mrcommons Report post Posted March 19, 2021 Hi all - long time follower of the site, first time posting because I FINALLY drew an elk tag. I wanted an elk tag this year before my wife and I have kids so I put in for the peaks and 6A early season rifle bull. My credit card hit and I am 99% certain its the peaks. I am in very good shape however I know I will need to step up my workouts for this hunt. I usually OTC deer hunt in 7E so I know the neighboring terrain. I scouted it last year in late august. Saw more bulls than cows, saw a bachelor herd of rag horns with a respectable 6x6 and caught a beautiful 5x5 on game camera. My questions are: is there a recent burn area in the peaks? Does calling in early October work? I see the archery bull and the rifle cow will encompass their first 3 weeks and the neighboring unit 7E, will also have had their archery bull hunt in September as well. Will this drive the elk up the timberline 10-11k feet? I've watched all of Randy's videos on the hunt. Seems like a true old school hunt, no vehicle access, hiking in and out, which I love to do. I get the feeling that people who are desperate (including me) to get an elk tag put in for this unit but turn back when they actually see the work involved. Any advice or information will be awesome, I love hunting, dreamed of elk hunting with my dad since I was a young boy. Now I got the chance and would love to make it good, memorable hunt with him, and I'd appreciate any input. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flatlander Report post Posted March 19, 2021 Welcome to the site... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Rabbit Report post Posted March 19, 2021 One year, I witnessed a bull shot up in the Inner Basin. The most recent burn is the Shultz fire swept across the east slopes in 2010. You should still hear some bugling in early October, so cow calling may work. One year, I was photographing the aspens and a pair of hunters said they were finding them up at 10k Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted March 19, 2021 That didn't take long. 1 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JBenz63 Report post Posted March 19, 2021 I have the ultimate secret for success... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JBenz63 Report post Posted March 19, 2021 Scouting 🤭 2 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deerhunter Report post Posted March 19, 2021 heck I got drawn for elk in unit 22 this year. Not sure of the dates yet. Never hunted it for elk, just whitetail and plan on doing plenty of scouting. Not one to ask for pointers nor round about areas. Trial by error and plenty of scouting. I like mixing it up every once in a while and hunt units I don’t normally hunt. Payed off so far. Good luck all!!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Markleo21377 Report post Posted March 20, 2021 4 hours ago, mrcommons said: Hi all - long time follower of the site, first time posting because I FINALLY drew an elk tag. I wanted an elk tag this year before my wife and I have kids so I put in for the peaks and 6A early season rifle bull. My credit card hit and I am 99% certain its the peaks. I am in very good shape however I know I will need to step up my workouts for this hunt. I usually OTC deer hunt in 7E so I know the neighboring terrain. I scouted it last year in late august. Saw more bulls than cows, saw a bachelor herd of rag horns with a respectable 6x6 and caught a beautiful 5x5 on game camera. My questions are: is there a recent burn area in the peaks? Does calling in early October work? I see the archery bull and the rifle cow will encompass their first 3 weeks and the neighboring unit 7E, will also have had their archery bull hunt in September as well. Will this drive the elk up the timberline 10-11k feet? I've watched all of Randy's videos on the hunt. Seems like a true old school hunt, no vehicle access, hiking in and out, which I love to do. I get the feeling that people who are desperate (including me) to get an elk tag put in for this unit but turn back when they actually see the work involved. Any advice or information will be awesome, I love hunting, dreamed of elk hunting with my dad since I was a young boy. Now I got the chance and would love to make it good, memorable hunt with him, and I'd appreciate any input. Thanks! Congratulations on the tag! Yes, calling is very effective in there that time of year. I took a buddy from South Carolina last year on archery hunt and saw over 30 bulls before he killed his. Look at topography, location of springs, avalanche chutes and you will find the elk prefer a certain elevation and type of topography. We ran into lots of guys who couldn't turn up a bull and I was sick of calling taghorns in. It's not magic just need to know what elk need and how they behave....comes from lot's of time in the field. Good luck, Mark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrcommons Report post Posted March 20, 2021 18 hours ago, Markleo21377 said: Congratulations on the tag! Yes, calling is very effective in there that time of year. I took a buddy from South Carolina last year on archery hunt and saw over 30 bulls before he killed his. Look at topography, location of springs, avalanche chutes and you will find the elk prefer a certain elevation and type of topography. We ran into lots of guys who couldn't turn up a bull and I was sick of calling taghorns in. It's not magic just need to know what elk need and how they behave....comes from lot's of time in the field. Good luck, Mark Thanks Mark! Interesting, I live in Mesa, but I am from Charleston, SC. I got the Topo map, I'll be looking for those chutes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrcommons Report post Posted March 20, 2021 22 hours ago, Red Rabbit said: One year, I witnessed a bull shot up in the Inner Basin. The most recent burn is the Shultz fire swept across the east slopes in 2010. You should still hear some bugling in early October, so cow calling may work. One year, I was photographing the aspens and a pair of hunters said they were finding them up at 10k Thanks for the info, good to know they we still be responsive to calls. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reece_mess16 Report post Posted March 27, 2021 Please tell us about the hunt after. I’ve been curious about that hunt for years. Good luck this year! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
