Early Season Elk Scouting

Training 06/17/2014 1. 5-10-15-20-25-30-35-40-45-50-45-40-35-30-25-20-15-10-5 Unbroken (UB) Double-Unders 9:52 2. 2 sets Max Effort Bar Muscle-ups, 2 sets Ring Muscle-ups (17 bar, 13 ring) shoulder is 90%!!! 3. 5 Rounds For Time: 10 OHS #135 5 Hang Power Clean #135 10 Box Jump Overs 24" 9:32 - ohs was not unbroken Early Season Elk Scouting A lot can be said about early season elk scouting, I will keep it basic and right to the point: I spend most of my time in the areas that the elk will be in once September rolls around, these are rutting zones where usually big bulls live and bring the cows to when the time comes. I usually have to hike through snow to get to these spots in early June, and usually only see a few elk tracks as most elk are still at lower elevation where the grass is at. In my area, this holds true that the elk follow the snow line up. Once I get to the rutting areas I spend a great deal of time clearing out the elk trails with loppers and a chain saw. If I can make their trails relatively brush free, I can move through their travel corridors at lightning speed. 95% of the elk I've killed involved no elk calls, just moving in on the herd as they transition from feeding to bedding areas...this transition game has worked best for me. I have a built in map of all the trails the elk will use and make sure to have lots of places with shooting lanes void of brush and downfall. It's a lot of work, but each year that I go back into these hell holes I notice the brush removal takes less and less time. I also put out trail cameras, last week I put up 6. I use Bushnell HD cameras in the lock box to keep out bears and lazy thieves. Make sure to put AA Lithium batteries in with a 32 GB card on video mode, this will gather plenty of intelligence for you to review once September rolls around. Put the camera up over a wallow or mineral lick or a well traveled lateral elk trail. Stay out of the area until elk season arrives and spend time reviewing your footage at base camp, you'll know who's who in the zoo so to speak, as well as if you have a wolf problem and how many cows/calves are in the area. The more information the better in my opinion. I hope this helps showcase how I scout early June for late September.