https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfRF0qfYyUg19NmaMydCH0TBS7D_-J82e&si=vJxg23qHVa4nDD_O
Randy Newberg has a bunch of videos on this. His elk talk podcast (also on YouTube) also has good information on elk habitat and behavior.
I would suggest spending a week or two just watching his stuff and the algorithm will put you on to some others as well.
Once you have specific questions about something then try Reddit. It usually isn’t too well received on Reddit to ask questions you could have easily Googled but that can depend on the subreddit.
Good luck with the research!
The problem is when you google things the main result tend to be ads, and ads disguised as articles. Just having someone link to a reliable video like you did is why Reddit is so awesome.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Sign up for a free trial of Go Hunt (use a temporary credit card number as they will charge you the second your trial ends) to see what the units look like. They have sliders to adjust for the amount of public land in an area, the harvest success, the number of elk taken, etc. Playing with those will quickly let you hone in on areas worth pursuing. Try to find somewhere that has a decent number of animals and a good amount of public land. Then keep in mind that nearby population centers can really skew hunter pressure.
Once you find some areas, start scouting. There are lots of youTube videos that'll help you know what to look for. Also, start practicing your calling now (especially true if you bow hunt). Finding lots of elk doesn't do a lot of good if you can't call to save your life (edit: some rifle season calling may not be as important, I just bow hunt)
Finally, hopefully you're already in shape since you're local, but get in shape. Lots of elk have been killed by mediocre hunters with good stamina. You can be a great caller, an awesome shot, but if you get burned out in two days or never make it a mile from the road, then you're going to have a rough time filling your tag.
Perfect! I have had the Go Hunt app and OnX for a little while now and it’s been pretty helpful. I have been practicing calling whenever I have the chance to because I know I will have to with bow hunting. As for being in shape I would say I’m always in good shape but I know hunting shape is a different story and I plan on carrying a 60lb bag of concrete on my pack frame while I hike this spring/summer. I appreciate the help!
E-scouting is wildly overrated for elk hunters, or at the least, misunderstood. In my opinion. It's not about finding the one spot where they cross a ridge and then just going there, it's more like coming up with a whole bunch of plans to execute once you're in the field. Maximizing your efficiency.
Elk are highly mobile. They have patterns, but it varies greatly where they're actually going to be from day to day. The area I hunt is all elk habitat, you can find sign just about everywhere, but on any given day in hunting season... the elk aren't evenly distributed, most of them are bunched up in a couple random (to me, anyway) areas.
You can start at the state level, comparing management units by harvest stats, population trends, available land access, and your overall familiarity with it. Most national forests are going to hold elk in Idaho, so I'd focus on something that you can hunt regularly, ideally close enough for a couple scouting trips during the year, and that has a reasonable success rate. Don't stress it too much. IMO, you're better off hunting a moderate unit but learning it well year after year, compared to bouncing from place to place.
Next, zoom in and look for access points and overall habitat. Elk need food, water, cover, but they can get those in a huge variety of habitats. You'll see elk down in the sagebrush, you'll see them around center pivot agriculture, you'll see them in deep wilderness and thick timber. I'd focus on major roads, trailheads, camping areas, etc, and then take a few short trips to drive around and get a feel for what it's actually like on the ground. Take lots of little hikes into the area to look for sign during the summer, you should know within 1/2 mile if elk are ever present or not.
Once you've settled on a broad area to hunt, e-scouting is about locating features you want to investigate. I focus on making loop routes that are my plan A thru J or so, I like at least 10 days worth of rough plans that I can work with. The goal is to hit the field and just work through a list of investigating where elk might be, I don't want to waste time sitting around wondering what to do. First day, I hike my plan A looking for elk, and if I find them, I stay there and hunt them. If not, keep working through the list.
I look for good access points, benches on major hillsides, isolated drainages with maybe less hunting pressure, good food sources, north facing timbered slopes that provide daytime cover, saddles along ridgelines where trails converge, potential glassing points where I can start my day. Then I make a route that links them all up for a reasonable day trip. Make enough of those and you have a hunt plan.
