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[font "Verdana"][#000099][size 2]Hey guys, this was my first time ever putting in for a controlled hunt since becoming an Idaho resident. I drew the Controlled Hunt 2035 - Hunt Area 60-2 for a bull elk (100 total tags available). The hunt goes from November 1st, 2010 to November 30th, 2010. It is an any weapon hunt. I have never elk hunted before if that gives you an idea of my experience level. I am looking for any advice that ya'll could give me. If you want to send me a PM that would be great too. I look forward to bagging my first elk. Thanks in advance to all of those that help![/size][/#000099][/font]
[font "Verdana"][#000099][size 2]Josh [/size][/#000099][/font]
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Myth is first time guys have a better chance of drawing and it looks like you just reinforced that idea. Happened to me the first time I put in for deer, yep unit 45. What an incredible hunt. Anyway, I have no idea about your hunt but I'm sure someone on here will chime in. Have fun and good luck!!!!
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Pray for snow . There is a small chance of getting your bull with out it . When the elk move out of Harriman state park and yellowstone is when the hunt gets good . Good luck is on your side already , that is a very hard hunt to draw on . Curt G.
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Good luck on drawing your bull elk tag! Hopefully you have the same luck when hunting season starts. I started hunting that area about 20 years ago as a little kid with my dad. I have harvested 5 elk out there and have helped about 6 of my friends and family get elk also. But alot has changed since I started hunting out there. We have harvested several elk in that area and all of them down low on the desert when the snow pushes them down. Unfortunately, the last few years the snow has hit late and the elk haven't been migrating down during the season. I think the wolves have really impacted this hunt too. I know alot of people who had your tag last year and never even saw an elk. Your biggest help will be lots and lots of early snow. I shot a nice 6 by 6 in 05 on the second to last day of the season. If you want to try it out before the snow hits I would say hunt up high in your area in the heavy timber. The elk in that area don't seem to like to come down unless they absolutely have to. Because of some of these changes I don't put in for this tag any more. But I don't want to be a pesimist. It's awesome that you got a bull tag. Just pray for lots of snow and put in as many hours in the field as you can and you will probably see something. Alot of people road hunt that area and I think if you are not afraid to get out and push some brush it will probably also increase your odds. Hopefully my advice will help you. I'm new to the site and haven't felt like I know enough to post anything but your question is something I know a little more about. Hopefully it helps. If you have any more questions send me a message. Good luck!
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I agree. That hunt is mostly dependent on snow. A little snow will help you locate them in the foothills. A lot of snow will move them onto the desert. I have never had the bull tag, but one year I had a cow tag and saw a line of 35 bulls come onto the flats in a long line pushed by big snow.
Windriver
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That sounds good to me, I'm definitely hoping for snow!
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Haven't seen much about the work involved so a little advice,
Get in shape and be ready to work. Half the war is putting one of those big boys down. The 2nd is getting them out. If you have never shot a bull the shear size of cleaning one out will seem overwhelming. I remember the first I shot while alone and even having cleaned out a half dozen deer it shocked me. Also if your going to get out and not road hunt remember where you shoot them at you will have to get them out of. Plan on having to pack them a quater at a time, Save yourself some work if you have to pack and skin/debone them on the spot. That bones and hide is alot of weight and you cant eat it so leaving it will save a bunch of work.
Good luck on the hunt. Hopefully the big snows hit early for your hunt and so I cant get out on my sled early too!
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Anybody else want to chime in on this subject? 
Here is a picture of the area I will be hunting..
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I'll chime in a little bit. If snow isn't driving them out of Yellowstone, then you're basically stuck with the desert and a prayer, as others have stated. One piece of advice when hunting desert areas - find out if the desert comes into contact with any hay fields. There are some in that Unit, just make sure you don't drift into any other Units. I've seen more successes ambushing elk coming out of hay fields than I have deep in the woods.
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Hey, that's definitely a good idea. I will have to look into that for sure! I have been seeing quite a few head of elk up around Bishop Mountain...I've seen a few bulls and a bunch of cows. I actually got within 20 yards of a spike bull by surprise and he was HUGE! He was definitely a young animal and had a huge body already. Thanks for the advice!
