- Mar 8, 2014
- 20
- 6
What's everyone doing when it comes to hunting pressure in your choice unit? Try to stay away from the pressure or maybe even like it and use to your advantage? Or do you stay away from busy units all together?
Pressure problem?
- Thread starter buckwhisperer
- Start date
badgerbob
Active Member
Hunting pressure comes and goes.. I stick with the same unit because I know it very well. I know where the animals go when pressured and where they will be if not. Eastmans have given it a good report a couple of times and actually did a TV show there. Following year saw a lot of people but it's a tough unit if you don't know it well. It seems like a year with a lot of pressure is always followed by one with light pressure.
hunt when the weathers is bad . most hunters is skeart to get wet. also ,hunt first light to very last. most folks is skeart of the dark and will be in camp before sun falls. amazing how much less the hunting pressure is during those times.
also, get in shape and go where most won't.
we are a lazy society, who want everything but are generally to lazy to work for it.
one of the perks of hunting same units year after year is you learn what the elk do when they are pressured and where they go.
can't tell you how many times hunters have told me how smart and wiley elk are .
THEY aren't! they are a dumb herd animal.
smarter then most humans ?? sure , no doubt but not smart at all.
learn their habits and like humans they are very predictable.
also, get in shape and go where most won't.
we are a lazy society, who want everything but are generally to lazy to work for it.
one of the perks of hunting same units year after year is you learn what the elk do when they are pressured and where they go.
can't tell you how many times hunters have told me how smart and wiley elk are .
THEY aren't! they are a dumb herd animal.
smarter then most humans ?? sure , no doubt but not smart at all.
learn their habits and like humans they are very predictable.
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I don't change a thing. In my experience a lot of hunters tend to hunt only a couple days and then get lazy. I find places the elk like to hide in. A lot of hunters over look these spots.
Also if the weather is bad hunters tend to stay in camp, those have been some of my best days hunting.
The elk are in the area you just have to hunt smart.
Also if the weather is bad hunters tend to stay in camp, those have been some of my best days hunting.
The elk are in the area you just have to hunt smart.
Slugz
Veteran member
"""Hunting pressure comes and goes.. I stick with the same unit because I know it very well. I know where the animals go when pressured and where they will be if not""""" Badger Bob
That's the secret sauce right there.
That's the secret sauce right there.
dirtclod Az.
Veteran member
I try to get back behind it, either spiking out or just getting up at like 3am and hiking to the back edges of the zones. Then I either hang out or work back slowly, letting the pressure drive game toward me. Sometimes I can even tell where the other hunters are ahead of time by their calls.
This works well for me for elk but at least in my experience, muleys are more cagey. Last year I watched a buck hole up about a half hour after legal hours started, and two hunters came stomping by him not 50 yards from where he was. He didn't budge and they never knew he was there.
But still, it works often enough. I'm kind of a lazy hunter, I often end up back at camp by noon for lunch so this just fits my style: get out early, loop around the back, then slowly work from the back to the front. 90% of the hunters I see never go more than a half mile from the road or their quads. I usually try to do an 8-10 mile loop.
Part of it is, although I carry good bino's, I'm not much of a glasser. I'm just not patient enough to sit there for hours "gridding" or whatever they call it. Coming to Colorado was the best move ever for me. Back East everyone uses blinds, and it's the most boring thing in the world to me, sitting there for 6 hours and hoping you chose a good spot. Give me a hike any day.
This works well for me for elk but at least in my experience, muleys are more cagey. Last year I watched a buck hole up about a half hour after legal hours started, and two hunters came stomping by him not 50 yards from where he was. He didn't budge and they never knew he was there.
But still, it works often enough. I'm kind of a lazy hunter, I often end up back at camp by noon for lunch so this just fits my style: get out early, loop around the back, then slowly work from the back to the front. 90% of the hunters I see never go more than a half mile from the road or their quads. I usually try to do an 8-10 mile loop.
Part of it is, although I carry good bino's, I'm not much of a glasser. I'm just not patient enough to sit there for hours "gridding" or whatever they call it. Coming to Colorado was the best move ever for me. Back East everyone uses blinds, and it's the most boring thing in the world to me, sitting there for 6 hours and hoping you chose a good spot. Give me a hike any day.
Slugz
Veteran member
All of the above. Anymore distance isn't what separates the crowd, it is usually how steep it is. Knowing how to use pressure and be patient just watching for elk is another trick. Saddles do wonders in that regard, sit on a saddle and just wait especially in an area where the population is strong.
highplainsdrifter
Very Active Member
Many hunters are also "skeart" to get caught out in the dark. I have found some of the best hunting to be in the evening hours. Be prepared to field dress an animal in the dark. Unless you're in griz country, don't worry about the dark.
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- Mar 8, 2014
- 20
- 6
Really good input everyone, really appreciate it. I'm still researching areas, and etc. Let the Utah deadline pass for muley hunt so I'm all in for CO elk, no turning back now. I'm taking all this info to heart, thanks