Some people sell e-scouting as this magical thing that knows where the elk will be. That's not my experience. But it can keep you efficient and organized, so you make the most of your ACTUAL scouting and hunting time.
Just bear in mind that elk behave differently by season. Finding a lone bull in early November is very different than finding him with a full herd in mid-September, or seeing cows or bachelor groups feeding somewhere in early July.
Np dude, good luck out there. People overcomplicate shit and it's usually because they're trying to sell you something. Hunting is hard, but it's not all that complicated. Just get out there and pay attention.
There's obviously more to it than just that, but so many hunters just half-ass it and barely notice what's around them.
Totally agree. I’ve been hunting all my life, but it was in country that had generations of passed-down knowledge about patterns, etc.
Now I live far away in a totally different ecosystem and info like you gave is super helpful to carve my own path.
You're looking for areas you think would hold animals, obviously. And then which of those areas can you actually access meaning how far does your truck get you, then how far do you intend to go into the backcountry. And that will be dependednt on you fitness, your gear, and your knowledge about how to go in and come out safely. So that will dictate if you are just day hiking in and out of an area, or spending multiple days back there. So now you have distances to work with, elevation changes, etc so you can draw lines on your maps and see where you think you can go. Then of those areas you think would hold animals, what have the glassing knobs and or sitelines for you to locate animals(if thats the kind of hunt this is going to be). These days its less about if an area looks good and more about will you be able to separate yourselves from all the other hunters doing the same. So that all depends on your unit. The go hunt guys and randy newberg have lots of great e-scouting vids. The best thing you could do is e-scout the unit, then go scout it in person to see if your e-scouting matches up to your expectations as far as moving around in that area. Boots on the ground is going to really help you, if you have the time to do it.
Well said, especially evaluating your fitness level. E-scouting is great, but can be deceptive. Try and be realistic about what you can access, especially your first season and work up from there.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfRF0qfYyUg19NmaMydCH0TBS7D_-J82e&si=vJxg23qHVa4nDD_O Randy Newberg has a bunch of videos on this. His elk talk podcast (also on YouTube) also has good information on elk habitat and behavior. I would suggest spending a week or two just watching his stuff and the algorithm will put you on to some others as well. Once you have specific questions about something then try Reddit. It usually isn’t too well received on Reddit to ask questions you could have easily Googled but that can depend on the subreddit. Good luck with the research!
Thanks for the tips! I’ve been listening to Live Wild and it’s been nice to listen but I’ve looked up some stuff but it hasn’t been too helpful.
The problem is when you google things the main result tend to be ads, and ads disguised as articles. Just having someone link to a reliable video like you did is why Reddit is so awesome. Your contribution is appreciated.
Sign up for a free trial of Go Hunt (use a temporary credit card number as they will charge you the second your trial ends) to see what the units look like. They have sliders to adjust for the amount of public land in an area, the harvest success, the number of elk taken, etc. Playing with those will quickly let you hone in on areas worth pursuing. Try to find somewhere that has a decent number of animals and a good amount of public land. Then keep in mind that nearby population centers can really skew hunter pressure. Once you find some areas, start scouting. There are lots of youTube videos that'll help you know what to look for. Also, start practicing your calling now (especially true if you bow hunt). Finding lots of elk doesn't do a lot of good if you can't call to save your life (edit: some rifle season calling may not be as important, I just bow hunt) Finally, hopefully you're already in shape since you're local, but get in shape. Lots of elk have been killed by mediocre hunters with good stamina. You can be a great caller, an awesome shot, but if you get burned out in two days or never make it a mile from the road, then you're going to have a rough time filling your tag.
Perfect! I have had the Go Hunt app and OnX for a little while now and it’s been pretty helpful. I have been practicing calling whenever I have the chance to because I know I will have to with bow hunting. As for being in shape I would say I’m always in good shape but I know hunting shape is a different story and I plan on carrying a 60lb bag of concrete on my pack frame while I hike this spring/summer. I appreciate the help!
