Elk Units 14, 15, & 16 Elk City

[BUCKnBULL]

Tired of not drawing Nevada for 14 years straight, either out of frustration or possibly desparation, me and my hunting buddy bought Elk City tags on-line in December. As nonresidents it has been impossible to scout ahead of time. We will arrive around October 14th for the antlered, any weapon elk hunt. I would appreciate any advise from hunters with recent experience in these units. Topo maps give us some idea of the terrain but I'd like to know if any of the areas that hold elk are accesible without horses. I have hunted other areas of Idaho in 17 and 10 and unless we found logging roads,the terrain was steep and dense with conifers. Most of the areas we hunted were closed to motor vehicles, including ATVs. With 3 huge areas to choose from, and most of it being wilderness, I'd love to get any help knowing a good spot to locate elk and how it can be accessed.

 

[springbear]

LAST EDITED ON Sep-08-07 AT 02:57PM (MST)[p]This is my hunting area. I hunt the A tag with a bow htough. You will run into other hunters. Unit 14 is the best chance for a big bull, but you will have to find a deep hole and get way off the open roads.
16 is a sleeper. It is very thick and hard to hunt, but a good number of elk. 15 is OK, but the bow hunters (me) hit it pretty hard. I can email you a few photos of bulls that we have got the last few years.
You can hunt most of the unit with out horses if you got the legs to pack them out.... Horses only make it better. I use them, but have helped pack out several bulls with out horses.

 

[BUCKnBULL]

Springbear: I appreciate your sound advice. I also bow hunt so I know they can be restless if there was a lot of pressure in unit 15. My hunting buddy had found a web site that had good pricing for horses where an outfitter near Elk City delivered them similar to a drop camp. Unfortunately he lost the site name, didn't save it to his favorites,and hasn't found it since. Just one more kind of hunting. At age 57 I'd be smart to line up horses. I would love to see the photos you offered sending but this is my first posting on any forum, so I'm not sure how to get you my email address without every reader having access to it. Looks like I need more advice than just tips on a hunting area. My buddy was considering buying a deer/bear tag as well. He grew up in the pan handle of Idaho but has never seen Elk City hunting units. My main focus will be on a bull but I am curious what the deer population looks like this year. The years of drought have really hit the mulies hard in NV but the other big game, elk and antelope, appear to be surviving well considering how dry it has become over the past 8 years.

 

[Califelkslayer]

Hunted 14 I think (which ever one doesn't have an archery season) back in 98. Most of the hunters sat on clearcuts. Rest was very thick. We went 2 for 4 but I never went back. Good luck.

 

[springbear]

they do tend to hunt the clear cuts around here... not really my cup of tea, but it is effective. I have killed a few in them as well.
I would get a deer and or bear tag for sure. whitetail numbers are strong. Not as good as out on the farm ground, but there are some very good timber bucks out here. I will send you a photo of a few elk city deer.
The Forest Service can tell you who the licensed outfitters are for any given area... so can IOGA. That should narrow your hunt down a bit.
good luck.

 

[jmcenulty]

Jim,
If you want to send a private e-mail to someone just click on the little envolope jsut to the right of their name. It will bring up a private post screen where you can send a message along with your e-mail address. Only that user will get it.

 

[shortmag]

Consider the area around the American River and O'hare Creek. Used to be lots of elk in that area. Last time there was about 9 years ago.

 

[BUCKnBULL]

Thanks short mag, Being foreign to this wilderness area, I appreciate any tips even if they are not recent experiences. I did speak to a local from Elk City and he said the forest fires over the past year have left allot of areas black and there was allot of activity in the back country. I'm sure the drought has taken it's toll but the stats prove there are still elk being taken in all 3 areas. If it was easy it wouldn't be rewarding.