Why You Should Avoid the Path of Least Resistance in Elk Country

The pathway to success rarely has an offramp pointing the way with clear signage. I made that up, but quite sure someone wiser than me said it decades prior with more elegance. Regardless, elk hunting follows a similar pathway to success. In brief, there is rarely a clear path unless you shell out thousands of dollars to access elk refuges behind locked gates.

To be successful on public lands with a DIY mindset, you first need to find the elk before putting your calls and decoys into play. You may be lucky to draw a license in a unit managed for few hunters and trophy aspirations, but even units managed by lotteries you will find significant hunting pressure. Still, keep up with your preference point purchases to someday hunt one of those managed units. I drew an Arizona tag last year after more than a decade of waiting. It was a top 10 Arizona elk unit, but I still ran into hunters on nearly every mountain trail.

Sure, I complain, but instead of keeping up the bitching, I forged a path to the elk and after years of fine tuning, I believe the path of least resistance leads you nowhere. Take the road less traveled for DIY, public-land elk.

My approach utilizes three elements to get into public-land elk. Sometimes the three work in concert while on other hunts one stands out as the answer to finding elk. These three tactical approaches include vertical escapes, remote treks or hunting overlooked corridors. Vertical country tops my list of places to find elk and avoid hunters.

Steep country and remote hikes can help separate you from the crowd looking for the path of least resistance on their public-land elk hunt. 

First, vertical terrain separates you from the average, out-of-shape hunter. I call them the “70 percenters.” Most data affirms that 70 percent or more of Americans are overweight, or obese. In brief, that club does not like to hike or crawl straight up a mountain. Find steep terrain that still offers grazing opportunities, water and north-facing cover, and you typically find elk. Openings offering feed and water can simply be snowpack in the north-facing timber, or a hidden spring. Put your hunting app to use and locate topographical lines so close together you can barely see separation and then virtually fly over the area looking for openings, plus water.

More than half of the bulls I tagged in the past decade have been the result of forging up a mountain with 1,200 to more than 2,000 feet of separation from any trailhead. Some may try that approach a day or two (my complaining hunting partners included), but most quickly abandon the slopes for moderate country. Elk, on the other hand, will power up a slope day after day after visiting lowland feed.

The next approach I employ that many utilize is remoteness. Hike a mile or 2 into any roadless section of elk country, and you stand a good chance of being alone with elk aroma around you. Open your hunting app or lay out a map. Look for large parcels of country, 2- to 4-square miles in outline that has no wheeled access. A big canyon or three in between the best country only adds to the attractiveness of an area for elk. Expanses like this also provide good bivy opportunities for an exploratory gamble in the elk game. Most serious elk hunters are capable of hiking three to four miles per day, but when you double or triple that distance, the 70 percent rule again comes into play.

Lastly, consider the overlooked when attempting to find elk in a seemingly unlimited swath of public land. Few regions are overlooked in the pressure cooker world of public land elk hunting powered by hunting apps galore. However, situational awareness is everything. Do a drive through the unit. Talk to locals and scout for all asylum possibilities elk could use to avoid public land pressure. Large private holdings will be your main focus. As more land is locked in the West by wealthy trusts, elk adapt quickly and move to shelters, oftentimes before the start of hunting season.

If you do not have relatives or hunting peers with personal insight on a unit, the best information often comes from local game wardens. They live there and deal with elk issues 365 days a year. They know if elk rally on public lands or hightail it to private sanctuaries, or both. Reach out to them and get their insight on what herds do in a particular unit.

Elk do have an Achilles’ heel, even when using private land for refuge. That downfall is movement. During the rut elk bulls wander between herds. Later in the fall they may migrate to better feed or move between food sources, possibly making them vulnerable. Locate possible elk congregation points. Seek out any public access corridors adjacent to the tracts and be prepared when conditions force movement. I use my HuntStand hunting app to find these abutting properties and to keep me on the right side of the fence during the hunt. On my most recent general unit tag in Montana, I arrowed a plump satellite bull as it made its way to a private-land fence only hundreds of yards away from my ambush location. He tasted great.

Nearly 1,000 feet of ascension helped Kayser separate himself from the crowds to take this general unit bull.

LET THEM SEE YOU IN THE FORM OF AN ELK

When your plan takes you to the road less traveled, it requires you to plan for a lighter equipment list in your backpack. Whether solo or with a partner, the addition of a Montana Decoy Backcountry Elk Decoy makes sense. It sets up quickly, folds easily and weighs less than 9 ounces. You will not notice it in your backpack, but elk will notice it when you deploy it during a hot setup.

Even with a decoy, you need to be proactive in using it for the top results. First, determine the climatic conditions. If the wind is calm, you may want to stick with your decoy. Elk will always try to circle downwind, but in calm conditions they do not get any wind advantage allowing you to stay with the decoy and manipulate it when needed. Manipulation may include moving or flashing the decoy slowly from a distance to grab the attention of an elk. Believe it or not, but elk do not always see a stationary object. Plus, as elk try to maneuver closer, you can slowly rotate the decoy to keep the 2D outline of the decoy always in sight. A few calls from that position may be all that is needed for an elk to close the distance for a shot.

Decoys, calls, and scents all help when you separate yourself from the normal elk hunting crowd. The Montana Backcountry Elk Decoy is lightweight and easy to set up. 

Next, consider your moves when faced with a steady breeze. You may wish to stake your decoy and set up downwind even farther since elk will almost certainly circle. This works when hunting solo, but I take it a step further in that scenario. My go-to strategy is to move once I feel elk are attracted to my calls. I will stake the decoy near where I called and then move downwind another 75 to 100 yards depending on the thickness of the habitat. This provides me a space between the decoy and myself where any approaching elk will likely circle downwind to scent check the area and hopefully see the decoy. A quick spritz of elk scent, like products from Wildlife Research Center, can add to the realism and complete the ruse. When a bull sees the decoy as it circles, you will attract it even closer into your trap, plus distract it. Its gaze will be away as you draw an arrow.

Few DIY elk hunts on public lands mimic a whitetail hunt on your uncle’s farm in the Midwest. Nevertheless, with planning and grit, plus taking the path less traveled, success is doable. Good luck!