Whitecourt Area Elk Help(

[Damien]

Planning on spending saturday and sunday hiking and trying to harvest my first elk. I'm just looking for someone more experienced than I to help point me in the right direction on selecting a new area to go and scout. Looking at 349 or 350. Also curious if anyone has hunted flatbush at all in 510 and what the pressure is like? Just wondering what sort of things you consider when looking at satellite images in order to help determine a good starting point. Would I be better off hiking along a stream/river... or heading for higher hills.

[Brian Bildson]

Damien, I don't hunt that area and I suspect those that do will be tight with info. But if I was you I'd take a good look at those satellite images and find areas that have limited access. Elk also prefer an aspen mix boreal over a monoculture conifer forest. Cows will be close to food sources but most bulls are now back in their hidey holes, feeding and getting ready for winter. Good luck and if nothing else just go out and start looking, it'll lead to something.

[338Bluff]

510 is archery only till November 1. Elk tend to be more on private land in pockets up there.
I would try South of Whitecourt towards Peers. Mostly private land. You will have to knock on doors. Good luck.

[Damien]

@Brian Thank you I'll definitely pay attention to the trees. If you think of anything else, feel free to message me any pointers you think may help me. I've got a lot to learn and I'm not looking for anyones spot. Just general advice from later season hunters as to that sort of tactics they use for choosing a new location later in the season. (although I'm sure most successful hunters have had their spots for years lol)


@338BLUFF. Thanks for the info. I should have specified I wasn't intending on hunting 510 this season I was just looking at conservation areas and there were a couple that caught my eye and was curious what sort of pressure or traffic was out that way as I may consider checking that location out in the spring for bear.

[3blade]

What you need to do is pick an area close to home that you will have access to every year and learn it inside and out. Wandering around every non-draw unit like a fart in the wind won’t get you anywhere...believe me, I did it when I was new.

For example, I am closing in on 200 km hiked in the zone I have an elk tag for this year. I know of 4 herds and more or less what they do every day. Bumbling around guessing wouldn’t get you within 5 km from where they are, and that’s exactly why they are there

As a general tip, elk care about survival and food in that order. Find a pocket that is hard to access with adequate grass and lots of elk sign. They can’t fly and leave tracks and crap.

[blgoodbrand1]

There are elk in all 3 of those zones but few and far between


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[Damien]

For the last few years I've typically hunted the same location but it has proven to be a bit far and inconvenient for me right now. My thought was somewhere around the whitecourt area would be closer for me to commit more time to. The goal is to find a decent or promising area with sign and focus on returning there but I need to pick a spot first. It can be tough and intimidating to try and learn all this stuff on your own. If anyone wants to step up to the plate and mentor I'd be grateful. I'd gladly leave my gun at home if that's what it took to tag along and learn to call better or proper techniques for spot and stalk. Identifying elk habitat. I do watch Youtube videos but there's no substitute for getting out there in the bush. I pull my own weight and don't expect a handout from anyone. And for anyone commenting advice I am truly grateful.

[Red Bullets]

Regarding elk... WMU 349 might not be the place to hunt elk unless you think you can find that "one" elk.

The aerial ungulate survey results over WMU 349 for 2018 was as follows. The total amount of ungulates observed were 141 moose, 41 whitetail deer, 6 mule deer, and 1 elk during a total of 18.9 hours flying time.

https://www.alberta.ca/aerial-wildli...y-reports.aspx

No survey for 350 but quite a few others.

[Athabasca1]

Good info Red Bullets. Thanks for posting the link.

[Mountainaccent]

Find popular trees on a ridgeline and start there first thing I look for in any area when looking for elk and new zones