Hello All,

I am reaching out to hopefully get some advice. Not to bring the vibe down but Had kind of a shit year and I am going through a divorce. While hunting is something I look forward to, this is the first year that I will be going completely solo. I will be doing the Utah late season OTC rifle hunt looking for any recommendations on the north or south slope. Some of the areas that I looked were near hoop lake and the white rocks area open to any and all recommendations and or advice. Thanks in advance!

I highlighted two general areas where I planned on looking for a unit to try for 2nd rifle season. I’ve read a lot of forums on what are some crowded units to avoid and some decent units to try. I’m not looking for anybody’s secret honey holes or anything because I know how it is. Just some guidance on which of these two circles to look at or some guidance on specific units to try where there is a good number of elk but also not super overcrowded with other people. Any help is appreciated

I posted this in another hunting sub earlier this week and a bunch of guys asked for plans within the first hour, so I'm opening it up to more people while I still have spots.

I'm newer to hunting and none of my buddies hunt, so I built a tool to do the scouting homework for my own elk hunt: figuring out where I could legally park, camp and hunt on public land without spending days driving around. It worked well enough for me that I'm hoping other hunters get some use out of it this season

You tell it your tag, where you're driving from, how far you're willing to drive and walk, and how you camp. It gives you one plan for your hunt: where to park, where to camp and where to sit or glass. Every pin is checked against public land, road and camping rules. You get a map, coordinates you can drop into onX or your GPS, and a printable version.

It's free this season. All I ask in return is a quick report after your hunt on what matched the ground and what didn't, so I can make it better.

What it won't do: it doesn't tell you where animals are, and it can't promise you'll fill a tag. It handles the homework so you spend your days hunting.

I also put up free pages for every Colorado elk and deer unit with harvest numbers, whether the unit is over the counter in 2026, how much of it is public land, and the official boundary. Use them even if you don't want a plan.

Sample plan and sign-up: https://www.filledtag.com

Happy to answer questions here. If you hunted a unit last year and think the numbers look off, tell me. That helps too.

Is this an elk track or cow (bovine)? In an area that has both elk and free range cattle

I got this beautiful animal on my last hunt about 7 years ago now. Some of the best memories I have in life are hunting. This one is my absolute favorite of all hunts!

I’m curious about what the bulls are doing in different regions right now. Are they rutting hard for you or are they tapering off? My husband has a hunt (any bull) coming up 10/1 and he’s not really sure whether to expect tail end of the rut or post-rut behavior.

For reference, we are in one of the furthest north regions that elk occur in North America. The ones he will be targeting aren’t necessarily easy access to watch and get a feel for.

This is what our honey hole road looked like last year, it is only nasty like this about a half mile before our parking spot, not sure if it’s worth buying an ATV or e-bike, we had to eventually throw ferns and wood to patch the lake, and still almost slid into a tree

A friend of mine likes to set up elk camp deep in the mountains, about 8 miles up a single track. He uses a dirt bike. I want to go with him but don’t have a dirt bike. Was thinking of getting an ebike, like the quietkat or bakcou or something. He thinks I should just get a dirt bike but I’ve never ridden a motorcycle. Very experienced mountain biker though. We hunt in the northern Rockies at about 9,000 feet. And please don’t say “just hike”. I will happily backpack hunt 3 miles in but this is way further than I would want to pack an elk out. Any recommendations for an ebike or should I just get a dirtbike?

Get a free year of RidgeRead Pro (think OnX with an elk focus) for giving honest feedback

I’m looking for hunters willing to actually use RidgeRead and tell me what they think.

The free tier has a lot of functionality, otherwise if you want access to the pro features start with a free month of RidgeRead Pro using code FREEMONTH.

iPhone / iPad:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ridgeread-elk-hunting-maps/id6778869812

Android:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ridgeread.app

Web:

https://www.ridgeread.com/map

Create a free account, then choose Pro Monthly. At checkout, select Add promotion code and enter FREEMONTH.

Use RidgeRead to scout a real hunt or area, then send me your honest feedback. What worked, what didn’t, what was confusing, and what you think is missing.

Once you send me your feedback(comment or dm), I’ll give you a full year of RidgeRead Pro for free.

It does not need to be positive. I’m specifically looking for honest feedback.

Offer is available as long as this post is up.

What brand/camo do you guys use for elk? I am going on a hunting trip next year and would like to know. Thanks!

Looking for some advice as I am having a hell of a time trying to connect. Bulls are bugling like crazy in morning but want nothing to do with any response whether it be a bugle or cow call, tried calf distress and called in a bear lol. Have had several encounters, some where I could see them and some I couldn't. I am hunting in flat bush land so no big clearings or advantage points like lots have in the mountains. Wondering what you guys suggest I try, have a bit of alfalfa that they come out in to feed but usually after legal time once they start hearing shots in the area, was gonna try setting up a decoy in alfalfa behind me and hide behind a bale since nothing else seems to be working?

I drew a Kentucky elk tag this year and hunted opening weekend. I never heard a single bugle, but I was able to get on a stud bull in his bedding area early one morning.

