I started the Inside Track series to give Huntin’ Fool members a peek behind the curtain – an honest look at how we operate, our future plans, and how we think. Transparency is incredibly important to us. It’s why we draw our Dream Hunt Draws live. It’s why we share all the intel we earn, whether from outfitters, boots-on-the-ground scouting, or conversations in the field. Your success in the field is our mission.
I am deviating from the normal behind-the-scenes look at life in office this month and am instead sharing how I personally scout for elk hunts that overlap with the rut. Most of us prefer to chase elk when there’s a chance that we’ll hear the goosebump producing sound of a bugle. When I was young, that sound was pretty much reserved for the month of September, but over the years, I’ve watched the rut stretch further into fall, sometimes into November. As a result, more seasons get to experience some elements of the elk rut, so I thought it would be an appropriate topic for most of our members.
I’m guessing it will be a surprise to many of you that when I scout, I’m not looking for elk.
Scouting Without Seeing Elk
That might sound crazy. It certainly did to the young man who walked into the Gear Fool store the other day. His dad had drawn an archery elk tag in New Mexico and neither of them have any previous experience hunting elk with a bow in the rut. He was full of the usual questions: “When should we scout?” “What should we look for?” “Is now too early?”
At the core of his curiosity was the natural temptation: scouting means seeing elk. However, I explained that my scouting process has almost nothing to do with finding elk before the hunt. In fact, trying to pin down elk weeks or months before opening day can be a futile effort. Elk are incredibly nomadic, and it’s nothing for them to move many miles in a day, even if they’re not pressured. If you’re fixated on seeing elk while scouting, you might miss the bigger picture.
Priority #1: Access
My number one goal when scouting an elk unit is figuring out where I can go and the fastest way to get there. Period. No app today can reliably show all public easements through private land. Easements are nuanced, inconsistently recorded, and hard to track. Just because a road looks well-traveled on a map doesn’t mean it’s legally accessible.
There’s nothing worse than getting up two hours before daylight on one of your precious hunt days only to pull up to a locked gate and a “No Trespassing” sign that leaves you scrambling for a new plan and potentially wasting valuable time on a hunt. That’s why I burn fuel and time during preseason trips driving every access road I can. I want to know the layout, not just the official routes, but every legally drivable mile and trailhead I might rely on when elk are bugling. Covering ground efficiently can be the difference between frustration and success during an elk hunt.
The Dan Evans Method
I credit a lot of this mindset to my former Trophy Taker partner Dan Evans, one of the deadliest elk bowhunters I’ve ever known. Twenty-five years ago, he and I drew non-resident archery elk tags in New Mexico. It was my first non-resident hunt, and I was intimidated. I’d spent my whole life hunting elk in Idaho where national forest and wilderness areas gave me predictable access, but New Mexico was a different beast.
Dan and I showed up three days early, and instead of hiking ridges or looking for elk, we spent countless hours in the truck. I was itching to lace up my boots and cover ground, but Dan calmly said, “The most important thing is figuring out how to get everywhere you might need to go as quickly as possible.” At the time, it didn’t quite make sense, but after dozens of elk hunts in brand new units, it was truly a pro tip.
We both killed great bulls on that hunt, and since then, I’ve made access my scouting priority. Not just “Can I get there?” but “How fast and how efficiently can I get from one point to the next?” I’ve had hunts where two routes lead to the same glassing knob, but one takes 15 minutes and the other takes two hours thanks to road conditions. That kind of knowledge only comes from physically driving roads or hiking trails.
Priority #2: Water
The second-most important thing I look for is water, especially in the Southwest where the heat and arid climate can evaporate every drop of your mapped water sources. Elk are water-dependent, arguably more so than any other big game species in North America. They need it daily. And if they’re bumped, they’ll often travel miles before sticking their parched noses into a welcome waterhole.
Apps do a good job of marking tanks, guzzlers, springs, and streams, but they can’t tell you if that water source is dry. Monsoon rains can be hit or miss, and I’ve seen water catchments full one year and bone dry the next, even with similar regional rainfall. That’s why I document every water source I visit on my onXhunt app with a photo, date, and year. If I’m back in the unit two or three years later, I can cross-reference what precipitation was like that season and know what I might expect. This foresight is a game-changer if you plan to hunt a unit for multiple years.
Even a dry tank tells me something. If I see old rut sign around a pond that’s currently dry, I know that elk used to rut there, meaning they likely relocated to nearby viable water sources. That clue helps narrow my focus.
Priority #3: Rut Sign
You don’t need elk present to know where they’ve partied in the past. Rubs are like neon signs left behind after the dance. I’m always looking for rut sign, especially completely thrashed trees or bushes that suggest a group of fired-up bulls were in the area. While it’s nearly impossible to distinguish early season velvet-shedding rubs from rut rubs, you can generally spot rubs that have been made by frustrated, testosterone-fueled elk in the heat of the rut.
When I find a pocket of these rubs, I tie them back to nearby water. If the water is dry this year, I look outward. Where did they go instead? Often, they didn’t go far. Rut sign helps me pattern behavior over time and get ahead of the curve.
Priority #4: Feed
Elk feed is low on my scouting priority list, except in two cases: agriculture fields and burns. Elk will travel miles to hit green fields at night, and you can often spot their trails on satellite imagery. If I see a remote field with trails leading to good bedding cover, I’ll make a point to be nearby listening for bugles after dark. Similarly, burns offer preferred feed, and elk almost always favor them over adjacent unburned habitat. I always check fire layers on onX and visit those areas in person. Outside of agriculture and burns, I don’t prioritize feed. Elk are incredibly adaptable and will eat just about anything.
Priority #5: Seeing Elk
Don’t get me wrong, I always glass at first and last light on a scouting trip. I enjoy watching elk as much as anyone, but when it comes to offseason scouting, actually seeing elk ranks last on my priority list. That said, I still e-scout and mark the best glassing points ahead of time. It helps scratch the itch to lay eyes on elk, and more importantly, I’ll need those vantage points when the hunt begins. Spotting elk on a pre-season scouting trip is like icing on the cake, not essential, but always a bonus.
Scout Like It’s A Job
When I’m scouting, I treat it like a job. I mark everything in my onX app – waterholes, access gates, rut sign, road forks, obstacles. I start with digital e-scouting, but boots-on-the-ground confirmation is essential. My wife has had to develop patience over the years watching me stop every five minutes to take photos, make notes, or check a fork in the road. I’m relentless, but that diligence translates directly into filled tags.
The Bottom Line
Whether you’re hunting with a bow, rifle, or muzzleloader, if you’re targeting elk from late August through mid-October, your scouting priorities should remain the same:
1. Access – Know where you can and can’t go so you can cover as much ground as possible during the hunt if it isn’t panning out according to plan.
2. Water – Confirm what’s viable this year.
3. Rut Sign – Learn the patterns of the past to predict future behavior.
4. Feed – Agriculture and burns are worth noting, but elk can make a living almost anywhere.
5. Seeing Elk – Enjoy them, but due to their nomadic nature, today’s elk could be tomorrow’s dust cloud.
Thanks for putting your trust in us here at Huntin’ Fool. From tags to gear, our goal is to help you make the most of your precious time in the field. I hope this Inside Track affirms what you already know or gives you a head start for your next elk scouting trip. We can’t wait to see your success in the field this fall!