Rocky Mountains, Elk Sheds

[Rvsask]

I don’t know if I expect much info here but what the heck.

Is there a legit shot of getting into elk sheds in the Rockies outside of national parks? I know you cannot shed hunt there.

My kids and I walk 100’s of miles each year because we love shed hunting. Is there anyone here who does the same and has success in the Rockies? Not looking for a honey hole , just wondering if anyone does this with some measure of success .

[ghfalls]

Around Canmore close to the park fence would be a good place check I would think. But I bet there’s tons of foot traffic there every day of the year, so you’d likely need some luck on your side too.

[LKILR]

I’ve found many elk sheds

Not many in the Rockies but mostly the next range to the east.

You find one you’ll likely find more nearby.

I shed hunt on horseback

It increases success five fold

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KBF]

Some places like the Castle Parks do not allow shed antlers or deadheads to be kept. You can kill an animal and take it home with you but can’t take a shed. I’m not sure on some of the other provincial parks. But there’s lots of places you can look for them on public lands. Just be sure where you are.

[walking buffalo]

Elk populations in the mountains are 1/10th of what they were twenty years ago. Very few winter herds of any size are left.

Much of what's left of the Mountain elk are now migrating fully into the Foothills for winter, and many are now staying there year round, possibly due to lower predator populations.

[The Cook]

I found a matching pair(6pt) in K country, It's like when he got up in the morning his antlers stayed there.

[Pekan]

Originally Posted by The Cook

I found a matching pair(6pt) in K country, It's like when he got up in the morning his antlers stayed there.

Nice job sir!

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

Elk populations in the mountains are 1/10th of what they were twenty years ago. Very few winter herds of any size are left.

Much of what's left of the Mountain elk are now migrating fully into the Foothills for winter, and many are now staying there year round, possibly due to lower predator populations.

Yup, the new face of reality and they are much more dispersed as well.

[Hardtak]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

Elk populations in the mountains are 1/10th of what they were twenty years ago. Very few winter herds of any size are left.

Much of what's left of the Mountain elk are now migrating fully into the Foothills for winter, and many are now staying there year round, possibly due to lower predator populations.

This is the truth. My pards and I travel hundreds of miles in k country all year round by horseback. It is uncommon to find any sign of elk. All you see way in the back country are wolves, grizz, wild horses and a few sheep. We see a big mule buck or a few elk sign once in a blue moon. One would go very hungry relying on game.

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by Hardtak

This is the truth. My pards and I travel hundreds of miles in k country all year round by horseback. It is uncommon to find any sign of elk. All you see way in the back country are wolves, grizz, wild horses and a few sheep. We see a big mule buck or a few elk sign once in a blue moon. One would go very hungry relying on game.

You can pound the Ya Ha and may find some small stuff, but the days of these are long gone.

[buckman]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

Elk populations in the mountains are 1/10th of what they were twenty years ago. Very few winter herds of any size are left.

Much of what's left of the Mountain elk are now migrating fully into the Foothills for winter, and many are now staying there year round, possibly due to lower predator populations.

So true and so tragically sad back in the day Elk shed hunting was possible.Waste of time now. Find the odd one when hunting them though.Unless the wolf population declines soon the mountains will stay mostly barren of the large herds we once had

[stob]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

Elk populations in the mountains are 1/10th of what they were twenty years ago. Very few winter herds of any size are left.

Much of what's left of the Mountain elk are now migrating fully into the Foothills for winter, and many are now staying there year round, possibly due to lower predator populations.

X2 and more and better food

[Pekan]

I read an interesting article in Montana Outdoors about mountain elk herd health.
One of the findings down there is that historically herds would migrate from summer mountain habitat down to agriculture fields when the heavy snow started. The reason they go into the mountains is due to the higher quality forage up there, but with better quality grasses on farms and ranches they don't need to go up into the mountains so every year less elk bother to migrate. Migration is a learned skill they say, after several years there may not be any elk in a herd who actually remember where to go.

This may explain why we see these larger herds are around areas like 212?

[freeride]

K country is a NO go. Even though you can hunt an area it doesn't mean you can grab an antler.

It's dumb but even the wildland provincial park areas while they have wording that allows hunting they do not have legal wording that allows you to pick up sheds, thus it still falls under provincial rules which are a no.

Believe me I looked into it and had a lengthy conversation with authorities.

[Rvsask]

Thanks for all responses, good information to know. I just thought a backpack / tent trip out west to maybe pick up some elk sheds may be a fun thing to do with my boys before I’m too old or drop dead. I guess it really isn’t seeming to be worth the effort when we can pick up the odd one here and return to the couch at night.