Elk Hunting and Technology Are Intertwined Going Forward

I’ll never forget that sick feeling in the pit of my gut. The spot had been mine for six years, and the hunting was remarkable. I’d killed three bulls with archery tackle, my buddy, one, and the third member of our elk hunting trio dropped a pair of late-season cows. It was a special spot.

We’d been so careful. Outside our private circle, we never spoke about the unit, mountain range, etc. We even rented a truck one year because we were confident we were being followed. Still, here we were, watching a group of elk hunters set up camp in our exact spot.

The crew of Texas hunters fell upon the location while e-scouting using onX. They showed us how they marked the trail, pinned camping and glassing spots, and even noted north-facing hillsides and likely wallows. That spot has never been the same.

While hunting solo in another elk honey hole a year later, I saw a camo figure hiding in the brush above an elk wallow I knew all too well. That was only the second hunter I’d ever seen in the area. He saw me the same time I saw him, and the conversation got a tad heated. Shockingly, he knew me. As luck would have it, he used three of my Instagram pictures, which led him into the area he believed I hunted. His guess, which after he showed me the pictures was clearly no longer a guess, put him in the honey hole.

Social media, smartphone apps, and various other technologies have changed the face of elk hunting. I’m not a technology curmudgeon. I like things about social media, and I use my HuntStand app religiously while scouting from home and while hunting. I also subscribe to a pair of weather and moon phase apps.

It’s a sword that cuts both ways. Let’s examine the pros and cons of elk-hunting technology and how it has forever changed the landscape of public-land elk hunting. You can decide which positive elements to take with you and which negative ones we can steer away from.

Digital Mapping Apps

In my early elk-hunting years, I’d roll paper maps across the floor and start prospecting for likely elk haunts. I found trails, located water sources, and circled dark-timber benches between areas of extreme elevation where elk often prefer to bed.

Next came Google Earth—what a game changer. Looking at a 3D satellite image of your hunting area from the comfort of your home was next level. I killed a lot of elk, thanks to Google Earth.

Today, Huntstand, onX, and BaseMap dominate the digital hunting map scene. These mapping apps provide updated aerial satellite imagery, exact public/private boundaries, navigational tools, and weather features.

The Good: I hunt multiple states for elk each year, and digital hunt mapping apps allow me to find and study what I hope to be elk hot zones upon my arrival.

Digital hunt mapping apps also allow me to drop pins with properly labeled markers in various colors anywhere I hunt in the West. Most of these apps also allow you to enter notes. When you learn areas intimately and have notes to help you remember finite details, you start killing more elk.

Plus, these apps keep you out of trouble. With public/private boundaries clearly defined, you should never have a trespassing issue.

Last fall, my beautiful bride of 21 years drew a coveted Colorado muzzleloader tag in a unit I knew well. Two falls prior, I had killed an archery bull in the unit. I credit digital hunt mapping apps for her 300-plus inch 6x6. Why?

Because I dropped pins and kept notes throughout my elk hunt, I felt great about where the herd we were parallelling was moving. They strolled toward the same tiny, isolated meadow where I harvested my bull. Of course, I had the meadow pinned, but more importantly, I was able to retrieve my tracks via the app. I remembered the amount of downed timber we would have to negotiate, but I mapped a smooth, effective route when packing my bull out. Time was of the essence, and so was stealth. We navigated in front of the herd and set up in time; the rest is history.

The Bad: Digital hunt mapping apps have removed some of the woodsmanship from elk hunting. You must know what you’re doing to read and study a paper topo map to find new elk areas. When I first started hunting elk, you were in a terrible way if you got lost and didn’t know how to read a compass. Now, all you have to do is download maps offline, pull them up when needed, get a full aerial image of the area, and see exactly where you’re at.

There was also a time when, after discovering a new locale on a paper map, you visited the area to see if the juice would be worth the squeeze. While I still pre-scout as many areas as possible within reasonable driving distance, I rely on digital hunt mapping apps to surf terrain on my computer and smartphone.

