Elk Habits if Pushed due to Light Hunting Pressure?

[brcfo_outdoors]

No doctor is prescribing prednisone without good reason. That stuff is nasty.
and Elk will run to the next county if pressured. They don't stop & look back like white tail.

I told mine I was going on a backpacking trip and asked for Diamox/Acezatolamide for altitude. He told me that would make me sick and miserable, and gave me a prescription for Prednisone instead citing its use for Olympic skiers. I was given only two tablets per day for each day of my trip, with an extra day thrown on for good measure. That was my first time using it, but I can tell you it was hugely effective.

 

[5gauss]

Hi All,
I am fortunate to have drawn a tag for 1st Rifle in CO this year, and it will be my first Elk hunt. I have hired an outfitter to provide a drop camp service. The hunting area he'll put me in will be a few square miles of drainage that's well away from roads - apparently it is unlikely to encounter other hunters back there. However, the outfitter will have 3 other clients hunting the same spot prior to me, one each in Archery, Muzzleloader, and Early Rifle (which ends just two days prior to my hunt).

Should I be concerned about post-rut bulls vacating the area due to the previous hunting pressure? Will they return to an area within a reasonable timeframe? Does "a few hunters" even count as hunting pressure?

There is an alternate location the outfitter may be able to place me that likely wouldn't have seen hunting pressure, but it's up on a ridge at higher elevation. My father is joining me, and due to his fitness level I think we'd be limited to hunting about one square mile of this ridge due to the rugged terrain.

I'm sure there are no certain answers to my questions, but I wanted to inquire - I know there are many experienced elk hunters here. As a novice, I'm trying and absorb as much knowledge and insight as possible. Thank you!

Hunted Elk 47 years....pressure you talk about here is quite light, so should be no real issue unless you are going for record book. Would not worry too much but glass from on high and look for sign and go wherever sign is...glass some more, and be willing to go anywhere for the Elk. Should be no problem....and.....have FUN

 

[jepp2]

As a novice, I'm trying and absorb as much knowledge and insight as possible. Thank you!

I've lived in CO since 2005 and hunted elk many of those years. Prior to moving here, I did a CO drop camp hunt in 1996 - 3rd rifle elk. Some questions to consider before you head "out west" for your hunt.
- If you can spend any time (a day or two helps) at altitude before you head in for your hunt, it will help you. Doesn't have to be as high as you are going to hunt, just much higher than your current elevation.
- Sounds like your father will be challenged by the hunt due to the terrain and elevation. I don't know what your outfitter will provide in the way of support, but in the event you get an elk, how are you planning to get it back to camp? On our drop camp hunt, we never asked about pack frames, and we had to hump the elk out without the benefit of a pack frame.
- Don't count on seasonal averages on weather. During a early September hunt (muzzleloader) in 2001 on the dry side of the mountain at 9,000 ft, we got 6 inches of snow the night before season opener. Plan for the worst, hope for the best.
- Keep in mind 80% of the elk stay in 20% of the area, the key is finding where they are hanging out
- The hunting pressure during rifle seasons in CO has to be seen to be believed. Unless you are hunting on private land, expect lots of other hunters. By 2'nd rifle I wouldn't expect to see any elk in parks during daylight hours. They will be mostly nocturnal.
- Elk hide insulates extremely well. The meat will spoil even if the carcass is lying on snow if your don't open it up to let the heat out. If you shoot an elk late in the day, be prepared to have to spend the night at the kill site. It is a much larger animal to deal with than a deer, so it takes much longer.
- Make sure you mark your kill site well, returning to find it in this large country can be challenging.

Your outfitter is the best resource you have on knowing how and where to hunt the area he is taking you to. Some phone conversations where you are looking at a map of the area and him sharing where the elk hang out, well ahead of when you arrive gives you the best chance for success.

Enjoy the hunt and the time you spend in the mountains and let that be your reward. If you have to harvest an animal for the trip to be a success, you may be disappointed.

 

[Bob Wright]

For the first couple of days, just glass, move short distances and glass more.
Elk react to pressure by finding cover in canyon slopes where they can bed up. Vegetation is great cover. Pressure will also require hunters to be in position to glass before first light. One hunter takes one angle, the other takes an adjacent area. Work the edges of cover, treeline, areas of known water. They must drink, usually a lot.
Limit your movement. If you need to move, try not to be obvious and use cover if possible.
If elk are under a lot of pressure they will limit movement to early morning late evening only, bedding up in canyons all day. Knowing their bedding areas is key. You would want to be in there before the elk are. They will occasionally feed in their bedding areas so some up and down elk movement is your opportunity for good shots.
Glassing is so important, so don't kill yourself moving multiple miles every day: That is in itself "pressure".
Stay hydrated, dress in layers and bring along a lunch or plenty of munchies to keep you comfortable and patient in each area.
Elk can just emerge out of "thin air" so 10x binos are a plus, another with 12 or 15x is great. The 10's allow a wide angle scan to identify elk. Zeroing in is for the higher power to identify quality.
Also, with optics, light tripods or shooting sticks used as bipods to rest your optics on really are your friend. They also double as walking sticks. Use them!
Pre-scouting with Google Earth identifying canyons, vegetation, water sources. Convert that data to a handheld device so you know where to move each day to scout.
These big animals can really turn into invisible mode....they're in there.

