Pre-Season Preparation
Gaining knowledge of your
hunting unit:
When it comes to hunting elk, pre-season preparation is key to taking a trophy animal. This often times starts when you first receive notification of your upcoming elk hunt. Elk movement patterns can change between winter, summer and fall and thus scouting isn't always the best thing to do when you get notification of your upcoming hunt. If you have drawn a permit for a unit that you haven't yet hunted, its best to start your pre-season preparation by gaining knowledge of your hunting unit.
Start by obtaining maps of your hunting unit. I recommend that you outline on the map the legal boundaries of your hunting unit. This will keep you legal and can keep you from having your dream hunt come to a closing halt. There are various mapping companies that specialize in hunting unit topographical maps or you can obtain forest service maps, sectional topographical maps or even mapping software. Order your maps today at www.huntunits.com.
Once you obtain the maps of your unit, contact your local game and fish department office and find out the game managers that oversee your hunting unit. By contacting these individuals, you can determine where the greatest densities of elk are located within the hunting unit and also determine where the majority of hunters typically hunt. Ask the department manager if there are any areas that have good elk numbers without typical hunting pressure. I personally enjoy a hunt with low hunting pressure. One source of information to help you locate productive hunting areas is www.huntunits.com. This website plots on a map the areas in which the Game and Fish Managers have determined has the highest densities of game animals.
Gaining knowledge of your hunting area also includes locating watering sources. Remember that elk require water on a daily basis and thus hunting remote water sources can be beneficial. To get a copy of GPS Coordinates of water sources in hunting units of Arizona and New Mexico, go to www.huntunits.com.
Equipment Preparation:
It is always a good idea to pull out your hunting equipment prior to the hunt and make sure everything is in proper working order. This includes, new batteries in your flashlight, GPS, rangefinder, etc. We have included a "hunters checklist" to help you in assembling your hunting equipment.
When it comes to hunting elk, pre-season preparation is key to taking a trophy animal. This often times starts when you first receive notification of your upcoming elk hunt. Elk movement patterns can change between winter, summer and fall and thus scouting isn't always the best thing to do when you get notification of your upcoming hunt. If you have drawn a permit for a unit that you haven't yet hunted, its best to start your pre-season preparation by gaining knowledge of your hunting unit.
Start by obtaining maps of your hunting unit. I recommend that you outline on the map the legal boundaries of your hunting unit. This will keep you legal and can keep you from having your dream hunt come to a closing halt. There are various mapping companies that specialize in hunting unit topographical maps or you can obtain forest service maps, sectional topographical maps or even mapping software. Order your maps today at www.huntunits.com.
Once you obtain the maps of your unit, contact your local game and fish department office and find out the game managers that oversee your hunting unit. By contacting these individuals, you can determine where the greatest densities of elk are located within the hunting unit and also determine where the majority of hunters typically hunt. Ask the department manager if there are any areas that have good elk numbers without typical hunting pressure. I personally enjoy a hunt with low hunting pressure. One source of information to help you locate productive hunting areas is www.huntunits.com. This website plots on a map the areas in which the Game and Fish Managers have determined has the highest densities of game animals.
Gaining knowledge of your hunting area also includes locating watering sources. Remember that elk require water on a daily basis and thus hunting remote water sources can be beneficial. To get a copy of GPS Coordinates of water sources in hunting units of Arizona and New Mexico, go to www.huntunits.com.
Equipment Preparation:
It is always a good idea to pull out your hunting equipment prior to the hunt and make sure everything is in proper working order. This includes, new batteries in your flashlight, GPS, rangefinder, etc. We have included a "hunters checklist" to help you in assembling your hunting equipment.
