Do you guys hunt them? How do you hunt them? A guy I work with has been talking about hunting cutblocks, but most of the cutblocks I run into are so thick with new pine trees that I don't think you could even walk through let alone hunt one. Do you guys have any insight?
I am assuming cut blocks are clear cut areas? If so, I love finding them & hunting in or around them. If the cut itself is too thick to hunt, check out the edges leading to bigger timber and other areas in and out of hte cut.
Yep, the clear cut areas that aren't so clear anymore. Rybo, why do you love finding them and hunting them? Do you have good luck finding elk in the area? Will you set up and call from these areas? I have a lot of cutblocks in the areas I hunt, but I rarely see a lot of sign in those areas.
Usually we have good luck finding elk in and around the cuts. Depending on the situation we’ll call from near the edges of the cuts, or back in the timber a ways. It’s far from a sure thing, but in the areas I hunt it seems to be a good place to start. Maybe since your area is filled with cuts, the elk can spread out more and the cut doesn’t become quite the draw as places where the cuts are fewer?
Can't say I've ever hunted clear cuts or whatever their called. Actually I've never saw a clear cut In the mountains where I've hunted. While hunting the Livingston area In Montana the 2 best area's that I found for seeing elk were the thick blow downs that you couldn't hardly walk through and the meadows.
I will definitley give that a try this year Rybo. Schultzy, I have seen similar things hear in Colorado. The like to hold up in deep dark timber and blow down areas, which as you said are pretty much impossible to walk through let alone hunt. You can either try to call'em out or push them out the other side.
Put on your sneaking shoes and head after 'em Thats all we hunt. Steep, nasty, dark draws. You can usually only see 40 yards max. First two weeks we locate them by bugle, then don't make a sound, get in as tight as possible. ninja style. I usually don't call to elk until the third or fourth week. Let all the yahoo's get out of the woods first.:D It's just too easy to overcall an elk in the first few weeks and ruin an area.
Yeah we hit some dark, steep draws but the stuff I am talking about you would be lucky if you could see 20 yards. Around here the second week is usually your best shot at calling something in, they are very vocal but after the third week they go quiet. I was scouting/hunting a piece of public land near Steamboat last year and the elk were crazy...right up til opening day. They were bugling and mewing all summer. There were nights I couldn't sleep in my tent because they were making so much noise. As soon as the hunters moved in they went quiet. We still found some, but they don't call very much. Public land in Colorado can get crazy with hunters, especially in the areas that have a good sized herd.
Luckily in idaho we have two seperate elk tags. One lets you bowhunt longer, the other lets you gun hunt longer. Most of the guys' bow season ends the second week of september. However, during those first few weeks everyone is hiding behind a pine tree with a hoochie mamma in hand. The elk hear that call and go into hiding, as well as me. Once the population of hunters dwindles and the "bowhunters" are left for the final two weeks the elk light up.
I'm telling you...elk are crazy smart or at the very least have above average instincts. Backcountry, when do the muzzle loaders start in your area?