 

[Beer Baron]

I have been living and hunting in CO since 2000. I hunt early season rifle whenever I draw tag which has been really good until this year. The unit I hunt in between Gunnison and Salida usually has very light pressure during early rifle and most hunters rarely get far from their truck or ATV. I agree that 80% of the elk will occupy 20% or less of the available habitat. In my experience hunting after bow/muzzle loader seasons the animals are still in their normal routines and very lightly pressured. Your outfitter knows where they will be if they are there, press him hard for all of the info you can. I have had multiple people out for elk hunts and ski trips at high altitude. Drink plenty of water/Gatorade and stay away from caffeine and energy drinks. The only way I know of to prepare for the altitude is to get in the best possible shape and get to the mountains as early as you can to help your body assimilate. It usually takes 6-8 weeks to get accustomed to the lack of oxygen up here. Take you time when hiking and don't push it. I've never had altitude sickness but I have watched my brother and son suffer from it and it can be completely debilitating for days if you don't rest and hydrate. I always keep a small tarp in my pack and two sharp knives for butchering just FYI. Bugling and cow calls can be a game changer if used sparingly, good luck!

 

[RMorris]

From Wilderness Medicine by Auerbach:

I would prescribe acetazolamide before or in combo with steroids.

 

[speedengineer]

Thanks everyone for the great advice so far. It's very helpful!

I've spent so many hours already doing escouting using Google Earth, CO Hunt Atlas, and BaseMap. We're so lucky these days to have such excellent internet based tools. It must have been much more challenging 20+ years ago to plan a hunt to a location you've never been before!


Since I am a nerd, I did some statistical analysis on the weather history for the area I'll be hunting. If anyone is interested, I found this site very helpful for downloading weather history data for locations in CO. I was able to get about 100years of temperature data, and snow and precipitation data back to the 1950s, all for a nearby and similar elevation to my hunt location..
https://climate.colostate.edu/data_access.html

I processed the data using only weather history from each year for the dates of Oct 8th - 15th.
Median high = 50 F
Median low = 28 F
Percent of days with a high lower than 40F = 12.5%
Percent of days with a low lower than 20F = 15.5%
Percent of days without precipitation = 80.5%
Percent of days without snowfall = 86.2%

 

[RMorris]

From Wilderness Medicine by Auerbach:
View attachment 200535
I would prescribe acetazolamide before or in combo with steroids.

That's hard to read. Second try

 

[ddavis5030]

Most towns in mountain areas sell O2. If your from lower elevations, it will come in handy!

 

[John Klingenberg]

I'm more in the SE, about an hour NW of Detroit. I'm willing to drive though, her parents are up in Oscoda, and the other weekend I spent a day driving around Huron-Manistee National Forest land looking for a clearing where I could shoot 400-500yd. Alas, it was all trees and brush - I was hoping for a recent clear-cut but didn't find one.

There are a few ranges around, but most are a members-only type thing, and it seems to be an ordeal to obtain a membership.

I'll send you a PM!

I think the range in Oscoda has an "open" day on Wednesday and goes to 600yds. If you go a little ways past the range out towards Foote there's a few new log offs. My place has 350-375 if you get in a pinch contact me I'm just up 23 a ways

 

[speedengineer]

I think the range in Oscoda has an "open" day on Wednesday and goes to 600yds. If you go a little ways past the range out towards Foote there's a few new log offs. My place has 350-375 if you get in a pinch contact me I'm just up 23 a ways

Awesome thanks for the tip and the offer! Are your referring to https://www.ioscosportsmen.com/ Wurtssmith location by the Oscoda airport? Their website makes it sound like the 600yd range is only open once a month for matches, but I'll definitely give them a call and inquire!

 

[Wolf76]

Being from Michigan also, I can share a couple tips.
The low level elevation air is pretty dense, but in the mountains it feels like you're breathing thru a coffee straw. Everything above 9K is very different than everything below. 6-9k isn't so bad, takes a day to get acclimated. I'd suggest spending a night or 2 in town before heading up to camp.
But the biggest and best thing you can do is artificially breathe heavier/deeper than you normally would. Dense air allows us to shallow breathe. Thin air requires more air to move thru our lungs. This tip saved my butt in CO.

Elk don't tolerate pressure much in my experience. And when they get blown out of an area, they go to anew zip code. ATVs are like a siren for elk.

 

[T3ninja]

Where in Michigan do you live? I'm indiana, I might be able to hook you up with a rifle range

 

[John Klingenberg]

Awesome thanks for the tip and the offer! Are your referring to https://www.ioscosportsmen.com/ Wurtssmith location by the Oscoda airport? Their website makes it sound like the 600yd range is only open once a month for matches, but I'll definitely give them a call and inquire!

Yes that one.