You going to use a tree stand for elk?
Elk
Anyone going to use a tree stand for elk hunting this year?
I am. Not exclusively, but I will 5-6 different stands to choose from
Only if the court says I have to but then I'd file an appeal for cruel and unusual punishment... :)
Seriously it's s great tactic but it doesn't suit my personality. Tried it 10 years ago and I lasted 45 minutes... The first bugle I heard going away caused my to nearly kill myself scrambling out of that tree! Now that i'm older and wiser I might have to try it again...
Yep, have an are where I think it will work, but only one area.
Absolutely. Got tired of losing a constant battle. Due to the swirling afternoon winds, I've used one exclusively for the past 15 yrs or so for the evening hunt. Fact is, I've been in the same tree for the past dozen years.
Love my time running and gunning in the morning, but I've enjoyed the time in my tree as well.
Yep, I'll be sitting over a huge wallow that gets used by multiple bulls. Killed a nice bull here in 2014.
Nice footed shaft there TK. I have taken a stand with me for years and have never set it up for elk. One of these years.
For those that use a tree stand what terrain features are you looking for? Are you setting over a wallow or trail leading from bedding to feeding.
I see myself hunting more like wyobullshooter. Love to run and gun but wouldn't mind, once finding the elk, to let them come to me if possible.
Are mornings a good time to sit as well? And, last question, is early season better than later on during the rut?
Im the opposite of wyobullshooter as I hunt a stand in the mornings as they come down trails to their bedding areas and run and gun in the evenings when there out feeding.
I've killed four on the ground and 4 in a stand. If I could only choose one method though it would definitely be on the ground runnin and gunnin.
I've found evening stand/blind hunts to be a good way to beat the heat. The elk always seem to water right before dark, but I've also seen them water mid day and late morning. If you're considering this set up I suggest run and gun in the AM then swing by and sit for a while [late morning], camp/eat, evening hunt the stand especially if its hot and not much talking.
The more secluded the water hole the more likely you will get around the clock activity.
Definitely! I will have three tree stands up. Unfortunately a lot of my areas don't have stand conducive trees around but I have a few where they'll work. Combined with two ground blinds.
AZB, how accessible are your areas? Have you considered ladder stands? You'd be surprised by the trees that will work w/ a ladder stand, esp pine trees. Cut a little covey in the branches and you'll disappear.
As usual I will set up several stands. I have two ladder stands, but don't like them. They squeak and shift no matter what I do to secure them to the tree, They stay at home in my shop while the hang-on stands go to the woods.
Yes, I will be using them. Sometimes I use one for a spot to get a visual on a larger area, then fine tune it from there. I have used them over a wallow or just along trails where bulls have been spotted.
They are a good tool to have in the shed, so to speak. Being a whitetail hunter primarily, its a natural fit! But, it depends on how you want to hunt, elk activity, rut phase, etc.....
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I have two spots where the wind lets me hunt from a treestand in the afternoons, about 50 miles apart.
Cnelk, that plateau you are on is perfect for it.
Tree stand over an active wallow from 11am-2pm, plus over remote water hole for evening hunt ...
You bet !!! Got the perfect trees ready to go !!
Last year was the first time as it was only the second time I had someone else go with me. I was a little scared of having an accident and no one knows where to find the body!
In the breeding grounds I hunt, which means the elk are not residential but return every year, the water holes and active wallows have 5 treestands and game cameras already on them. The elk dont water during daylight hours. They slowly come up out of the canyons and start feeding in the evenings up in the flats where the buffalo grass is rich. They feed until after dark then go to water. Then in the mornings they will take funnels down to their bedding areas. This is why treestands work in the mornings and run and gun work in the evenings. I stopped hunting water years ago.To and from water yes, but on water, I got tired of bumping into other hunters and bumping elk on my way out of the stands after dark.
When an elk (determined shooter) comes in to a wallow or watering hole I would assume one would draw before they get to the hole if permitted and take the first shot op presented? No sense in waiting for them to settle in.
"When an elk (determined shooter) comes in to a wallow or watering hole I would assume one would draw before they get to the hole if permitted and take the first shot op presented? No sense in waiting for them to settle in."
I would take the first opp given. You never know what will happen and I've seen elk (on cam) that are scared of their own shadow. I watched a heard of elk spook of water, stop return, just to spook all over again. The pic series is rather comical.
But hindsight is 20 20. I shot what was a decent 5pt but he had a dink side and after he hit the ground an obviously bigger bull stood atop the hill and watched him take his last gasps. He was well over 300", 320-340ish. I don't regret my harvest, but I always wonder what if.
Here is one of my stand locations over a wallow.
