Elk hunting wmu402
 

I was wondering if anyone would be kind enough to help me out with some advice on elk hunting 402 this upcoming season. I plan on walking in deep on beehive but have no experience in this wmu. I hunt cypress hills regularly and was lucky enough to bag a 5x5 this year and now have the bug. I plan on hiking and camping maybe 5 days. Any advice would be appreciated and if needed could trade some hunting tips for cypress hills.

Thanks in advance.

If you hike in for five days at beehive you will find elk, as you will be in BC

I shot my first elk ever up near beehive. Hope you have some help if you get one lol. It's big country. Expect other hunters up there. Horses are very useful. Maybe I'll see you up there some where. You can walk to BC border in a day. There are a lot of Grizzlies in the area.

:)
 

Thanks, I obviously didn't mean walking 5 days west.

Unfortunately I don't have horses but I do have 4 pairs of younger legs to help pack.. Plan on walking in and setting up camp then hunting for 5 days maybe a couple three times this season. Do the Bears give you much trouble back in that area? Using google earth, it looks like the north east slopes of beehive look like it can be glassed pretty good from up top. But like I said I haven't been back in that neck of the woods before. Only January and I am already excited about it !! Thinking may I will go and set up some trail cams and get familiar with the surrounding. I feel pretty blind planning a trip I have never been before and not crazy about the Bears but waiting 5 plus years for another elk hunt will not suffice.

I'm not joking when I say there are a lot of g bearS up there. My last trip was Oct 31. We seen five that afternoon. On the sheep opening two days we seen seven different g bears. They drop them off right where the road is washed out just after the falls. Beehive is straight west. We did see some elk though.

😬
 

In your opinion, is beehive the area to hunt ?

Yes. Sometimes elk are there. But if camping up there you should take precautions. There is a sow with two cubs that has no fear for man. I prefer to camp down at the oldman river then ride in. It's nice country that's for sure. If your in good shape you should be able to walk in and back out in a day.

402
 

Hey Med Hat, Ive been looking into hunting 402 as well. Done some camping out there in the summer with friends closer to dutch creek area but have never had a chance to really get back there and do some scouting. If your interested in some company in the upcoming season PM me.

" There is a sow with two cubs that has no fear for man."

This was my first thought when i read the first post.. She not very friendly and likes to hang out close to the trail

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I spent a good amount of time in 402 last year. Saw a huge elk herd that was over 5km from us. They're there. Lots of grizz tracks.

402
 

I managed a 5x4 out of the oldman this year, was mainly luck as they were moving due to snow and i was in the right place. But after a few years of putting in the miles i am shocked how much grizz activity there is close to the main forestry road. Most of the sightings i had were on the way back to camp or walking along the trunk rd back to the truck.

That being said has anyone tried the east side of the livingstone river? Access is tougher on foot but i don't see many souls on that side of the river.

Few years back we hiked to the top of cabin ridge as we got to the top we thought we heard a helicopter as it was clearly a engine. 50 yards from the peak an old timer on his quad pulls up looking down at us like we were the crazy ones lol. We couldn't believe you could get up there on 4 wheels lol. Gave us some good info though he did but its amazing where those machines can get to.

Thanks for the heads up on the Grizzlies. I knew they would be around but it sounds like I will more than likely have some sort of encounter. Regardless of the Bears we will still be walking in a few miles and setting up camp. That being said I am not yet convinced where would be the best place to start. Plan on breaking in some new boots in the spring to get a good feel for the area.

Its a nice area with lots to explore... lots of other hunters also, which is expected in the 400 and 402 zones. You'll like your time spent in that area but like others have said expect many bear encounters. Sows with cubs is going to happen so just use caution and expect the unexpected. Elk are around though so burn some foot rubber and have a good season!

Bears meh
 

Spent sheep season and opening elk season out there, got on some elk in the high country northern 402. Lots of people back there from time to time, some hunters, some campers and people on dirt bikes climbing around the hills. Bears.......yea there's bears. We put in a camp back there and are just used to dealing with them. After 3-4 days of hiking you will sleep lol.

Didn't put alot of time in looking for elk as the snow came in and pushed us out, which is another story for a later date but i can assure you that after the 3-4' of snow we pushed on the way out i guarantee we would have killed an elk using our path we cut through the snow.

Will be back in there again late summer early fall.....pm if you want to chat.

Also lots of wolves in 402. I have personally watched wolves chasing a herd of elk in the Racehorse area. Even though i generally do not feel threatened by wolves they do keep the elk moving.

X2 .. a lot of Grizzly means a LOT of Grizzlies in there. Not a major problem, but be very careful! Some real nice Moose too.

