Map study

[txhtr333]

I will be going on my first elk hunt this year. I am hunting in the Routte area of Colorado in the third rifle season(oct 31-nov 7th). I'm wanting to know what kind of things should be areas to focus in on in my map study? I am trying to put together a game plan and am just wondering what should stand out to me on a map for a post rut Colorado hunt?

 

[buckbull]

Very good info in this link:

http://forum.eastmans.com/showthread.php/11249-Google-Earth-Scouting-What-to-look-for?highlight=google+earth

 

[badgerbob]

It really depends on the terrain. I hunt steep country so I look for major drainages, then look at the dominant ridge between them. Find the lowest passes along it and you will usually find heavy use trails. I like the passes with timber but have found trails in sage brush also. This is where I start, once actually on the ground I may change things up a bit depending on what I find.

 

[txhtr333]

Very good info in this link:

http://forum.eastmans.com/showthread.php/11249-Google-Earth-Scouting-What-to-look-for?highlight=google+earth

Thanks for sharing, very helpful link

 

[Slugz]

Draw a 1.5 mile wide line around all the access. Trails, ATV, 2 tracks, roads......etc. Let that then paint a picture of if you were an elk where you would go. Hunting pressure will push them there. Glass glass glass glass and cover ground.

 

[HiMtnHnter]

I will be going on my first elk hunt this year. I am hunting in the Routte area of Colorado in the third rifle season(oct 31-nov 7th). I'm wanting to know what kind of things should be areas to focus in on in my map study? I am trying to put together a game plan and am just wondering what should stand out to me on a map for a post rut Colorado hunt?

Map study is always a good idea. It also pays off to know what a bull is looking for in November. He's recovering from the rut so he wants easy access to food, water, and cover, and he generally wants to be alone or with a few other bulls. I have seen a lot of bulls pull back up higher in November, December, even later to get what he wants. In fact, I've seen a bull winter at timberline. In all the areas I've found consistent bulls later in the season, they all had the qualities I mentioned, but the one other factor was the lack of access, either by distance or by difficulty. For example, One mountain I found bulls on later in the season was not very far from a road. In fact, a state highway runs right below it. But the mountain is so steep that most people don't give it a second look. It's kicked my azz more than once. But nobody goes up there. Bulls like it there because they can be alone, and there's adequate resources for their survival.

I've done a lot of map study. The most consistent thing I've found is that there is better hunting in those places others won't go, either because it too rough, to far away from a road, or it's just simply overlooked.

 

[badgerbob]

Map study is always a good idea. It also pays off to know what a bull is looking for in November. He's recovering from the rut so he wants easy access to food, water, and cover, and he generally wants to be alone or with a few other bulls. I have seen a lot of bulls pull back up higher in November, December, even later to get what he wants. In fact, I've seen a bull winter at timberline. In all the areas I've found consistent bulls later in the season, they all had the qualities I mentioned, but the one other factor was the lack of access, either by distance or by difficulty. For example, One mountain I found bulls on later in the season was not very far from a road. In fact, a state highway runs right below it. But the mountain is so steep that most people don't give it a second look. It's kicked my azz more than once. But nobody goes up there. Bulls like it there because they can be alone, and there's adequate resources for their survival.

I've done a lot of map study. The most consistent thing I've found is that there is better hunting in those places others won't go, either because it too rough, to far away from a road, or it's just simply overlooked.

Yep................