How do you hunt your elk

[bow_dozer]

Would like to hear everyone's general "play" on elk.


I scout/hang cameras in summer time and have been hunting the same area going on three years now. I am fortunate to know over the years where elk bed and wallows in the area. I go strait for these areas during the hunt to see if any activity is in the area. I am 25 years old and so sitting on a wallow all day is not in my cards. If i have no elk around and it is quite i will locate bugle and start to pursue.


How do you guys like to hunt your hunt?

 

[ribo451]

I scout before season at least one new area a year. I also have 10 +/- areas that I have hunted for years. I will check a few of the more productive areas before the season starts to see if there are elk there or if there is a lot of human activity.

Three years ago I shot a 5x6 and my Dad shot a 6x6 in our favorite area. The next year that area had a lot of logging activity and the next year there was a thinning crew working in there most of the archery season. I will archery hunt for deer there one day and another favorite area the other day opening weekend which opens the weekend before elk season. I am looking for deer but mostly I am scouting for elk.

When the season is here my tactics depend on what the elk are doing. If I can locate them and they are talking on there own I will make moves on them and try to get in position for shots without calling much. If there is a lone bull I would call more but when moving on a herd I will cow call and only bugle if I am close or need to locate them.

If they are not talking much I will bugle more and cover a lot of ground looking for sign.

If there is sign and they still aren't talking much I will do more sitting over water or near feeding areas or vantage points but sitting anywhere isn't my preferred method.

I almost never hunt bedding areas but if the season is getting close to the end I will sneak through them cow calling quietly and if I locate elk I will move in and bugle close to the herd. I only do that as a last resort because jumping them in there bedding area usually means that area will be devoid of elk for a while.

 

[MT_mulies]

I stay high on the mountain and usually just carry my back with me and hunt from dawn to dusk and then drop camp and fall asleep wherever I've been led to while chasing critters. I hunt the same general area every year and that has worked pretty good. This year I jacked my knee up so I'm going to be looking for water and wallows and do a little more sitting and waiting than usual. I'm also going to glass a lot. With the work that I have put into getting my knee back into shape 1-2 miles is about my max. I always hunt for meat and try to only shoot bulls, but this year with my knee and limitations it will be whatever walks within bow range.

 

[DIRK DURHAM]

-Google earth scouting year round.
-Keep tabs on elk herds year round.
-Hike around during the summer a bit looking for rut sign from previous years,set up a trail camera or 2.
-Have an endless list of spots to hit come September. If the elk aren't bugling in one spot, we are off to the next until we hear a "fighter".
-Bugling them into bow range is the name of the game. The areas we hunt aren't really conducive to spot & stalk (too much brush).
-Staying mobile and a never say die attitude usually keeps us within earshot of a bugling bull elk.

 

[randle]

I know our area pretty well so we hit the normal spots that hold elk year after year, I don't scout to much except by long range glassing a week before season , to maybe get a jump on where they are for opening day. I don"t want to get into elk without a bow in hand

 

[jvanhoy]

I live 1650 miles from my elk hunting heaven so scouting and cameras are not a option but I pour over maps and google earth all year. When I get there I just cover ground till I find them. Chase the bugle in the morning than head to the timber and water for the rest of the day.

 

[Bowtech Guardian]

I usually do a day hunt.  I will hit my area and locate bugle and move along the ridges.  I like to glass as well but in areas where theres no glassing spots I locate.  I usually hike back to my rig in the dark.

 

[Western-extremist]

Spot and stalk or bugle locate. On occasion I'll slowly move through the timber that I know they will be bedding in.