I was hiking back there on a well used game trail... yup all grizzly tracks, it was so worn that my boots werent even leaving marks. There wasnt a hoof mark at all on the trail either. All claws and pads.

I turned around and went a different place back there at that time.

That area has one of the highest concentrations of Grizzly Bears in Albert, apparently. No end of problems for ranchers around there.

Grizz

Looking at the beehive, and from what I gathered from the Online Elk hunting university course, there looks like there could be one maybe two areas that I would concentrate on for Elk. Obviously people on here commenting with first hand experience are saying different, but in that same general area, there looks like there is more promising areas for those willing to walk around.

402,400
 

I grew up in the area and hunted 400 and 402 since 1980. Way back it was a good zone and I saw a few mature bulls and generally we shot 2 bulls per year (5 points). We generally walked between 1 and 3 miles and had some great days with elk bugling all around us. When we shot an elk it was a pack out job. I still vaguely recall the pain.

Once the quads came in the hunting suffered and finding a bull became more difficult. Basically its a meat zone with a success rate varying between 3 to 8%, cant remember the exact numbers but success rates are low. The average bull seen and shot are immature 5 point, 3 year old bulls.

There have been some changes to quad access recently. If you are willing to walk and get away from the quad access you may have some luck.

Yup.... above post is pretty accurate.

And yea..... the Beehive.... bout 8 years ago the horses musta learned to drive quads....
Lots Of rogue quadders in there. They’re not supposed to be but.... well.

It sure pushed them elk back a ways.

Lots of guys talk about being fit enough to pack out a bull several km.....
I wonder about their mouths writing Cheques their bodies can’t cash...

It’s hard hard work... and time ain’t on your side with temps n bears.

I had a very similar experience in 402! In the dark before sun up I was on a herd of elk mewing and then all of a sudden, the forest opened up and wolves were doing their victory howls after taking down a cow. It was something that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up!


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I had a pleasure of hunting in there 4 years ago on the last legal day with my brother.
We saw a heard of elk with a meat bull in the evening and we were up on the hill before the sun rise to get them.
We spent some time on the top , but they were gone.
When we got back to the truck the temperature was -42C around the lunch time.
There was also a foot of snow meaning no driving around at all .
I've taken animals from 402 including elk also and all I can say, its a Very tough country to hunt .
Getting an animal out from there ,this is what I would seriously think about in advance.

S12

I hunted different areas of 402 for elk but mainly up the headwaters of Racehorse Creek. You didn't say the time of year you where going to hunt but probably Sept/Oct. Bulls usually rut early to mid Sept....and again get busy around Oct 9 to the 15th or so when the un-bred cows have their next heat.
Once in a while you will find elk down in the creek bottoms if it is really hot out...but for the most part in my experience you will find them and the majority of their trails 3/4's of the way up the mountainside....or in other words, hanging about 1/4 the way down below the treeline. Hard to sneak around cause of the wind swirls but it can be done. Usually I would watch a small block at dawn and in the evenings for a few hours, hoping to either catch the elk feeding or moving to and fro higher ground....then still hunt them the rest of the day conditions permitting. If you can find an active salt lick, sitting on it all day can pay big as all elk, moose etc will use it at any time of the day, especially if it is inside the trees and not in a clearing but they will use these ones regularly as well. Bull Elk love to wallow. As to calling...Bugling can be effective at times and I have called in dozens of bulls over the years, but a cow call is a far better one to have and use as you move along....it tends to make elk curious and gives them a sense of confidence enough to show themselves. I have had elk on many occasions repeatedly answer my bugles but they just keep pushing their cows a hundred yards ahead of you and won't come in...cow calling can sometimes change that. BE AWARE...I have called in Grizz and Black bears as well as cougars....mostly when using cow calls.....always keep your head on a swivel when calling...you seldom will hear them coming.

Jim

The proposed change of making this a 6 point or better zone is going to smash that success rate.

Much like 404. The average success rate in there the past 5 years is maybe ~6%, probably a third or quarter of that if you just look at archery.

We see a pile of giant 5x5's in there every year and it's painful to have to let them walk lol.

404 has been over run with wolves and bears for many years. You have a better chance of calling in a bear or a pack of wolves when you call for elk. The elk have learned not to be very vocal.

Totally agree. I’m amazed at how the predators have made the elk super quiet and shy!


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Don't waste your time. Parkland bulls up by Peace River and GP are way easier to kill.

The six point minimum is/has had the same impact on other zones I hunt in as well.
Just like some Whitetails never get 5 points, or some Mule deer never make 4, plenty of bulls never make six,but do lots of the breeding.

In 430 its rare to see a six point now except later in November when some of the park elk come down.