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- Thread starter 5-SHOT
- Start date
its a Big Unit. thick and brushy since the enviros killed logging. look in oldish burn scars. Lord knows there is a ton of them. lots of animals all over the unit for the most part. but it will be a tough hunt. scout scout scout its my experience that they have a 15 dayish loop they work. in Siskiyou county you might want to go down hwy 96 to Horse creek and head up to Dry Lakes. the PCT runs right through there and we have seen plenty up there over the years. its not a secret spot but it has enough animals to go around.
I know it well - pm me your email address. I shot a nice one in 2012, helped a guy in 2013 get a nice one, and helped another family friend get one in 2014.
Congrats on an awesome tag! Don't let the low success rate discourage you!
Ken
Congrats on an awesome tag! Don't let the low success rate discourage you!
Ken
I never ventured that far away (I live in Redding). I'm pretty familiar with the Happy Camp area and where the elk are at up there, but there are plenty of elk (and large bulls) much closer to home. I scouted most weekends leading up to my hunt, so not having to drive so far worked well for me!
Yeah I have a buddy that works for PG&E and keeps me filled in on what's going on on that side too. As soon as I get the time to do it right I'm going to kick loose my points, ive been watching over the years back home and the herds are maturing nicely.
Bubblehide
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The last time I hnted the HC area was 30 years ago. There were very healthy deer and ekl populations. The brush was thick but huntable, and the elk typically covered lots of ground feeding along at what appeared to be a leasurly pace. In reality, you couldn't possibly keep up. Knowing their travel-feeding routes was essientail, as was knowing wallow areas. I don't know how the herd is doing now, but back then there were plenty of bulls with a good number of quality bulls and opportunities. However, many of the forest service roads were closed, and you needed to work for any success.
Bubble hide in 30 years it's only gotten worse. They have closed more roads off and now they have been putting roads to bed. (taking them out and putting natural slope back in.) Hunting up there has gotten a lot harder for the average road hunter. We hit the back country hard. And pull our animals out of some crazy holes in the ground. Early in the year wallows are king up there.
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Lol We are always learning new to us things. we hunt all that area every year for deer. We bump the elk every now and then. The first wallow I ran across about 20 years ago was nuts. They had a whole meadow tore up. I sat and watched for a couple hours but I think they knew I was there. Lol
Bubblehide
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Back in the day, I would see more bulls than bucks. But that is the area where my rifle failed when I had a true Boone & Crockett buck in my sites. The firing pin spring rusted up from a week or so of misty to rainy weather (perhaps a few other seasons played a part too), and my darn gun was no longer capable of firing. That experience lead me to buying a stainless rifle. I can only imagine that putting roads to bed has made it much tougher to effectively hunt the area. But as I remember, if you put the work in, there were plenty of honey holes to be found by those that put the work into learning the area. I've been wanting to get back up there for a few decades now. If I could find my old maps, it could get interesting.
Man, I still remember walking back to camp after hunting deer all day (after about a week of hunting), totally exhausted. I was taking one of those closed forest roads when I sat down for a few minutes, right smack in the middle of the road. I had a bull elk come out of the brush just 15 feet above me and look right over me, not noticing me at all. I could see the steam coming out of his nostrils as he was breathing; the whole herd behind him. He took 2-3 steps down the embankment, I thought hes was going to trample right over me, until he finally noticed me. 5 minutes later, I think that herd was about 10 miles away. Back in the day, that place was magical.
Man, I still remember walking back to camp after hunting deer all day (after about a week of hunting), totally exhausted. I was taking one of those closed forest roads when I sat down for a few minutes, right smack in the middle of the road. I had a bull elk come out of the brush just 15 feet above me and look right over me, not noticing me at all. I could see the steam coming out of his nostrils as he was breathing; the whole herd behind him. He took 2-3 steps down the embankment, I thought hes was going to trample right over me, until he finally noticed me. 5 minutes later, I think that herd was about 10 miles away. Back in the day, that place was magical.
I'm sure they knew but it's fun to watch wildlife up close. I was drawn for G-3 in 2005 I thought hunting in December would be a unique experience and it was, but not how I envisioned it. The herds never showed and the weather up in the Sierras did not cooperate it was bluebird everyday for the the entire 2 week season but we got to see at least 30 resident bucks a day but no big ones. They were attempting to corral the does but the girls were not having it. The biggest boy I saw was a 30" forked horn and he was so smitten with does he walked within 20 feet of me, I passed on him and shot a respectable 4x4 about 24". It was the first year that the Bucks were not down in the low lands but it was fun.
Ken, I tried to PM you and I was unable it said your storage was full. I am a bit challenged with technology. My email address is
Djones@santarosa.edu
Ken I really appreciate you and Jakes knowledge and expertise on this area. I have hunted south of the marbles but am ready to get up there and start learning.
Djones@santarosa.edu
Ken I really appreciate you and Jakes knowledge and expertise on this area. I have hunted south of the marbles but am ready to get up there and start learning.
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