Well then....

[mallardsx2]

Hunting with a muzzleloader (Normally I archery hunt) in some of the thickest steepest nastiest terrain that the Flattops has. Never even cocked the hammer.

I was shocked at the amount of hunters and the lack of elk in the Unit I was hunting (And I covered a lot of ground while I was there....more than 98% of the other hunters) I did find about 50 piles of bones and came to find out that the illustrious DOW had been issuing 2500 Cow tags in that unit several years in a row and that the elk population took a huge hit because of it. The resident I talked to said that the place used to be really good but the elk just got shot off really bad. Very nice guy and he shared a lot of the same opinions that I did. Said that he had seen 3 times the hunters this season than he ever has and was surprised to bump into me. He said he had been hunting there for 15 years and had seen the good days....Which made me feel really sick for burning my points on a dud unit.

Very little water.

Very little Elk.

Full Moon

Very Hot/Dry

Bulls Had no interest in responding to cow calls

Very little bugling

Lots of hunting pressure.

I still had a good trip despite the facts above.

I learned a lot about the unit I was hunting. Found water sources, found wallows, found some old pack trails, ect ect ect...

Hope everyone else has better luck than my group did!

 

[Slugz]

I'll compare notes with you via pm. I suspect I'm within 60 miles of where you are hunting with the opposite results. We are still up hi chasing mulies. We had a cow go down 2nd day of muzzleloader, but they were quiet. The cold snap the later half of muzzleloader week kicked the heavy rutting action and we had bulls down the 15th, 17th, 18th and one missed shot yesterday. (All archery) They have been vocal in the am fending off satellite bulls and generally quiet in the pm. We have had 1 missed muley shot and 5 drawbacks but no shots due to angles. Muley action the past week has been stalking twice a day seeing 6-8 bucks.

 

[Skibum81]

I too hunted the flat tops for ML with a cow tag in my pocket for the first time ever this year. We hiked in and setup a drop camp about 5 mile back. 3 of us hunted very hard for the first two days and saw a single elk, tons of sign but all seemed to be a few weeks old. A very similar experience to what you saw. We then decided to pull out and move to a completely different area. At the new area we did a good job turning up a couple Bulls and I had a dandy at 30 yards, sadly only the cow tag. My question to the more seasoned flat top hunters. The area that had no elk but was classic great terrain that seemed a little dry due to little rain. Did others find areas that normally hold elk to be void of animals this year? I am just wondering if it was the weather or if this is just an area I should avoid in the future.

 

[mallardsx2]

I spoke to at least 5 GOOD elk hunters (Guys who almost always have success) They said that the activity was minimal and that the pressure on the elk was really high this season (especially early). NONE of the guys I know who were hunting out there did worth a hoot. About half blamed the full moon the other half blamed the dry weather.

I guess I am feeling a little better about striking out after the many poor reports I have received.

 

[Slugz]

I think that speaks to location location location and knowing the area and how animals react to the weather and hunting pressure. Not being an ass but just providing info......I saw nothing different from any other year. Dry spells, fronts coming through, spikes in rutting action, more activity at night due to the full moon. Sorry to hear about the crummy hunts.

 

[MtnBuck]

What elevations? The thing about the flat tops is that you can find a great location that works for a few years and the next thing you know someone has beat you to your honey hole. Gotta have a plan B.

 

[mallardsx2]

I hunted between 11,500 and 9800'.

Also,

I should at least mention that this was an over-the-counter archery unit. Not a draw unit.