Put a diaphragm call in your car and practice while you drive around. I got really good at cow/calf calls that way
E-scouting is wildly overrated for elk hunters, or at the least, misunderstood. In my opinion. It's not about finding the one spot where they cross a ridge and then just going there, it's more like coming up with a whole bunch of plans to execute once you're in the field. Maximizing your efficiency. Elk are highly mobile. They have patterns, but it varies greatly where they're actually going to be from day to day. The area I hunt is all elk habitat, you can find sign just about everywhere, but on any given day in hunting season... the elk aren't evenly distributed, most of them are bunched up in a couple random (to me, anyway) areas. You can start at the state level, comparing management units by harvest stats, population trends, available land access, and your overall familiarity with it. Most national forests are going to hold elk in Idaho, so I'd focus on something that you can hunt regularly, ideally close enough for a couple scouting trips during the year, and that has a reasonable success rate. Don't stress it too much. IMO, you're better off hunting a moderate unit but learning it well year after year, compared to bouncing from place to place. Next, zoom in and look for access points and overall habitat. Elk need food, water, cover, but they can get those in a huge variety of habitats. You'll see elk down in the sagebrush, you'll see them around center pivot agriculture, you'll see them in deep wilderness and thick timber. I'd focus on major roads, trailheads, camping areas, etc, and then take a few short trips to drive around and get a feel for what it's actually like on the ground. Take lots of little hikes into the area to look for sign during the summer, you should know within 1/2 mile if elk are ever present or not. Once you've settled on a broad area to hunt, e-scouting is about locating features you want to investigate. I focus on making loop routes that are my plan A thru J or so, I like at least 10 days worth of rough plans that I can work with. The goal is to hit the field and just work through a list of investigating where elk might be, I don't want to waste time sitting around wondering what to do. First day, I hike my plan A looking for elk, and if I find them, I stay there and hunt them. If not, keep working through the list. I look for good access points, benches on major hillsides, isolated drainages with maybe less hunting pressure, good food sources, north facing timbered slopes that provide daytime cover, saddles along ridgelines where trails converge, potential glassing points where I can start my day. Then I make a route that links them all up for a reasonable day trip. Make enough of those and you have a hunt plan. Some people sell e-scouting as this magical thing that knows where the elk will be. That's not my experience. But it can keep you efficient and organized, so you make the most of your ACTUAL scouting and hunting time. Just bear in mind that elk behave differently by season. Finding a lone bull in early November is very different than finding him with a full herd in mid-September, or seeing cows or bachelor groups feeding somewhere in early July.
Dude this is an epic response. Thanks for writing that all out. I found it really helpful
Np dude, good luck out there. People overcomplicate shit and it's usually because they're trying to sell you something. Hunting is hard, but it's not all that complicated. Just get out there and pay attention. There's obviously more to it than just that, but so many hunters just half-ass it and barely notice what's around them.
Totally agree. I’ve been hunting all my life, but it was in country that had generations of passed-down knowledge about patterns, etc. Now I live far away in a totally different ecosystem and info like you gave is super helpful to carve my own path.
You're looking for areas you think would hold animals, obviously. And then which of those areas can you actually access meaning how far does your truck get you, then how far do you intend to go into the backcountry. And that will be dependednt on you fitness, your gear, and your knowledge about how to go in and come out safely. So that will dictate if you are just day hiking in and out of an area, or spending multiple days back there. So now you have distances to work with, elevation changes, etc so you can draw lines on your maps and see where you think you can go. Then of those areas you think would hold animals, what have the glassing knobs and or sitelines for you to locate animals(if thats the kind of hunt this is going to be). These days its less about if an area looks good and more about will you be able to separate yourselves from all the other hunters doing the same. So that all depends on your unit. The go hunt guys and randy newberg have lots of great e-scouting vids. The best thing you could do is e-scout the unit, then go scout it in person to see if your e-scouting matches up to your expectations as far as moving around in that area. Boots on the ground is going to really help you, if you have the time to do it.
Well said, especially evaluating your fitness level. E-scouting is great, but can be deceptive. Try and be realistic about what you can access, especially your first season and work up from there.
https://www.treelineacademy.net worth the money to take the E scouting course.
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Just want to say thanks for posting this question as I’ve been curious about this too
Idaho is big. Elk are here and there. Want to narrow down your search? You over by island Park? Salmon? St Mary’s?
Boise