Unit 18 elk

[autodink13]

Hi guys my brother and I drew unit 18 for elk. I want to start by making some goals and was curious what is realistic for the area? Are there a lot of 300 to 350 inch bulls in the area? What do you guys think is a high but realistic goal for unit 18 elk?
Thanks
Brent

 

[dr_scirocco]

ive spent a lot of time in that unit. unless you are hunting on private land by the salmon, that unit isn't a slam dunk for anything. There are some good bulls in the steep and deep, but you need horses to get em out. With any amount of effort you should be able to find something in the 320 class, but anything larger is few and far between. keep in mind that there are only 3 or 4 roads into that unit and 80% of the tags will be working off the three roads. you will really have to work to find your own honey hole. ive hiked places where i thought a mountain goat wouldn't go, only to find other hunters. I say i thought a mountain goat wouldn't go there, because i actually did see a goat in one such place.
good luck.

 

[autodink13]

Thanks dr scirocco.

Whats the snow looking like in this unit? Should I give the area a bit of time before I start scouting? Any info or stories is appreciated.
Brent

 

[springbear]

Autodink or Brent, Should be a good tag. I might run into you up there, as I drew it as well. Been puting in for awhile.
Dr. Scirocco is pretty much spot on with his advise. Have you ever been into the unit before?
I will likely shoot the first 330 bull I see. even though there are much bigger bulls in the unit. I have seen several in there and the sheds that come out of there in the spring are pretty impressive. (this year was no exception) We also had a good spring up here so the grass is very good. After the fires last year, should not have a fire on the snake side this fall to wory about.. Yah right.. that place seems to burn like Hell every year. Pardon the pun.
Most of the snow is off the Salmon Side and the Snake Side, right in the middle might still have a few drifts to deal with. Few weeks and it should all be clear. Up at Seven Devils will have some snow for a bit longer.
good luck.

 

[autodink13]

Thanks springbear.
No I havn't been in this unit before. I think I am gonna set my sights on a 330 bull as well. Hopefully see you around, I am going to scout as much as possible.

Where about were the fires?

 

[madmoose]

hey springbear.. i didnt draw 14 mulies this year...but i did draw for unit 37 bulls. i sure appreciate the insight into that area you gave me about a month back. show some pics when your done with 18 this year.like to hear about it

 

[dr_scirocco]

the roads on the north end are open now, you usually can't get up to windy saddle until after the 4th of july. ive drawn the elk tag twice and the muley tag twice. I passed on a couple of smaller 6x6 bulls, but unfortunately when i had a bull tag, i saw bucks. when i had the buck tag, i saw a toad bull in shooting range.

stories? ok here's a short one. when i had the bull tag, i packed about 5-8 miles in and camped on a nasty little crevice halfway between the canyon rim and the snake river. It was just above a draw that i had seen some nice bulls in during the summer. I woke up at daylight on the 3rd morning and glassed until about 11. didn't see anything,packed up camp and started the long hike out. 2 years later i was in the 7 devils saloon talking to a guy that had just whacked a nice bull. He told me a story of when he had seen some crazy b@stard camped on a nasty crevice in the steep and deep a couple of years before. He said he was watching the guy with a spotting scope and 300 yards under him was a 360 class bull and some cows. he said he waited and waited for a shot and it never came and the elk walked into the timber. i asked him if the guy he saw was camping in a bright yellow north face tent. he said yes. i almost cried.

 

[springbear]

hope this story wasn't you Dr S....

I had the Mulie tag one year. Went in for the last week of the season from Low Saddled headed for the "Steep and Deep". there was a lot of activity on the roads. As we hiked down the ridge I spotted a loan Doe on the road side of the Canyon. I watched and galssed but could not see a buck with her. I hiked more than 1/2 a mile down that ridge eventually coming even with her and then past her by 1/4 mile. her side of the canyon had several hunters perched out on rocks under the road but above her... aparently just out of sight. eventually a guy must have got in site of her and she walked aroud a small rigde and bedded down. that was about all it took for "him" to stand up and show himslef! he walked right out in the open in plaine sight of at least 5 hunter above him... Nobody saw him. I moved back up to where I was straight across and waited. eventull all the hunters decided that nothing worth shooting was on that completely open hill side with one brushy draw on it, they all headed back up to the road or got back in their truck and drove off.
I made a one shot kill at 470 yards on a 175 inch 5 by 5 buck with nice eye guards and 19 inch G2's.

I got the feeling this kind of thig happens quite often in this unit. as open as parts are.

 

[autodink13]

Thanks for the stories those are fun to hear.

Dr. Scirocco that sucks that you put in all of the work scouting, hiked yourself into the area you wanted to be, and then couldn't see the 360 bull. Did you move to a different area to hunt or were you done after that third day?

Springbear that is the side of the story that everybody hopes to be on. 19 inch G2's Wow! 470 yard shot Nice!

 

[dr_scirocco]

No i wasn't done, just had to move closer to the road because i didn't have enough vacation time to knock something down where it would have taken 2 or 3 days to get it out. i passed on several smaller bulls that year and eventually tagged out on a spike by the road on the last weekend.