Today, everyone has access to every hidden elk honey hole. All it takes is time behind smart devices. You’ll find what you’re looking for without visiting the area if you remain patient and dedicate yourself to long study sessions.

Social Media

Make no mistake—Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc., are digital hunting tools—they are technology. Hunters often post continual hunt updates to their stories. The second a bull goes down, a grip and grin usually is made into a post or reel. I’m not hating—I’m as guilty as anyone. However, these posts and stories can have positive and negative effects.

The Good: In 2022, when I was archery hunting an excellent elk area, I found myself on the struggle bus. The unit was monstrous, and despite my best efforts, I wasn’t in the elk. A very generous soul, whom I’m forever in debt to, saw my Instagram story. That person sent me a direct message, gave me some intel, and then gave me their phone number so I could call them. After a brief discussion, my elk savior shared six of their digital hunt map pins with me. Two days later, I harvested a respectable 5x5 bull elk.

I have also encountered many hunters online, made excellent relationships, and traded hunts. Some of those hunters have come to Colorado to hunt with me, and other times, I visited their home state and hunted with them, all made possible through social media.

The Bad: Elk are big, bold, amazing critters. Almost every hunter romanticizes about hunting them. Hell, I hunt them every year, and not a day goes by that I don’t close my eyes and see a bull tilting his head under a semi-fallen tree and getting closer to my position with every step.

Elk obsession leads to social media studying. People quickly discover the elk killers, study their pictures, and look for distinguishable landmarks to poach spots. If you’re not careful, IG will post your location. Don’t forget to turn location services off on the app, or your picture will get geotagged. No, it’s not your exact location in the woods, but it will provide a close reference others can use, along with photos from the hunt, to better triangulate your position.

Weather Apps

If I had to pick one elk technology that’s a keeper, it would be my weather app. I love exploring aerial 3D imagery on my digital hunt mapping apps, but the weather trumps everything. While I don’t plan my hunts around the weather, I want to know what the weather is doing while hunting. Why?

A September cold front can kick the elk rut into high gear. Bulls feel frisky, bugle more, and spend more time on their feet chasing cows and defending their harems. If I’m on a weeklong elk hunt and know a cold front is coming in two days, I’ll continue to hunt hard but won’t get overly aggressive, knowing a cold front is on the way.

If I’m on a week-long elk hunt and hot temperatures are forecasted, I know morning temperatures will increase quickly, reversing the direction of the mountain thermals early on. This will affect when and how I move in on a herd bull that’s moving his cows to heavy north-facing timber to bed.

During rifle season, I want accurate snow forecasts. Heavy snows spark elk to migrate more than any other factor. Herds will move out of the high country to lower elevations where food is more accessible. Mature bulls often remain, though. These mountain monarchs find isolated bedding pockets near food and hold up. Big bulls are easier to glass in a white background, and if the weather forecasts show warmer days on the backside of the storm, I locate south-facing slopes near heavy, nasty bedding. I’ve killed a lot of elk on the heels of a big snowstorm by focusing on south-facing slopes.

I hunt elk in dry, arid areas. Elk are big creatures, and they need to drink regularly. Elk love to walk around and play in ponds. Water is the lifeblood of arid country, and elk know where the water is.

Starting in late July, I use my weather app to chase rain. I pay for an advanced radar feature, and as a tornado chaser goes after funnels, I chase thunderstorms. If I know where the pond water is, I know where the elk will be. Last year, I harvested a beautiful public-land 6x6 bull that was using a small pond that received a late rain along with his six cows. The pond was no more than a mud puddle, but the bull and his cows could obtain water and cool off. The bull had used the pond so much that there were 12 dry wallows above and in the receding waterline.

The Good: Top weather apps like The Weather Channel, HuntStand, NOAA, and others are must-haves for elk-hunting. I use these apps year-round, and you will, too.

The Bad: Other than a few extra greenbacks coming out of the account each month, weather app technology has zero drawbacks.

Final Thoughts

Technology is here to stay, and it’s likely to get more advanced and sophisticated. I don’t love technology, but I blend it with my old-school elk methods to tip the odds of success in my favor.

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