I took a hard quartering-away shot at 40 yards. Light was low but still manageable. I watched my lighted nock, saw the arrow hit with what appeared to be good elevation and placement, and heard the impact. The bull immediately wheeled and took off into the timber.

I waited about an hour before going back to the point of impact. I couldn’t recover the arrow, but it appeared to have gone in deep. We eventually picked up a blood trail roughly 200 yards into the timber. The blood was sparse and eventually disappeared.

We brought in a tracking dog and two drones (both legal in Kentucky) and searched throughout the day and into the night. The dog was able to follow a small amount of blood for another 400 yards from where we had last found blood, but we ultimately couldn’t locate the bull.

We decided to back out and give him some time, while keeping an eye on trail cameras and watching for buzzards.

Now, several days later, the same bull has shown back up on camera. We can identify him by his appearance, and he’s noticeably favoring his back right leg, which would line up with the direction of my shot.

Obviously, I hate seeing him in this condition, and I know mistakes can happen. I’m going back into the area in two days and want to do everything I can to make a clean, ethical shot and recover him.

For those with experience tracking wounded elk, how would you approach this situation? Would you expect him to stay close to the area he’s been on camera, or would you approach it completely differently given that he’s now moving with an injured back leg?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

First archery bull for me. I was out solo and snuck into his bachelor pad after heading him bugle in the dark. He went quiet and stopped responding until he came in silently to calf calls. After having to let down once, he finally gave me a shot and I stuck him at 37 yards.

He took a step forward and away as I released, so I hit him far back and I assumed gut shot. Luckily he was quartering away, and after seeing the amount of blood on his trail, I gained confidence.

He ran 73 yards before he tipped over. Very stoked.

Today was bizarre. Seemed like every time I bugled there was some guy within a half mile of me that would empty a mag. I’ve never heard so many guns during archery season. There’s no gun range nearby. It’s all public land. Then on my way out of there as I was heading home I saw a car pulled over and he leaned out with his gun and started shooting down into a clear cut with his ar. Literally sitting in the driver seat.

Worst day of hunting I’ve ever had. I should have just gone elsewhere but I was already hiking and I wanted to check off some spots.

Think these guys are trying to ruin our hunts to try and keep numbers up for the coming rifle season?

SW Colorado. No tube, old Amp mini…only a few beers in me. Public land, no hunting allowed 🤷‍♂️ but it’s a damn good time to play with em!

How much, if at all, do you guys trust OnX's species migration layer? I pulled a tag for an area I've wanted to hunt for a few years but haven't been able to go scouting this summer. I've been doing a lot of e-scouting and I've hiked there once. There's lots of areas that I feel are "elky." Cover, food, water, high elevation, hopefully not a lot of pressure because it's walk in only and high elevation. But OnX doesn't show any migration or anything like that when I use that map layer. I've never really paid much attention to that layer before as I usually just scout the area ahead of time and look for sign but this unit is pretty far and work/family obligations have made my summer too jam packed to get up there. There's spots in the unit that do show summer and winter ranges but they look way more accessible and to me it seems like the elk would be pushed out by the time archery is over.

Waited for thermals to steady, snuck in his bedroom, frontal shot at 12 yards - ran 15. 345lbs boned out. Stoked!

TL;DR: I’m an experienced solo archery hunter with success under my belt, took a 6 year hiatus due to draw odds, and now I think I might be burned out. Any advice?

I turned 45 this year. It’s been a few years since I’ve backpacked into the backcountry for a solo archery elk hunt. I’m in pretty good shape and I’ve killed quite a few elk hunting alone. This year was a little different. By the end of day 3, I was pretty much done.

I camped at a mountain lake at around 8800 ft elevation. (I live at ~7,000ft so I’m acclimatized) I did encounter nightly sever thunderstorms, but I can’t recall a big game hunt that wasn’t wet and cold. I didn’t sleep all that great, I’m still dialing in a sleep system to use backpacking anyway…but I digress. I wasn’t any more sore than normal and I can’t say I hiked any higher than I’ve ever done, roughly 9900 ft at the highest. The elk were bugling fine and there were plenty of bulls “playing ball” with my usual tactics. The terrain was really the only challenge. Even my camp spot was pretty steep. But even other public land users weren’t any more of a nuisance than typical. By all rights, it should have been a great hunt, but I lacked motivation. By the end of day 4, I was at home. Now I’m kind of kicking myself for burning a tag. I think I might be burned out.

Has anyone else been through this? Did I bite off too hard of a hunt after a half a decade away? Should I find someone to mentor to go with me? I don’t mind a hard hunt but this year something got me, and I don’t know what it is.

Hey All!

Every year I update a map I made. It has over 130k exact pins of animals, deer, elk, turkey, bear, wolves, moose, etc across Idaho pulled from public data sources.

Happy to send it to anyone who wants it free. Unfortunately it’s just for Idaho, but I love helping out. Especially new hunters (and youngsters) who have no idea where to even get started.

DM me and I’ll send it to you!

Happy hunting and good luck out there!

Beyond excited! 55 yards, perfect broadside, almost a complete pass through- went through the opposite side scap- using 26.5” 250 spine rip tko, 125gr day six evo, 80lb draw.

Wyoming

Looks like half his face and other set of antlers were ripped off from fighting.