Favorite week of September to hunt

[Bull_Fighter]

Do you guys ever have much luck with calling in bulls during the first half of September? I really like to get out there on opening day/week, because of the lack of pressure from other hunters, but the elk aren't too vocal during that time in my experience. I've only spot/stalk hunted during that time. Last year I went on Sept. 13-20 and called my first bull in, which was awesome. However, it did feel like there had been a lot more pressure from other hunters around that time. I'm always torn between opening week (less pressure but could be hot and not much rut activity) or during the peak of the rut (much more pressure but the bulls are hot and bugling!).

I hunt Northern NM, always the first half and have been very successful. I think it's the best time for vulnerable big bulls. I'm calling. Sure, bulls are not screaming all over the place, but if you can get in the middle of a small rut, or manage to get a big boy riled and involved, it can be incredible. If the bulls are not that vocal, I especially like thick scrub oak areas with difficult visibility and I use cow calls. I move quietly, sounding like a small group of cows and listen for bulls sneaking in or giving a quiet bull chirp. The action gets close and exciting. It's kinda like what Forrest's Mama says about that box of chocolates..."you never know what you're going to get"....lol.
So with that said, if I had to pick only five days then I'm headed into set up camp on the 3rd when a lot of other camps are breaking down to get to work on Tuesday,  and hunting the 4th to the 9th. A little secret though...I'm staying till the 14th if need be. :upthumb:

Thanks for the input! Can't wait for September!

 

[montanaelk31]

15-20 for sure. No trouble finding vocal elk at about that time

 

[Eh_bearoutdoors]

If I only had 5 days to hunt elk in September,......i'd become very depressed and possibly shoot myself....but IF I had to choose...Sept 18-23

 

[bstroik]

I definitely prefer the second week of September with my limited experience.  Bulls aren't herded up and just starting to gather cows making them easier to call in.  Plus seems to be less pressure in my area when everyone starts showing up the 3rd week for "bugle fest".

 

[TheBigShow]

"Sept 24 - 28 covers the heaviest rut week on the property I hunt.  Would prefer to not hunt over a full moon but can't resist all of the bugling!"

I would love to hunt Colorado during these dates, but unfortunately the season has ended

Which is why I hunt Wyoming too - until Sept 30

Are the elk very vocal in the first season (hunting with a muzzle loader) sept 8-16? Just want to get an idea of how well versed I should be with calls.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bcnorth]

Sept 15th - 24th. This year the trip will likely be sept 18 - 27th. In BC the most rut action has been about the 14th to 20th. Last year the craziest rut day I have yet seen was on the 19th.

 

[nclonghunter]

If only 5 days...it would be the last 5 of archery season

 

[Kdkehoe]

This year we will hunt the 15th----the 23rd for our vacation here in Montana because of the full moon phase. This year the full moon will start in the middle of the week. Hopefully its cold and cloudy. I always try to time my week off in September by looking at the old farmers almanac.

We are hitting the mountain the same week here in Montana as well.  16-24 is our plan be in camp evening of 15th.  Should be some good action this year as long as the fire season doesn?t mess things up again!

 

[mtelkhunter20]

There are numerous opinions on the best week, but it also depends on many more factors, which include weather temperature, moon phase and pressure on the elk just to name a few as I hunt only public ground.

I love the first two weeks of September as I can then be hunting unpressured, un hunted elk and typically the larger bulls are still wandering around looking to gather up their harems and I have had the best luck calling in the herd bulls during this time.

 

[rmcoelho]

There is no bad time in Sept. I like early before the Bulls have gathered all their cows. But last half of Sept is awesome for bugle response. I drew my NV tag last year and was in the wilderness on Sept 23rd, OMG, I have never seen anything like that and I have hunted Elk virtually all my life. Called a 370 bull into 15 yds.

 

[cohunter14]

Called a 370 bull into 15 yds.

And then...?  :lol:  Not to sidetrack things, but a pic of that big boy would be awesome!

 

[gkalkhoff]

Sept 10-14