it is almost dark I can drive by them and they just watch. When I stop they will get nervous and head for the trees. Years ago I had a tree stand in a huge locust tree. I shot several deer from that tree till a storm blew it over. My stand is smashed under it still today. I had some younger deer walk under the stand and feed on locust pods when the snow covered the ground. I could climb down and walk off and the deer would walk from 10yds or less out to 20yds and watch me leave. I even went to the tree while they were feeding and they would go off 25yds watch me climb and sit down then come and feed less than 10yds away. These were young ones. The big does wouldn\'t come back if spooked till after I was gone.

 

[cohunter14]

I agree that animals can get used to those sounds if they are around all summer long. However, the areas I have hunted over the years don\'t typically get that much human traffic during the summer. Maybe the occasional camper, but not very frequent. So all of a sudden when there are trucks and atv\'s buzzing down the roads, I am sure it has it\'s effect. I have also seen the areas that get heavy traffic from the time the snow melts until the snow starts piling up, and yes, the animals definitely adapt to that.