Finding Elk in September.

[Arty]

What are everyone's top 3 things they look for when trying to find Elk during this Pre/Rut time frame? When you are cyber scouting what do you look for and how do you rank them. Iunderstand no substitue for boots on the ground but would like to cyber scout to get some ideas in mind. This is my first year hunting this time frame and first Archery Elk hunt so I was just curious what things people look for personally and how they rank them For example someones list might go:

1.Burn
2.Distance from a Road
3. Proximity to a water source
4. North facing slopes.

 

[Sytes]

1. Coolies.
2. Springs that may lead to wallows.
3. Small parks and / or thick crap around #1 & #2.
With few (very few) large swaths to glass for bull and satellite bull harem movement in my hunting areas, this best defines my stomping grounds.

 

[Idhikker]

Elk aren't going to be by most roads unless they're in some good cover.

Burns might be a little better when relatively new, but elk also love meadows and the swampy heads of creeks.

In September, due to the heat, they will likely be on North-facing or East-facing slopes during the heat of the day. They might feed in litttle timber pockets or more likely in open areas, early and late.

 

[Idahoarcheryhunter]

I disagree a little bit with proximity to roads, I think people get too hung up on the idea that you must be miles and miles back from the nearest road to find elk. We have called and killed a lot of elk within 1 to 2 miles of roads. Cover and shade are also pretty important in my opinion. I killed my bull last year .57 miles from my truck behind a locked forest service gate closed to motorized traffic. small meadows to feed in have also proved deadly over the years just my opinion.