Three more weeks before heading out on what will likely be a once in a lifetime self guided elk hunt with friends. I have never hunted elk but hunt moose every year on my trapline with decent success, bow and gun. It will be a heck of a drive out but we will be there for 2 weeks and just seeing the country and exploring on camping will be worth it.
I have been "digitally scouting" the area focusing on food, water, cover.. is there anything else I should be paying attention too?? Also I noticed a portion of the unit has what looks to me like Alkaline. Is that correct ? Any other tips on camping, meat storage/processor, etc would be appreciated and if you have any questions about hunting here i would be glad to answer.
Thanks!

Mostly wallow hunting and calling for archery here or both it just depends on your preference a lot of luck goes a long ways also but put in the time in the field I’d say is #1. Hunting cold not knowing the layout is tough not knowing the lay of the land, even with Onx it took us to well springs we could not find standing on the dot.

My buddy wanted to run and gun calling one in, he missed the shot he had after a couple weeks. I hunted 3 wallows that the cams showed the elk were using them plus the bugling was hit and miss but firing up. Without scouting I don’t know what to tell you we made 2 pre trips out to the hunting area that was critical in our choice of hunting location picks.

Might want to find a local that knows the area that would be priceless.

Read this hunt area info on the Hunt Planner: https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Hunting/Hunt-Planner/elk-Hunting?res=NR&huntarea=41

Neat area and not quite like big timber hunting. Have good glass for the draws etc.
Parts of the state have been real dry, you might reach out to the biologist and see how dry it is up there, sitting water may help. https://wgfd.wyo.gov/contact-us

Get your game bird license for grouse, they are tasty !!

Not sure what part of the state your hunting but sounds like it might be kind of desert like, GLASS Glass then glass some more let your eyes save you miles. I run 12 power binos on a tripod and a 20 - 60 power scope to check out what I find. Early as possible and as late as possible find them going into or coming out of the trees then move in and get set up. Don't totally write off the sage flats if its got a water source and some rough country.

I had an area 41 Elk tag last year, but I didn't really get to use it. I had just moved up this area and time was not on my side. Cool. Area for sure, I've seen some photos of good bulls out of there. I drew a 40 Late season this year and plan on going with some freinds. Wish you the best of luck!

Good Luck! A lot of Public Land there and you will run into a lot of Side by Sides and people. Go a foot into the timber. I will be Elk hunting on the other side of the mountains from you.

Get there a day or two early and drive---drive and drive. We had the topo maps and every where we saw tracks in the berm of the road we marked it in on the maps. You can then go back over the maps look for a pattern. But don't get out of your jittney until you see ELK. Drive the same roads too until you see them. 11 oclock or so go get lunch and take a break then do it again. Big country and they are grouped up in small herds. Hunt were you see animals. If you don;t see animals after a while you can go to your map and see the most traveled areas. We were quite successful but not with big bulls. Most all were good eating 2 and 3 years olds.......jk

I found a road closed to vehicle traffic to reduce the people problem the wallow was a little over a mile in from the gate I dropped a pin with Onx to mark the blinds location. There was a parallel road I could drive in the same distance then I’d cut cross country to the pin I dropped after dropping a pin where I parked the 4 wheeler.

If you don’t have Onx it’s a great tool to look over new areas in SD the springs were marked that might help you find a good setup. I took my gear the blind, carpet for the floor and chair in on the closed road with my deer cart worked well.

In WY area 41?

No just the way I made access to hunting on closed roads on public land just putting ideas out there for the guy. Onx is a great tool in a new area and for going cross country to other spots.

Thanks for all the replies.
LawDog- ya it would have been nice to go there and check it out for sure. My buddy has the same idea yours had! Needless to say the blind is in the "to go pile".
WYTex- I did indeed buy my small game since you have species we don't have here. All of us hunt them when we are bow hunting for moose and keep a tally, always good for bragging rights. I have been using the hunt planner quite a bit, it is dam good feature. Water has been on the top of my concerns so thanks for the link.

Best of luck to you all, those licenses are expansive so I like to see success for our NR hunters.
Those dusky grouse are great eating, we do have some ruffed on the West side of the state too.
We use judo points for the bow or a .22 pistol or rifle.

Might check what the e-bike rules are out there that might get you deeper into the area and away from other people.

This has been addressed already, but get as far from the crowd as you can. Find water and be careful not to go into the wilderness area on the east side of unit 41. As a non-resident you would have to hire a guide.

Looked on google earth. Horses - mules would be nice

Might think about buying a lion tag.

I would rather aloin than an Elk!!!!!.....jk