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ill chime in also. dont get to down on your self if the snow doesnt fly hard and pushes the out of the mountains beleive it or not there are plenty of elk that live in the desert year round. before i started archery hunting unit 63 is the only place i would ever rifle hunt for elk and i never ever ate tag soup on that hunt you just have to put in the time if you are gonna hunt desert. two tips i can give you get good at reading tracks you know like are they fresh or not? and get a descent pair of binoculars and plan on glassing a lot. watch ridge line and gullies very carefully look for them bedded its pretty hard to see antlers in a ton of sagebrush but if you get your eye trained right they will start standing out like soar thumbs. the hardest part after finding them is closing the distance for a shot this can be a real pain in the desert they can see you coming a long ways away. so stay low and try to use what little hill sides and gullies there are to your advantage. dont have to worry about the wind to much if you are comfortable taking 200 to 300 yard shots either. hope that helps a little
oh and i have killed elk in the desert as early as the second day of september all the way till december.
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Keep scouting around the unit while the weather is nice and use a GPS if you have one to mark areas where you have seen elk. That will make it easier to find them when it comes time to hunt. The desert would be a good place to watch. I got mine in August on the desert, just takes some patience to get close enough, or dumb luck. Look for hill tops where you can get setup before sunrise and sit with the bino's and watch. Look for patches of trees as the elk will look for these for shade and shelter. Any water source would also be a good place like along the fields. If you can find a place with water, shelter, a hill top and food all within about 5 miles of each other, that would be a good place to watch. The elk I got traveled almost 8 miles for water ever day.
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i wish you well on your hunt. elk are very hard to get. bulls especialy. are you using a rifle? what cartridge?
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I second the only carry out meat comments. The only bones that are worth carrying, IMO, are the headgear, and that is optional. There are new regs this year as to what you must take and what you can leave, so you might want to read about that. You used to have to take the meat between the ribs, but not any more.
If you are going to do a mount, then you'll want to pack out the cape and enough skull to make a good mount, otherwise leave the junk there. If you think you might want to mount a head, it's a good idea to study up on what is required to keep the cape in good condition. If you cape it wrong, you'll ruin it. It's not hard, but you have to do it right.
Good luck on your hunt.
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Hey, thanks everybody for the additional comments. I have been out scouting quite a bit lately. Since my area is so large it is kind of overwhelming to figure out where the best spots are. I still have a lot of exploring to do as I go further into the wilderness every time I go out.
It is a any weapon hunt so I will be using a Savage .30-06 rifle. I have a Burris 8-32x50mm scope on it as well. I have attached a picture of the gun if you guys want to take a look.
Josh
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Might as well take a slingshot. Everyone know that you have to have a magnum to hunt elk..... J/K.[  ].
They are hart to kill, but an 06 will do nicely. You shooting factory or handloads? What bullets? Etc.
The scope may be a bit powerful for a close shot but it will definitely work. With a scope like that, you may be tempted to try a long shot should one present itself. I would suggest that you limit yourself to about 300 yards unless you have a range finder and have practiced at distances longer than that. Bullets drop pretty quickly after about 300 yards and unless you know what you are doing 4-500 yard shots can be very tricky. You could end up running yourself ragged trying to case down an elk with only 2 or 3 legs left. It's not fun.
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iwantabuggy - I will be using factory bullets...I have some Hornady Superformance's that I think will do nicely.
As for my scope, I like it a lot and longer shots are definitely tempting with it. I am actually thinking about selling it though and getting a Nikon Monarch 4-16x42SF or a Leupold 4.5-14x40 VX-3. My Burris is a bit large and I have been shooting with smaller scopes lately and I kind of like them better.
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Can't speak either good or bad for the Leupy, but the Nikon you mentioned is an awesome scope. Never tried the superformance ammo, but all the magazine articles I've read seem to think it's pretty good stuff. Sounds like you are set. Hope you get a 'big un', and if you don't, I hope you have fun anyway. That's what its all about, right?
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dont overlook the sand dunes
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careful where you hunt there though some of it is posted no hunting.
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