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your average day in the back country

hoping to hear from of the more experienced guys out there what an average day in the field looks like for them. obviously the most important thing is finding the elk.

where are you sleeping? (ie sleep low hunt high?)

are you getting above the elk pre-dawn?

are you marching straight up the mountain, or are you switch backing back and forth?

are you hoping to get eyes on the herd, and then going right down to them?

are you waiting for them to bed and hoping to cut them off when they get up again?

after the herd has bedded down in the morning or if you still don't know where the herd is, are you covering ground all day? are you calling as you go (cow call or bugle?)? are you sitting on water holes? are you setting up, calling softly a few times, waiting twenty minutes, and then moving a half mile or so and repeating the process?

if you know where the herd is bedded down, at what time are you setting up for your afternoon / evening hunt?

what else do you do on an average day in the back country?

1. Sleep low hunt up

2. No, never. Thermals are going down in the a.m.

3. Both. Whatevers the easiest way up to em

4. Yes. Then going UP to them while they feed

5. No. If they bed I'll wait till evening

6. Nope. I'm napping. If I knew nothing of where some elk might be I'd keep moving until I found VERY fresh sign.

7. 3:00 give or take. Set up outside the prvailing winds cuz mountain winds are terrible in the pm until close to last light.

8. Glass, drink water, eat snickers. I might sneak out to check some other spots for sign once I've got some bedded. Lots of miles. Stretch

My experience is pretty limited, but hopefully I can add something. First off, I think you are trying to make too much of a set plan; you need to let the elk dictate what you do.

1. Generally sleep low, but you can sleep high if you know approximately where the elk will be and can work around from the side.

2. Big mistake like otcWill says, don't do that.

3. Let the elk activity dictate how and where you go up the mountain. If you aren't having any activity and plan on continuing to hunt during the day, you eventually need to work your way up so that you are on the uphill side during the daytime thermals.

4. Laying eyes on your quarry from a distance is always a plus, but sometimes not possible or necessary, especially if you are trying to call them in. Let the thermals and/or wind direction determine your path to them.

5. Maybe they will bed, maybe they won't. I shot my bull during the rut last year around 11 a.m. He was up bugling and chasing a spike off a cow when I shot him. While I was trailing the bull there were other bulls moving back and forth between wallows and likely herd/bedding locations.

6. If you are new to the area I'd try to find out as much intel as possible. Sometimes I think this is a hunters biggest downfall though, as the odds of pushing elk around/out are fairly high if you don't know where you are going. Plenty of guys have luck sitting water holes if that is your thing. If you don't want to do either of these you can study maps, nap, hike up high and glass/enjoy the scenery, fetch extra water, fish, even play pine cone baseball if you have a partner to throw them to you.

7. I don't have a good feel for this one.

8. See my answer for #6.

I guess I am the opposite of the first two. I prefer to camp high, and work down, meeting the elk. In the areas I have hunted the elk aren't hanging around down low after daylight. By daybreak they are headed up the mountain. IMO it's easier to be above the elk and flank them using the wind, rather than try and play catch up all morning......besides when a herd is moving you can very seldom stay with them. It's less all around work and more hunting time. Just need to be aware of the wind constantly.

I try to camp just off one side of a ridge. Where hunt the elk seem to work down the draws between ridges. Being up high allows me to get below them easier in the morning when the downward thermals are in my face... I can intercept them easier than if I had to huff and puff all the way up a draw from a bottom camp. Plus... camping up higher lets sound travel better so it's easier to locate a bugle at night. Nothing better than to have bugling elk at night with anticipation of the next morning hunt playing in your mind....

Good Luck

Todd

I try to camp just off one side of a ridge. Where hunt the elk seem to work down the draws between ridges. Being up high allows me to get below them easier in the morning when the downward thermals are in my face... I can intercept them easier than if I had to huff and puff all the way up a draw from a bottom camp. Plus... camping up higher lets sound travel better so it's easier to locate a bugle at night. Nothing better than to have bugling elk at night with anticipation of the next morning hunt playing in your mind....

Good Luck

Todd

With elk in my unit... I camp low. Get high on a ridge line 45min before Sun up, stay high to the area I want to hunt then get to a saddle and let elk work up to me. Once the sun comes up so do the elk usually through saddle between peaks. If the bulls are cowed up heck yes follow them to the bedroom! The easiest way to get that heard bull in close close range quick is sneak into the bedroom and let out the biggest nastiest challenge bugle you can muster up and he will come running! I've even been busted by group of cows that were bedded a little closer than I thought, when they busted I bugled and the bull turned on a dime and charged right at me 60 seconds later he had a tag in his ear!

Bivy camping low I rise at 4am and listen for any near by elk sounds as I am camped within 1/4 mile, down wind, from there the elk might be in the meadow. After an 1/2 hr to 3/4 of silence, I might bugle with a locator bull call hoping I will get a response. I do not cow call in the dark as I have had bulls come in silently and then spook away.

If no nearby sounds I head out an hour before sun up and check some farther meadows trying to catch a bull before they head up to their bedding areas.

For the first few days, I only hunt the mornings and evenings if the elk are low and coming to the meadows. I stay out of their bedding areas not wanting to bust them out of the area.

Later in the week if the elk are not in the lower meadows or are leaving before light, I hike up in the dark towards their bedding areas but not straight up from camp but at least 1/3 miles off to the downwind side and wait half way up and listen and do some calling. As the winds start up the mountain, I head straight up to get above the bedding area or at least, up wind of the travel routes of the elk and try to head them off. Here I will do some cold calling and can scan down hill for any elk moving up.

Later, I will move along the contours above the bedding areas and will focus down hill looking for elk moving or bedding. Stopping every 400 yards to set up an ambush and call.

What else? Find a sun spot on the hillside, smell the flowers, and take a nap.

My best, Paul

Locating before sunlight is super important I think, gives you time to get on em before they shut up.

The elk will move up or down depending on pressure. Rest mid day for sure. Move camp, or nap.

Seldom know where they are bedded, they usually go the steepest, thickest, blowdown bs, wet, nasty, stuff they can find.

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