I don't want to screw up my bull elk hunt

[Irving]

So I'm pretty familiar and comfortable in the area where I hunt during muzzleloader every year. However, I hunt with old family members that want to walk less and less each year and drink more and more beer. I find that it's easy to have grand ideas of trekking all over the place in the comfort of home in the spring, but by the time the season rolls around, I just do what is comfortable and familiar, and see the same old nothing each year. Sometimes there are younger guys that accompany and we motivate each other to find new places. Those guys won't be around this year, and this is the first time I've held a bull tag in an area that I feel like I have a chance of actually seeing elk. I don't want to screw it up, so I'm going to actually develop a hunt plan this year to give me something to focus on, instead of wandering around aimlessly. At the very least, I'll cover new ground and see new stuff, and maybe bump into some stuff I otherwise wouldn't have.
Since everything is walk-in where I go, and you can't camp on the trust access, it doesn't take much walking to get away from most of the other hunters, and in general, I don't usually see many other hunters.

I've always stuck almost exclusively to the north side of the mountain I hunt. Should I be looking on the south side this year? I don't think I've ever seen anyone hunting over on the south side, judging by where vehicles would be parked for access. Now that I look at the map though, it looks like I could actually camp in BLM pretty near the area I want to check out. My initial idea is the south side, toward the top. This is at about 11,000ft elevation. The one or two times I climbed to the top of a ridge to see a south facing slope, it mostly seemed much hotter and dryer than on the North side (duh right?). I kind of wrote it off as "not a good elk area" but I need to come to terms with the reality that I'm not very experienced and it's foolish to be making those kinds of judgements without really knowing.

So to boil down the initial inquiry to one simple point, what are your thoughts on North vs. South sides of a mountain? I assume we'll delve into all the other factors of food, cover, water, safe bedding, etc. But from a high level basic view point, do you have a preference?

[Irving]

I found this article on the CPW site, and I'm sure I've seen it before but was lazy and didn't read it. I have just enough experience in the woods now that this actually makes sense and explains why I've seen what I've seen and where over the years. Exactly what I needed to read. Great resource for elk hunters that didn't grow up playing Daniel Boone in woods.

https://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/EHU-CH2-L02.aspx

[.455_Hunter]

My elk have all been in transit or in transitional spaces when shot- like moving from afternoon sunny dry slope into snowy north slope, or coming out of north slope dark timber into open grass slopes at first legal shooting light.

[def90]

Granted I have yet to take an elk but my personal experience has been that in the area I hunt there is a stream at the bottom of the valley which is the south side of the mountain and the other side of the stream is a fairly heavily recreated area. There is plenty of tree cover on the south slope and I find plenty of fresh sign on the south side. At night the elk will travel down to the stream and feed down there all night and then when morning hits they high tail it uphill in to the upper forested areas which are still on the south side. Some do go over the top I think to the north side but that side of the mountain is fairly steep and doesn't have water anywhere so I don't think they go far. So I guess it all depends, I think food and cover is probably more important than north south.

[Sawin]

All of my elk have been in transition areas too. I think unless you’re going to terrain where you spot them a long way off, you’re gonna have to get in to where they’re heading to bed down early and wait for daylight to push them to you, or get nearby and knock one down before they get where they’re going.
I’ve only taken one that was bedded down and managed to glass her before the herd made us, and that was about 280-300yards. As soon as she stood up, whaaackkk.

[Irving]

I've been hunting a resident herd. I can camp in the new door that I want to look in, and like the idea of being on the very top (because you don't call big bulls down the mountain), but would be a bit concerned about the morning air heading down and letting them wind me right off the bat.

[CS1983]

I've been hunting a resident herd. I can camp in the new door that I want to look in, and like the idea of being on the very top (because you don't call big bulls down the mountain), but would be a bit concerned about the morning air heading down and letting them wind me right off the bat.

Morning air heads up, generally, as it is heating (hot rises). Cool = down. Swirls at mid day are all bets off if not consistent.

do you carry a wind/powder indicator bottle? When making movement into an area you should puff the powder out to confirm wind direction.

[Irving]

I feel like the cold air moves down the mountain right before sunrise, which is what I'm concerned about, then as soon the sun hits the ground it starts moving up.
I did add a powder puffer to my pack last year. I'm getting amped up about this year.

[DFBrews]

I’ve always had to grind it out and cover ground to be successful find a good vantage point early in the morning then make decisions from
There

[Irving]

I just need to resign myself to covering way more ground than I'm used to, and explaining it to my hunting buddies, even if that means not being allowed to stay in the cabin anymore and solo camping, which is what I've been doing during later seasons anyway, so no biggie.

[fj605]

Thermals head up in the morning and down in the evening. Find a good vantage spot early and glass below you to find the bulls moving from feeding to bedding areas.

[Irving]

I've located a peak that shouldn't be too difficult to get to, that will allow me to look across a few miles of ideal habitat from the top.

[Hummer]

I see south side habitat as more open mixed forest with more grass and aspen leaves on the ground that provide food for elk. North side is colder, dense spruce-fir forest that provides cover during the day. In the evening shortly before dark the elk move into the open, south side areas to feed and bed through the night. In early morning they move back into the cover of dark timber. So I generally hunt the edge, just inside the timber both early morning and at dusk. I often sit from a vantage point for the first hour or two, then stalk through the dark timber along the edge and deeper. Sometimes I'll make a longer trek to farther patches of dark timber and make my way across or down through them.

A key is to hunt all day from dark to dark. No going back to camp for lunch or drinking afternoon beer with the buds. I hunt solo for this very reason. You only have so much time in the limited season. Your older friends will understand. Be available if they need your help but go get your elk.

I've taken 30 elk, about a dozen bulls, but I'm not a skilled bull hunter and have used calls with limited success in the later 2nd season. Many of my elk have been taken mid day in the timber. Most shots are well under 70 yards. Go slow in the dense woods but definitely be prepared to cover a lot of ground. When younger I might hunt 6-15 miles in a day. Now it's more like 4-6 miles with one or two longer, killer treks in a season.

Do explore new areas to look for hidee holes where elk go to get away from hunters. The better you know an area and how elk use it, the better you'll be able to plan a daily hunt route based on conditions.

[TRnCO]

Don't get discouraged. It takes time and experience to learn an area and the habits of the elk that live there. Most successful hunters have hunted the same area for years and years. With those years came knowledge that leads to success. As has been mentioned, leave camp with everything you need to stay out from dark to dark and take advantage of every second of shooting light. We always leave camp in the dark and come back in the dark. It makes for long days BUT usually ends with success. By the end of elk camp I'm ready to catch up on sleep and rest. It'll wear a good man out.