Elk hunting in Wyoming area 9 Anyone have any advice ?

[jedman]

    Myself and 3 others that I hunt with just bought our Elk cow/ calf tags yesterday for this area. None of us has hunted near this area before and would like any tips that might help make this a success.  We will be staying at Woods Landing, WY thats only about 10 miles north of the Colorado border and a hour southwest of Laramie.
 We will be hunting mostly in the Medicine Bow NF and the elevations run from 7000 to 10000 + The first day will be Oct. 1st and we will be there only 1 full day before the opener.
  This area has alot of forest service roads running thru it and I expect alot of hunters driving the roads looking for a easy shot , so my plan is to walk in a mile or so and concentrate on water and thick cover.
 With just about everywhere experiencing severe drought conditions I would like any tips from you Elk hunters that have a better feel for what I should look for.
  I am older and have had multiple heart stents so I have to move slow and try to still hunt and stay out of trouble, ( no falls, broken legs ect. )
 Any advice ?                                        Jedman 

[Ranch13]

If you have multiple heart stints you would be well advised to get here at least 3 days ahead of any strenous activity. Your lungs will have a hard enough time finding oxygen as it is , without giving them sometime to adjust.
You likely would be smart to hold off until around the 10th to come up, as deer season opens on Oct 1 and it will be a zoo up there. Plus there is a tremendous amount of beetle kill timber, and the worst fire season is just now approaching. They did just get containment on a nearly 17000 acre fire in some of the better hunting in that area.
The timber there for the most part is old lodgepole pine stands, it's thick and hard to get thru without spooking game. The timber is in patches with meadows/creek's in between the patches. There are also several old clear cuts that the animals generally feed on, but during hunting season they won't be seen there much except when they go running thru.
Your plan to get back away from the roads is a good one, but you will have to do some hard looking to find someplace that's not already being pressured.
You will need to be prepared for weather running anywhere from hot dry and sunny to below zero and whiteout conditions, and they can both happen on the same day.
Also be mindful of the Savage Run wilderness area, nonresidents can not hunt in a designated wilderness without a licensed guide.
With enough patience and work you will be able to find elk, but it will take some hard work and a bucket full of luck.

[Silvertp]

The best advice I give to any  who come out to hunt elk is to .....Get in the best physical condition you can!


Enjoy your hunt
Silvertp

[Empty Quiver]

I hunt with 3 fellas over the age of 65 the old man is 84 this year. From my observations the thing to do is go slow and easy. Find your water hole and just sit them out. If at all possible find a place the elk are moving through and be patient.
 
The weather advice is spot on. In one hour I was swatting at pecker gnats, wiping snow from my glasses and back to swatting the gnats. Find yourself good light warm clothes, water / wind proof layer, and put them in a good pack. I'm thinking down coat and pants, light / warm. Throw water, GPS, Compass, Knife, Saw or Hatchet, Game bags, Cordage,Whetstone, Lunch, Fire making supplies, First Aid supplies, and precious little else in that pack. If you find a good hide consider caching that stuff each evening. Too danged heavy to simply take it all for a walk each day. (you may need some of that stuff for the hike in each day but not all of it) Trust me every pound will add up and you will be tempted to leave your undershirt behind to avoid the weight.
 
As big and clumsy as they look, those Elk don't know they are not deer. They don't pussyfoot through the woods though, so be ready to shoot. I was used to flat land and could not believe how many Elk can hide in a small fold of hillside, to appear just 40 yards away silently.
 
Wear out some excersize equipment between now and Oct. you will not regret it. Let your Dr. know what you are up to especially the altitude part as some meds may need tweaking. I take some sort of pill for a few days to avoid altitude sickness, and quit one BP med. Dehydration is one of the bodies mechanisms to fight altitude, be aware and drink plenty, especially the first few days.
 
First and foremost remember this is all for fun.

[Ranch13]

empty quiver brings up a real good point. When you  do get here, drink all the water you can hold, no pop, no beer and no more coffee or tea than it takes to get your eyes opened up. Bring plenty of advil, just incase you do get hit with altitude sickness, as that headache is about the worst you will ever have.
 

[jedman]

  Thanks for the tips,  I see my heart doc tomorrow and will mention the trip and altitude.   I have hunted Elk in 2002 & 2003 in CO in the flattops area of the White NF at similar altitudes, that was before  I had a heart attack.
 I have alot less energy nowadays but still think I can hunt the mountains.  I just want to use what energy I have wisely.
           Jedman

[Ranch13]

Well good luck and have fun. It'll be an interesting elk season this year as hot and dry as it is.

[mauser98us]

One of these days I will get up in that part of the country to hunt. Elk and deer tags are getting hard to come by here in Arizona. Also I get older every year so my window of opportunity to hunt gets smaller.

[jedman]

  Well its less than a week before I leave, the last 9 weeks have gone by very quick. I am as ready as im going to get.   So far the weather there has been mild with a little rain just about each week, Im glad our party decided to try elk hunting this year as I have heard from a rancher friend in the Lost Springs , WY area that conditions there are absolutely bone dry , browned out and the antelope have migrated somewhere else.  I have been hunting that area for the past 11 years and the antelope hunting has always been great !  This year the drought is at D 4 conditions , thats the worst condition on that rating scale.   I hope the Elk are getting by a bit better up in the high country,  I will post on how this all works out in a couple weeks.
    Jedman

[jedman]

  Now back from WY, total kill was 0. There was 1 shot taken by a guy in our party at a cow at long range and he aimed high and hit high,  clean miss.
 We did however see quite a few moose, In 4 days of hunting I seen 3 bulls, 4 cows and a calf, One  of our hunting party had a face off with a big bull moose at 15 yards, He had to yell several times before the moose decided to leave the small creek he was standing in.
  As expected there were too many hunters driving the forest service roads and 2 tracks since the deer and elk seasons opened the same day. To have a reasonable chance at killing anything in this area you would need a horse or be able to hike in and climb steep grades that was beyond what we could do safely.  It was a fun hunt and we gave it our best effort but hunting public lands is tuff hunting.
  Jedman

[Ranch13]

There isn't enough "empty" space in area 9 to get away from the crowds, especially opening week.
And now you know why the call it elk hunting , and the dirty little secret the game and fish never gives much prominence to, and that is 60 percent of the elk hunters everyyear go home with valid licenses in their pocket, most of those are likely to have never even had call to take the safety off...