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36000 acres of my elk unit got burned, some pretty good but most of it was slow underbrush burn. I went on my first scout last week and there was zero sign where I typically hunt. 4 miles away with no burn there were huge herds.
I'd hunt that area except every elk hunter I ran into was planning to be there. In the last 2-3 weeks it has received 3 inches of rain and where the sun has penetrated the canopy it is starting to green up. The opener is the 9th of Sept.
Enough time to draw them back in?
Yes, in my opinion they will move in quickly.
I would absolutely not rule that area out. Doesn't matter if it's fire or clear cutting...short term can suck, long term will most likely be better than it was before.
Maybe scout it again towards the end of August, but I would guess they'll be right back in the area to feed on new growth. I've seen it happen before.
That area will be better than the other area pretty quickly. it's just a matter of how long but in my experience it sounds like the low temp burn didn't really sterilize the soil and you should be ready to go come hunting season.
If it didn't go through that hot there will likely be some patches of unburned timber scattered around. Even hot burns have edges. Those will be your GOLD MINES! They don't even have to be that big. One thing to never forget is that elk hand down habits for generations and they will not abandon their favorite bedding spots.
You definitely need to check it out especially if you know that most hunters won't.
+1 Mule Power. Think edges, whether old or new burns. I scouted an 8 year old burn yesterday and while there was plenty of green forage all throughout, all the trails and sign are around the fringes.
Thanks for the insight guys. I need to make at least one more trip in there but if it is already starting to green up in places I am thinking it will likely be ok. Most of the areas had large channels burned through the undergrowth. The exceptions are the bigger hills and mountains. They caught it pretty good but even there it didn't get up into the tree crowns.
Starting to get pretty jacked up about this upcoming elk hunt! This site and the knowledge shared has been awesome! I have taken many animals with a bow but due to the difficulty of drawing an AZ elk tag and my lack of good luck elk is not one of them. Hope to change that this year.
Agree with Mule & Jaq, we hunt burn areas & their fringes with green timber pockets every year, we kill 90% of our elk near the burns. Our areas burn some here & there nearly every year so it's nothing unusual here.
Take note what Mule said about "sterilization" fires can burn so hot that they destroy roots & all, it can take years for these to recover. Fortunately most burns do not fall into that category!
Find the unburned pockets of green, that's where most elk live & bed in. It's tough anyway to locate & stalk or call elk in burns since they can see into it & through it so far, your odds are low in the actual burns even if elk are in it. If you locate them in the burns treat them as locating them in open meadows, do not call to them, wait for them to hit cover then ambush or call, whatever is needed!
ElkNut1
