Uh-oh I might have messed up

[Red Sparky]

Since this is my first year bow hunting I might have screwed up. During muzzle loader elk hunts I only had to worry about other elk hunters so I might run into 10 hunters on the road going to or from camp. I never ran into another hunter in the woods. This year for bow hunting I figured there might be 100 hunters after elk in the unit I drew, so I might run into 10 or less on the roads going to and from camp. I usually leave the vehicle before sunrise and get back to it after sunset and spend all day on foot.

The problem I found reading the rules and regs. is during bow season not only are elk hunters in the unit but up to 600 deer hunters. I figure head away from the roads and I might avoid most hunters but how is this extra pressure going to effect the elk? Any ideas on how to get away from other hunters? Hopefully it is like ML elk where most hunters are on the weekend and the week days are pretty empty. Crossing my fingers and hoping but I guess I will learn once Sept. 1st gets here.

 

[Leslie Sapp]

One of my strategies for hunting deer on public land here in Florida was this:
Don't hunt deer - hunt people. I would go out scouting late in the weekend before the opener and try to find a logging ramp, trailhead or other jumping off point that had no fresh people sign.
I'd rather take my chances in a area of low game population and no pressure than in an area with tons of game and a hunter set up on every trail.
If I'm left alone to work the area by myself, I can be successful in almost any circumstances.
One further piece of advice: When you're young and in good shape, you cannot be too far from a road. Get as far in the woods as you can. As you get older, that distance gets shorter and shorter until you can't even get to the woods anymore. Enjoy it while you can.

 

[Korhil78]

It wont be as bad as you think. You wont see NEAR as many archery deer hunters out there during September as you will in January when the rut is going on. And most of those hunters you will never see anyway because they will be in a different area of unit 23 than you will. Most of the deer hunters will be in the southern to middle of unit 23 and not in the thicker wooded areas up in the northern part of the unit where you will be.

Don't get too worked up about it. You will be fine.

 

[Timber338]

I hunt elk both archery and rifle out in Colorado... so I know it's not your same situation, but I have been shocked how many archery hunters there are in the same pocket that I also rifle hunt later in the season. I will only see a handful of rifle hunters on a lengthy mid-october backpacking hunt, but in mid September, everywhere I go, there are other hunters literally EVERYWHERE. It's actually very discouraging. However, I have found that the elk do not get near as boogered from the literally multiple dozens of people running around. I think a single set of gunshots does more harm on getting the elk scared.

But like others have commented, you do have to take more time to find more places to hunt further and deeper away from usual/common hunter favorite spots. Which I think can work to your advantage on some of the warmer september days when the animals are going to hold up in thicker more shaded areas and not frequent water-to-food-to-shelter crossings as often as they do later in the fall like during rifle hunts when the weather is colder.

it seems like we always have a trade-off these days no matter how you cut it. More hunters, just gotta become a better hunter. I try and stay positive and turn it into part of the challenge, and focus my energy on being ultra prepared and ready to hunt hard!

 

[Red Sparky]

I also got to thinking about it last night. When deer ML overlapped bow deer I never ran into another hunter off the road in Unit 24. That would have been back in the mid 90's when ML season was Sept. 10th-20th. I have about 5 trips planned on the topo maps and will change game plans as needed. I plan on dropping the Jeep off on the 4 wheel drive road, I will park the truck 4-5 miles away and then hunt to the Jeep. The only good/bad part of that plan is it is a 2 mile walk back to the truck (not 4X4) after dropping the Jeep off.