[Baylian]

Hey guys,

My hunt for cow elk started on the 18th. It runs trough the 15th of Jan. A friend took me to an area where he's seen elk before but he felt it was too soon. We only saw deer and turkeys. He felt it would be best to wait until the snow drove them out of the heights onto their winter range. He was very high on hunting elk the easy way.

My son is up from San Diego this weekend. Happy Thankgiving to all of you. He lives there with my ex. We went back to the area I visited last weekend with the same result. We saw a nice 3 point mule deer following a doe and some pheasants but no elk. We walked up in the foothills but nothing. The oak brush is so thick that 25 yards is a long view when you're in it.

Today we went to another area where some other people told me there were elk but nothing. This area is very up and down. Aspens and fir trees. Crusty snow, deadfall, and brush made it impossible to walk quietly. Not a lot of wide open space here either. We did see more does. These areas have a lot of private land so there is not a lot of access to the public lands.

HELP!!! This is the story of my hunting career! I never seem to be able to see what I'm hunting in season or in bounds. The problem this time is I'm trying to teach my 17 year old (first hunt) and 13 year old (tagging along) sons about hunting. I've tried to make the hunt about bonding and spending time together but I would love to have him be successful to top it off. How do you find elk?!? Any other advice you could give me?

Thanks for listening to my vent, TJ