Lookin for elk and not finding any...

[CNP]

Have an antlerless tag to fill and have to the 21st of Feb to fill it. I'm puttin' in the effort but not really into it.........I'll have to buy another freezer to accommodate it.

Seeing lots of guys truck huntin' and that is probably the wise thing to do in these temperatures, but I've been out and about covering lots of land. Did a 5.5 hour walk today starting out at 0715. With all the extra clothing and new snow, it really slows a guy down and quickly drains energy.

At least I've been cutting some track, track that was no more than a couple hours old. I didn't have it in me to continue following for long as they were going up and I was already questioning myself on why I came so far in the first place, only to be duped into going even further............animal recovery would have been brutal.

Stumbled upon a trail cam, which was hidden very well in plain view. It was positioned to overlook a pond, something I found odd. Maybe there's some pond life that the owner wants to capture? Not going to be anything out on the pond till late spring I suspect, so I donated my mug for viewing. Camera was still in operation and it appears that with the antenna that pictures are sent to the owners cell phone.

[Desert Eagle]

Looks like a tough day for sure. Still much better than being stuck in an office ;p

[TrapperMike]

Just curious what zones are still open for antlerless elk.

[no-regard]

Looks like a hard, but good day. Your face-camo is very convincing!

[blueice123]

In this cold and getting something, I would be to far out from truck max two k . It a very tough hike


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[bucksman]

Originally Posted by TrapperMike

Just curious what zones are still open for antlerless elk.

WMU 300 Elk Special Licence — S9 - O24, O25 - D24, D25 - F21, 2021

I was curious too, so I looked for myself


Good luck CNP, looks cold out there

[waldedw]

Well if nothing else you got some good exercise and lots of fresh air, good luck, late season elk can be a tough game.

[artie]

nice pictures good for you for getting out. Was nice meeting you the other day as you were walking down the Kananaskis. You had done a long day that time also.

[Madocmike]

First of all.... Good for you sir! That's bloody cold out and the fact that you are out there putting in the effort is an accomplishment worth noting.
I remember my dad saying about hunting in rain/ snow/ cold etc... " you can't shoot them from the couch".
So well done, and I tip my hat to you .
-Michael

[CNP]

Originally Posted by artie

nice pictures good for you for getting out. Was nice meeting you the other day as you were walking down the Kananaskis. You had done a long day that time also.

Excellent by chance meet it was Artie. You still hangin' out in the Pass?

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by waldedw

Well if nothing else you got some good exercise and lots of fresh air, good luck, late season elk can be a tough game.

There's more to finding elk than walking the woods, I hate to say.

Grizz

[Dean2]

Good story and nice pictures. I have had lots of great hunts where I didn't shoot a thing. Especially hunting alone, I am good with going for a nice walk and picking up a steak at Safeway on the way home.



One tip, if you need a new freezer you may want to order it or at least reserve one. We bought a new large chest freezer in 2020, it took 6 months from time of order and there was no availability in stock anywhere. We sold the small chest freezer it replaced in a day for 50 bucks more than what we paid for it 6 years earlier.

[calgarychef]

I know precious little about elk hunting, although come to think of it I have killed 4 cow elk in exactly those conditions.

First of all, stay out of the open flats and off of hilltops every critter can see you.
Find the thickest willow that you can and sit a ways back and glass into the Bush.
You’ll be surprised how they can hide.
Oh and tracks..no big swaths of elk tracks = no elk.
Sometimes it pays to sit in the truck and glass and glass. You might find the area they are in on one day and hunt them on the next day. But be ready to move fast when you do see them. When they’re on the move you can get in front of the herd and shoot one.

When you do find them if you can’t sneak into them do a big circle all the way around, and we’ve had it where we did the big circle then just marched right into the herd and shot our elk. They’re herd animals and if they’re being pressured a lot sometimes they’ll just stand and mill around. Sometimes- and other times they’ll do exactly what you don’t want.

