Elk habitat?

Would anyone with experience archery hunting elk be able to offer some advice? I am seeing two different types of habitat in places I'm considering. Habitat 1:



This area has big drainages with ridges going up to 9 or 10k. Not a lot of flat bowls and what looks like decent timber on north slopes, but more desert country. South slopes look lIke sage brush with little feed. This is the type of area with a two track running along a main drainage with a trailhead and a parking lot at the end. Not a ton of access due to the terrain.

Habitat 2:



This area has full timber coverage in more rolling terrain. Ridges are 7 to 8k with ample flat meadows, small lakes, and lots of water. This is the type of terrain I picture on a lot of the YouTube archery hunts.

The dilemma is that the statistics say area 1 has more elk, more hunters, and higher success rates. Both habitats have large roadless areas.

Any advice welcome. Thanks.

Until you put boots on the ground you won't know. And don't underestimate the steepness..

- Joseph

stuckinthecitylife said:

Until you put boots on the ground you won't know. And don't underestimate the steepness..

- Joseph

Click to expand...

^^Yup^^
Google earth makes the incredibly steep mountains we hunt look like rolling hills. Those contour lines look pretty close together.
Give yourself as much time as possible for your hunt and be prepared to move if you haven't found any fresh sigh in a couple of days. Don't be stubborn and stick to just one spot because that is where you picked.

stuckinthecitylife said:

Until you put boots on the ground you won't know. And don't underestimate the steepness..

- Joseph

Click to expand...

I agree with this, I went to Colorado elk hunting once and did the same thing. According to the maps and google earth, it seemed hilly, but once I was there...holy crap. Took me an hour to go 100 yards...So make sure you have plan A, B, and possibly C ready to go. As for the success rates go, you find elk, where the elk are. Don't be afraid to hunt closer spots to roads, look at spots that most hunters drive by, to get to spots with little to no roads...I've been finding elk every year in spots most people avoid, I have one spot where a game trail parallels a road and it is only about 75 yards off of it. I see elk every time I go out and shot my 5x5 off that trail last year.

Thanks for the replies. I just got bak from a weekend in area 1. It is steep, but not impossible. The timber patches are littered with trails, which makes it a little easier. One trailhead actually leads down a drainage, which was unexpected. The climb out was no fun but maybe a deterrent to othe hunters. On to area 2!

In case somebody doesn't know, you can get a better idea of the steepness by tilting the Google Earth image so that you're viewing it at an angle. You can tilt it by clicking the up arrow in the compass rose in the upper right corner of the screen. If you then click and hold on the 'N' and move it around clockwise or counterclockwise, the image will rotate and you'll be able to appreciate the lay of the land better (if not get motion sick).
It can be a bit fiddly to get the tilt and zoom just right to that you can appreciate the terrain and not crash into the mountain you're looking at, but I find it useful especially when I want to look at habitat and don't want to overlay the USGS topo layer.