FHL Elk Hunts

[Genome]

Looking for a little help,

I've been pig hunting at FHL on a couple of occasions and have seen a lot of elk, the problem is they all seem to be in the restriced areas. If your lucky enough to draw an elk tag, do they open up and allow access to different ares or are these areas still closed to hunting.

 

[easymoney]

Welcome to hunting on "very restricted" public land. The elk are smart and all know where the closed zones are. And no they never change those zones. They are impact zones where the ordinaces are shot. You are not even allowed to go after game if it jumps the fence into that closed area.
Last time we went pig hunting, we saw a herd of a dozen pigs and about 100 elk all grazing about 1000 yards from the main road into the base. They are always there...

 

[Genome]

I experienced the same thing last month during a pig hunting trip. The impact area adjacent to area 24 was loaded with elk as well as pig, all about 600 yards from the main road. That being said, are there areas better than others or does the wildlife biologist give some ideas during the hunt orientation. We've hunted areas 24,25,2 and a little of area 9.

 

[easymoney]

For wild pigs, it can be here today, gone the next.
The elk stay in certain areas for the most part. The elk orientation will give current info for the year. The tags are not easy to draw for, but possible. There are loads of others who also want to give it a go, so buy a ticket and get in the game...
The Central Coast has had some very successful Tule Elk transplants, in fact on some ranches they are not welcome at all because they do some serious damage to crops. The trick to scoring is do your research and if drawn, have permission to hunt on these private ranches. The elk hunting at FHL is a mixed bag, and can be very frustrating for some people, especially those who come here thinking it is a slam dunk...

 

[Genome]

That's been my experience when it comes to the pigs.
We hunted all weekend and didn't see anything until we were leaving the area and damn near hit one with the truck. We performed our best Keystone Cops routine trying to get out of the truck and take a shot, but as luck would have it, the pig disappeared into the darkness.
An old timer told me that "Sometimes the pigs are here and sometimes the pigs are there, you just have to be where they are". I enjoy hunting FHL so I'll put in for one of the elk hunts, who knows I might get lucky.

 

[Guard Dog]

Hey Genome, I hunted FHL with an Archery Either Sex Tag year before last and I had access to zones that are always closed. I was able to hunt 12A and 12B which was great because they held lot's of Elk. I'm not sure if the rifle hunters had the same access that I did. I will say this, after week 1, in which I passed on and missed a Bull or two thinking I could come back the next weekend, I found the hunting to be very frustrating. Most of the elk pushed into the River Bottom in the cantonment area and would't come out! There were still a few out in the hunting zones but nothing like week 1. You can do a search or look at my old posts for a more detailed story about my hunt.

 

[easymoney]

Yes, that magic first few hours... If you don't score while they are out in the open zones, they can be found on the impact areas or the cantonment area, which are never open to any hunting.
The odds on drawing a tag here is better than many others, which have far fewer numbers of tags allowed.
The LaPanza herd has grown in the last few years, but it has a similar access problems. People hunting in the Carrizo, LaPanza or Pozo areas see them, but most all the elk are on private property.
Very frustrating...

 

[Hogskin]

I've been told that the private property owners essentially shoo them onto their property right before the season starts so that they can charge a fat access fee.

 

[easymoney]

IMHO, the surrounding property owners do not welcome the elk, because they do high dollar damage to their crops. The fees they would get for hunting still do not pencil out when compared to the elk damage.
There are a great many elk in the SLO county area and they are growing in population, BUT the hunting opportunities are not. Try and draw for a tag and you will see what I mean. I am going on 6 years( I have 4 points) and still have not drawn. That is about the same for any of the very low percentage BOOK draws out of state...