Natural elk blind day before opener
Contributors to this thread:Elk
From: Smokey
06-Jul-19
So, it looks like i may not be able to build my natural elk blind until the day before the opener. It is in a fairly open desert area with some juniper trees about 100+ yards on the east and west side of the water source. There is a couple small 5 footers 40 yards south and that's where i plan on building it out of juniper, in your experience will it effect the elk coming in to water? If so I may be able to go earlier but it is a long ways away and I'm in the middle of a pretty big project.
From: swede
06-Jul-19
Elk are not like White tail deer. You can put up your blind at any time and be in business. I have set up tree stands including cutting out shooting lanes and building a ladder. I just got seated when the elk came to the water hole. Unfortunately I did not have my bow up yet. I have built set-up the day before and shot them the next day. I think part of the difference between deer and elk is the size of their territory. Just do not put out a decoy.
From: Smokey
06-Jul-19
That's what I am hoping for but I haven't done any blind hunting before, so I am green in that aspect. It's a cow hunt that starts Aug. 1st- 15th and it's gonna be hot! Thanks for the info!
From: Buglmin
06-Jul-19
If you're talking a ground blind, then it's different then tree stands. With ground blinds, you're gonna be putting a lot of scent on the ground. That's gonna be an issue. Building it too big could cause issues with elk cause it's suddenly new to them. It might be best to cut into the cedars and nestle in up against the tree. That way nothing much has been changed and won't go noticed. We do this all the time in NM, just putting enough sage in front of us to break us up enough.
From: Lv2hnt
06-Jul-19
Following up on Buglmin's comments --- nestle your pop-up blind up into a cedar, then face the front of it with trimmed cedar branches (see pic) ...
From: cnelk
06-Jul-19
I got a ground blind ready last weekend. It overlooks a small clearing with 2 wallows.
From: swede
06-Jul-19
The following is just what I have experienced. The difference between setting up a tree stand and a ground blind is nothing. When one person is up the tree, which is less than half the time, the other person is on the ground. Even if you would go out on your own to place your stand up the tree, you will still be on the ground awhile. I have hunted blinds and stands for years and scent on the ground has never been a problem. I urinate from my stand on near the blind. The only thing that scares off the elk is directly scenting, seeing or hearing you. I personally prefer a tree stand, but some spots lend themselves well to a blind.
From: 320 bull
07-Jul-19
My experience with elk and them smelling where I have been has been the opposite. If they are gonna cross my trail it usually ends with a very alert or an absent elk. Where I hunt they are very sensitive to human intrusion. It may be different in other areas. Use crappy weather to your advantage when going into areas you know elk frequent to set stands or make blinds. A good hard rain is like an eraser in my mind. You may be better off to go in and sit still as a stone against the tree at 40 yards.
From: Buglmin
07-Jul-19
The difference in a tree stand and ground is different. We hunt both in the high deserts of NM, and it's night and day!! Elk notice things around their waterholes rather quickly on the ground. That's why we've learned to set up away from water, catching them as they come off the benches from bedding, right on the edge of the sage flats. When we do sit over water, we keep things as low key as possible, cutting into juniper and cedars, building out in front just enough to hide slow movements.
From: swede
07-Jul-19
Buglmin: I am wondering if you have the same elk showing up every day. Where I hunt that is rare. Also I have had elk walk down the same trail I came in on within 5 minutes of my arrival. I am sure I have busted far more elk on the ground hunting than in a blind or on a stand.
From: Jaquomo
08-Jul-19
I've had good luck using a little Nose Jammer on either side of me in ground blinds at high desert waterholes. Even when they directly cross my scent cone. Had great results with deer in ground blinds but had never tried it on elk until our CO unit 2 hunt. My hunting partner and I both killed 350+ bulls that otherwise would have winded us.
From: Smokey
08-Jul-19
Not sure what a nose jammer is.
From: Brotsky
08-Jul-19
"Not sure what a nose jammer is."
Cinnamon roll flavored deodorant.
From: Ziek
08-Jul-19
If what you are doing is just modifying natural cover, (not adding a pop-up) you shouldn't have an issue. It's not like an elk will come in and think "huh, someone moved a limb there". In fact, the scent of the juniper may help cover some of yours. A bigger issue will be if you bump the elk while working on it.
From: Smokey
08-Jul-19
I won't be bumping any elk while working on it, I come in through the south and they come down to water from the North. My biggest issue I'm gonna have is the Juniper are to far away to make a blind in there but there are a couple of small 5 footers about 40 yards south of the water in the low sage. That will be what I have to work with so it will be quite a bit bigger that they are used to seeing, hopefully it doesn't stick out bad enough where it makes them second guess anything.
From: TrapperKayak
08-Jul-19
If it were me I wouldn't build anything, I'd just use natural cover to my advantage depending on the situation that happens at the time. Maybe cut a few branches out of the way to get closer to the trunk of a juniper and then wait for a situation to arise, ie., call one in.
From: TrapperKayak
08-Jul-19
Maybe make a depression at the base of one of those short junipers and kneel in int. Wish I had that opportunity this fall. Haven't hunted elk for a few years now.
From: TrapperKayak
08-Jul-19
Maybe make a depression at the base of one of those short junipers and kneel in int. Wish I had that opportunity this fall. Haven't hunted elk for a few years now.
From: jordanathome
08-Jul-19
Cinnamon flavored bear, cougar, porky, and deer bait. LOL
But if Lou says it works..........
I wonder if peppermint works as well?
From: Beendare
08-Jul-19
Key factor in the mountains is the wind currents.
i've seen so many great spots elk are using...but the wind currents made them worthless for a stand.
From: jordanathome
09-Jul-19
Lou......had a laf doing a search on nose jammer and came across an older thread where you vouched about your direct experience with the product in the field and were promptly attacked for it. Funny chit!!! Gotta love a tool like that.......nose jamming is cheating! LMAO!!!! Reminded me of myself bitchin' about arseholes trespassing back into "roadless" areas with their 4 wheelers and trucks over closed service roads only accessible by cutting across private property. I can be a self-righteous mf myself when properly motivated. Good theater regardless! :)
From: LaGriz
10-Jul-19
This made me laugh, Years ago (1980's) I was hunting with my friend Emo. I would routinely park my truck under an oak tree in his front yard. We would use his truck to haul a boat that we utilized on nearly every trip. acorns would accumulate in the bed of my pick up and on a slack day I got a wild idea. I first pealed then crushed the meat of the acorns and soaked them in some water. Strained the mixture and put it in a pump bottle. I called mixture: "Doctor Scott's Acorn Magic". Used as a cover sent around my stand. Made an effort to keep my human sent suppressed and had some pretty good results. I guess I should have gotten a marketing degree, as the industry was not far behind with 2 dozen similar products. LaGriz