And if the elk aren’t in your area, you’ll have to either move area or wait until they come, which might happen or knowing elk might not. If you only have permission on one area, that’s all you can do, go back every day and hope they end up on “your” spot. That’s what we did one year, we only had a couple small permissions, we went every morning...did the big snowshoe in and one morning they were there.

Here’s another scenario. We had a good size herd bedded out on a hillside in the open and they were safe and happy, no way they were moving. I told buddy “I’ll go around the back and come over the hill in full view and move them your way.”
So He drove me around the backside, I waited in the freezing cold for about 45 minutes to allow him to get back into position. Then I walked and as I came over a tiny little rise, there they were, right in front of me. I shot one at 60 yards.

None of this helps you if you can’t find the elk in your area, but it does lend hope.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Good story and nice pictures. I have had lots of great hunts where I didn't shoot a thing. Especially hunting alone, I am good with going for a nice walk and picking up a steak at Safeway on the way home.



One tip, if you need a new freezer you may want to order it or at least reserve one. We bought a new large chest freezer in 2020, it took 6 months from time of order and there was no availability in stock anywhere. We sold the small chest freezer it replaced in a day for 50 bucks more than what we paid for it 6 years earlier.

Sometimes those are the best hunts, it should be more about the experience than getting lucky. If you get some great pictures, more so.

Grizz

[wildwoods]

OP: I am guessing you are a seasoned elk hunter and you know as well as most of us that everything can change in a split second and, boom! There's your opportunity. If you are in the right areas they frequent, trust your guts. Don't chase. Be patient. You'll get your window!

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

Sometimes those are the best hunts, it should be more about the experience than getting lucky. If you get some great pictures, more so.

Grizz

True. Pretty much every year I pass up animals because I don't want to clean them in the dark or else don't want to drag them out of where they are. Got to go those places to see the animals but with a little age you learn you don't have to shoot them there.

[KBF]

Looks like great spot for wolf bait.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by Dean2

True. Pretty much every year I pass up animals because I don't want to clean them in the dark or else don't want to drag them out of where they are. Got to go those places to see the animals but with a little age you learn you don't have to shoot them there.

So true!

[wildwoods]

Originally Posted by Dean2

True. Pretty much every year I pass up animals because I don't want to clean them in the dark or else don't want to drag them out of where they are. Got to go those places to see the animals but with a little age you learn you don't have to shoot them there.

Haha maybe I’m just young and dumb but if the target animal is in the cross hairs, we usually shoot first and kick ourselves (with a huge grin) later

[thumper]

These days, I'm all for shooting the littlest one I can find!

[CNP]

Originally Posted by thumper

These days, I'm all for shooting the littlest one I can find!

You just reminded me of a boar hunt I was on with three other guys somewhere near N Battleford SK. The boar you shot was the boar you paid for.....by weight...before it was field dressed you were required to weigh in and record the weight for the invoice. I always do the math. A 200 pounder was going to cost me $750 and there were boars double that weight roaming around.

Having never hunted boars before, I wasn't someone who would be considered a good judge on a live boars weight. As it turned my three buddies all shot their boars on the first day and weighed them in. That helped me a lot in guesstimating size vs weight. Later that evening the boys were regaling their accounts of the days hunt. The biggest boar shot was 275 lbs. Having nothing to brag about myself, I told the boys that if this is a competition I was going to be the winner.

The next morn we all get up and my buddies are going to help me put a boar to bed. Not long into the day we bump into a group of boars and from my viewpoint it was easy to choose from the variety of animals, which one I was going to shoot. Using a crossbow, I squeezed the trigger on the one I wanted as mine. Chaos breaks out and boars are running everywhere, one with a massive blood gusher, it was obvious to my buddies which one was hit. They all looked at me with wrinkled foreheads when the smallest of the pigs in the group drops.

Where's the high fives boys?

I declared myself the winner. After all, my pig weighed in at 80 lbs, costing me a mere $300. The loser, with his 275 lb hog, paid over $1,000.

[JReed]

Originally Posted by CNP

I declared myself the winner. After all, my pig weighed in at 80 lbs, costing me a mere $300. The loser, with his 275 lb hog, paid over $1,000.