Shifty winds makes it tough hunting
A trail camera is nice for tree stands over wallows as you find out the approach of the elk when there isnt any trails
Same wallow as above
I have one set up at a pinch point of a well traveled trail to and from bedding/food. Have had many encounters but yet to seal the deal. It seems opportunities are much more fleeting in the stand. You don't get a lot of time to think about it and if you take to long, well they're gone. I do love to sit in the afternoon though more than the mornings...primarily at that elevation the mornings can be very cold and when you're all sweated up from the walk in it doesn't take very long to get chilled. Besides I love listening to them come out of the bedding area off the mountain screaming their heads off...
If and when I ever get drawn again, you can bet I will have a tree stand in a great spot!
Had we been using one at a spot I had intended on putting one but never got around too, our freezer would be full I believe, I wouldn't want to do it exclusively, but an evening sit on a waterhole can be a good time!
Ohio, most would be a long haul with a ladder stand. I've thought about them before though because they would work for juniper trees and pinons if you can find one big enough. Our ponderosa pines are great for hang one or even climbers, but as soon as you drop a little in elevation, it's more scrubby.
Been using one for years. Some years it's the trick others no.
I like to use benches, saddles, wallows, and also where multiple trails intersect.
Just another trick in my bag to be successful.
Sure,,, 10-15 % of the time
I will be doing so and I will also have several spots to do it from. As others said evenings are the ticket.
If I would of stayed on this evening early in the season instead of heading home I would of shot this bull that night last season.
About 1 hour before the sun goes down I always use my hyper-hot and it seems like the bulls can't stand it. They just have to come and see this cow that they want to spend the night with.
I'll be taking one with the first week for Colorado. I'm liking the idea of hunting a wallow in the afternoon a couple of days. Especially the first couple days as my body acclimates to the higher elevation. Fingers crossed one of the wallows will be active late August early September.
Hunting with a trad bow I learned my best chance is sitting on trails and wallow/water holes. I killed my first elk sitting on a log at a wallow. This past season I packed a lock on stand the 2 miles in and hung it over a creek crossing. The second evening a nice bull came by at 13 yards. Videod the hunt with my Kodak ZX3 on a home made light weight camera arm.
Some good points above, one thing about trails, saddles, etc is they're not weather dependent. A rainy week willreally slow down waterholes and wallows.
A southern gentleman I know has a stand set on a saddle. Man he has killed some elk there. All his shots are sub 15 yds.
Great video BasinBoy!
Thats the way to do it. No calls or over-thinking how to shoot elk.
Back in the 80's I was camped at 12,000 ft in Maroon Bells. We had put a lot of miles on in am hunt and were thinking of hunting wallows in valley below us. but it had turned cold and some rain and sleet. So we stayed at camp. I had a scope 50 yards from camp where I could view the wallows. Hour before dark 3 bulls came through and wallowed. I will never let weather keep me from wallow hunting. You just never know!
Shot one bull from a treestand years ago. Won't do it again. Just takes away the fun of chasing elk on the ground. Never even felt like I had been hunting.
I had similar feelings about Africa. Went and got several animals from a waterhole blind, then it rained. Had to chase on the ground and while I never killed another animal, it is the part of the hunt I treasure the most.
If I went back I would rather rifle hunt on foot than bow hunt from a blind.
This is a utah bull that came in every day when I was not there
What would you score that at Bigdan?
Killed one last year at waterhole after an all day sit.
I'll be bringing one to WY this year specifically for found active wallows.
Bill
What a beauty Bigdan! The picture looks like a painting it's so pretty
Garth Carter shoot him a few weeks later and he said he was a 360 bull. The photo was in Hunting fool
Bigdan, I don't know about your situation, but I had a situation like you describe happen a couple of times. I figured it out and cured the problem. My scent was staying in the area due to the thermals. The bulls came in during the late afternoon and evening when I was gone. They never came while I was there. The down drafts were ruining my hunt. The solution for me was to go up a tree to get about 30 feet above the water hole. That put me up in the tree limbs, and kept my scent from getting to the ground in that area.
This isn't something new, but ---
Find some milkweed growing in the area you're hunting. Collect some of the silky hair-like "comas" and stuff them into a Zip-loc bag you can take up into the tree with you. After releasing the "floaties," I've often been surprised where the air currents take my scent ...
I actually collect thistle pods here in Arizona (NOT the milkweed I posted above) ...
Swede All the trees were about 15ft tall I had to use a ladder stand
Basins or bowls can be a very difficult place to tree stand hunt because of the thermals. I had a place where the trees were short too, and have contemplated digging a pit and hunting out of it. The problem is that the elk quit coming since they smell me whenever they come even close. I would always prefer to hunt on a side hill or ridge. Any place with good air drainage is preferable to a basin or sheltered meadow.
swede- what about a lightweight pop-up blind in that situation?
Great video Basinboy. What made you put your stand at that spot on the creek?
Rut Nut, that may be a great option. I have a couple of them, but just don't like shooting out of one. Still, it may be better than a tree in that situation, and may be better than a pit too.
