Tips for maximizing scarce time
Elk
Looking for any tips from the experts about the best ways to maximize elk encounters when you have limited time available to hunt. I know the best answer is to find more time to hunt, but that just isn't possible with work.
If, for instance, I only have 5-7 consecutive days to elk hunt in the fall, how could I make best use of that time? Is it waiting for better units with more elk/less pressure? Being extra mobile? Hiking in/out in the dark and hunting all day? Extra scouting time in the summer (my schedule is much more flexible in summer)?
Have any of these contributed to your success on a limited timeline, or anything else you can think of?
For certain, scouting in the summer.
Hiking in and out in the dark and hunting all day could work providing you don't blow the bedding area out during midday. It could save time and will save energy.
I wouldn't wait until I drew a LE area, I'd hunt each season while you can.
Scouting in the summer can minimize the learning curve. I am learning a new deer unit this year. I have a bunch of trail cameras out and if nothing else I am narrowing down spots not to hunt. 5-7 consecutive days should give you enough time to get a chance or two. Dont waste time in areas that dont have elk, be mobile. Save those 5-7 days for either the front or back end of September 23rd. Once you find them be aggressive and get one killed!
Long before sunup, go for long hikes on good trails that allow you to cover ground and bugle to find elk long before sunrise so you're on top of them early. I like to do that anyways when I have tons of time to hunt. You have to get up at like 2 in the morning. It facilitates a mid-day nap. When you don't have a lot of time to get on them/intercept them in the AM, your option to just let them go to bed and try again the next day isn't as much of an option on a short hunt. It's hard enough to get on them and intercept them when you're 200 yards away an hour before first light, much less when you hear a bugle a mile away and it's 1/2 hour after sunrise and they're walking to bed. Elk walk about as fast as a man jogs.
Sleep in the front seat of your truck and don't bother with a fancy camp or a hotel room far from where you hunt. Camp takes a lot of time to set up and break down.
Boots on the ground before season starts so you know the area. Drive or fly to your area and scout it on a weekend. It helps to even know what roads can be driven by car, truck, raised truck, ATV, or hike only and sometimes the only way you know that is driving/hiking it yourself.
Have lots of plans for areas to check out in case you get there and there's no elk or lots of hunters.
To piggyback on Ike’s comment about sleeping in the truck. Use your truck to relocate to new areas if you are not finding elk. Do this in the dark, after a day of hunting. I have a Supercrew and can sleep in back. Since you are on limited time, catch up on sleep when you are dead.
To piggyback on Ike’s comment about sleeping in the truck. Use your truck to relocate to new areas if you are not finding elk. Do this in the dark, after a day of hunting. I have a Supercrew and can sleep in back. Since you are on limited time, catch up on sleep when you are dead.
Go hard and be aggressive
As others have said, know the area before you go. Maps, research, scouting. I will add Spike camp. Move And scout for your next camp during the mid day. Don’t waste time and valuable energy hiking in and out to a trailhead every day and night. You would be amaze what you can hear going on in the night when you stay in the woods. It also might take you a few years to get intimate with elk patterns in a unit, which is half the fun of elk hunting imo Good luck