I know nothing about boars, but I'm going to guess your 80lb hog tasted a lot better than those bigger ones.

[thumper]

Originally Posted by JReed

I know nothing about boars, but I'm going to guess your 80lb hog tasted a lot better than those bigger ones.

It took me a while to find the deer I wanted this past fall; a nice little fawn trying to hide behind momma. There's just 2 of us at home now, and once I shook the spots of that little deer, we had perfect 'meals for 2' for us, starting with standing rack of fawn.

I've got lots of horns on the wall, and am now happy to just help the young fellas close their tags on wall hangers. They can drag their animals miles back to the truck, and gnaw their way through gnarly old bucks and stinky 6 x 6 elk - but these days, I'm looking for veal on my table. Something I can easily walk out to the truck with, skin and butcher in daylight, and still be in bed at a reasonable hour!

[slopeshunter]

^^^ nothing wrong with this that!

[CNP]

Found two in a pasture while glassing on Tue. They were more than 1.5 miles away. Haven't felt motivated and I begrudgingly went after them. It was all uphill, at least a recovery would be all down hill........never go down to start your hunt

I arrived at the pasture they were in and they weren't there of course...followed their tracks out of the pasture and up of course. Found them not long after, at 200 yards I didn't need glass to see their racks, put up the glass anyway......two nice 6X6s. Breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and called her a day.

[KegRiver]

It figures.

I don't hunt Elk, don't know how and couldn't dress one if I did.

But in the past three days I've seen two good sized herds within throwing distance of local roads, plus a cow and calf Moose in my neighbors driveway.

That's the way it goes. A couple of years ago two guys from Camrose showed up looking for late season Elk, they had never hunted the WMU before so were not having any luck. Somehow they heard about me and gave me a call.

I spent a day showing them where I had seen Elk recently and helped them get permission on four properties with ample Elk sign.
Wouldn't you know it, over the next four days they saw zero Elk, and no fresh tracks in any of the locations I showed them.

That's why I don't hunt them. They seem to vanish when you pick up a rifle.

[Ronaround]

Originally Posted by Dean2

True. Pretty much every year I pass up animals because I don't want to clean them in the dark or else don't want to drag them out of where they are. Got to go those places to see the animals but with a little age you learn you don't have to shoot them there.

This is SO true.
its age and many animals under your belt that gives you the confidence to do this! Good Call!

[wildwoods]

Originally Posted by CNP

Found two in a pasture while glassing on Tue. They were more than 1.5 miles away. Haven't felt motivated and I begrudgingly went after them. It was all uphill, at least a recovery would be all down hill........never go down to start your hunt

I arrived at the pasture they were in and they weren't there of course...followed their tracks out of the pasture and up of course. Found them not long after, at 200 yards I didn't need glass to see their racks, put up the glass anyway......two nice 6X6s. Breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and called her a day.

Ah this post is hilarious^^^. I cannot comprehend this train of thought, but I am sure I will someday

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by wildwoods

Ah this post is hilarious^^^. I cannot comprehend this train of thought, but I am sure I will someday

For one, he only has a cow tag, two, after walking that far for a good look and seeing two really nice bulls, I think that was just a great day out side. Conrats CNP.


Ronaround, yes you are correct. Age and having taken a large number of animals over the years means the hunting is far more interesting than the work attendant on being successful. The young guys always end up figuring that out too, but there is no cure for shootiatess aside from age. I had it big time when I was young too.

[Flatlandliver]

Originally Posted by Dean2

For one, he only has a cow tag, two, after walking that far for a good look and seeing two really nice bulls, I think that was just a great day out side. Conrats CNP.


Ronaround, yes you are correct. Age and having taken a large number of animals over the years means the hunting is far more interesting than the work attendant on being successful. The young guys always end up figuring that out too, but there is no cure for shootiatess aside from age. I had it big time when I was young too.

Buddy needs a spotting scope. Saves boot leather.