google earth "elk" looking area
Elk
any tips on how to find elky looking areas from google earth?
im headed for my first guided elk hunt this year and have been looking over the area. i am going to follow thier recommendations 100% but it really made me start thinking how i will do this in the future.
any links, thoughts, tips would be VERY appreciated...
thanks
Every elk area is different. Where I hunted before it was a mix of timber, aspen transition, and sage. Now where I hunt it's all timber. Using a combination of maps from DIY Hunting Maps, StartMyHunt and Google earth will help, but won't show where other hunters are hunting.
I live in my new area and can scout all the time, and 90% of the spots I scout are either tossed out after season starts or otherwise affected by other hunters. One part of the area has a time-slider view on GE of Sept 10, I believe, which allowed me to pin all the camps and also where vehicles were parked to hunt. That really helped figure out where to avoid, also where to check out if nobody was hunting there.
After you get back home from your guided hunt it will make a lot more sense to you. Like Jac said. Every place is different and hold elk at different times of the year. Look at dark timber areas and north facing sides of the mountain first.
Or just look for the elk on google earth. They show up pretty good sometimes! ;) Good luck on your hunt.
There are millions of acres across the West that will look "elky" on GE. 90%+ of them probably hold elk at some time or other. Many that don't look "elky" in the scrub and deserts and hold some of the biggest elk in the country.
Don't start with GE.
Start with private/public lands maps with topo and road/trail access. First, find the most likely places that people are going to go and highlight them. Then, find areas that other people aren't going to go. I'm not going to get more specific. It's easy to figure out where people won't go, but consider that they're the last places that people WANT to go and THINK to go.
Then look at GE.
The location I killed my P&Y class elk last year in CO was scouted with nothing more than a topographic map and a landownership map.
The first thing you do is look at what seem like the best places to go. Then cross them off the list because everyone else will think that too.
If you have a LE tag, you can go to the best areas for elk. If you're in a pressured unit, it is far more important to get away from pressure than it is to get into "elky" areas.
We define "elky" as places that look ideal for elk. Elk generally agree with us till hunting season starts. Then their definition of "elky" changes to areas that they won't get shot. The only places they don't get shot are the places where there's no people.
I have spent many, many hours and hiked many, many miles in incredible secret spots I Escouted. Grass, water, cover, no pressure, dark timber, aspens patches, hidden meadows and postcard scenery. So secret that the elk apparently didn't even know about them. Then driving out to the main road they are laying out in the sage flat.
Talk to the CO in an area, and ask about a few locations. When they say "there's elk but it's rough to get into", go for it
Good advice all. Just be advised that if a CO tells you about a spot you can be sure you're not the first guy he's told about it. I know this from experience, and because one of my fishing buddies is the recently-retired CO for our area.
But every spot he has told me about held elk, and not all were hunted by others.
I have a much easier time finding Elk spots with a 60min topo map and then confirming it with google earth.The reason being is that you can get a good idea of the topography,springs,benches and funnels that are otherwise covered by trees on google earth.Google earth does a good job of "connecting" the dots once you find multiple spots in the same area helping you formulate an attack plan.
thanks everyone for the thoughts and experiences, REALLY appreciated...
what are some terrain features to focus on? do they move like deer? bed to feeding through funnels and easy travel corridors?
do they tend to like the thickest cover available?
i know these are complete rookie questions, but have to start somewhere!!!
thanks again ben
The elk I saw Tuesday were bedded on the north side of the baseball fields. That night they fed across the road and bedded next to the old Hewlett Packard building Wednesday.
Bachelor group with a couple showing the start of what appear will be decent racks. :^)
IME, you are getting some really good advice above....
