late archery elk hunting

[bojangles]

i've put in for a late archery bull tag in arizona, my home state, this year.  i just get tired of playing the waiting game for an early tag.  while i've killed a few elk, i'm always looking to learn about hunting and post rut elk behavior. 


what's the best strategy here?  sit water?  spot and stalk?  tree stands in travel corridors? i'm the guy that shoots the first thing that presents a shot, so...usually i'm not too picky.  i'd hope just to shoot a branch antlered animal.  it used to be just put out a bale of hay, and it was a done deal.  in more recent years, game and fish have frowned on that, so....that's out. 


i know it's a broad topic, so maybe it should be re-phrased, what's been your experience with late archery hunts. 


i'm a new member here, so thanks for advice, i'm always looking to learn.


 

 

[bojangles]

welp this forum seems a bit sluggish.  or perhaps i should have posted this in the hunting section. 

 

[ut1031]

When you say late are you saying late October - December?  You should still be able to chase bugles in Oct, but they diminish as time goes on.  At this time the second estrus is on and bulls are looking for the few cows that did not get bred the first go around.  As the month progresses into November, the bulls and cows will split up and go their own ways. The bulls will do a lot of sleeping and eating to recover and prepare for the winter.  They will not water like they did early so sitting a waterhole will be fruitless.  Find bedding and feeding areas!

 

[bojangles]

this is a mid november tag that i may draw.  last time i had it, baiting was legal, and i killed a 6x5.  now i'm gonna have to hunt for real. 


i noticed a thread on this topic in the general hunting section, so i'll read up on that as well. 


i have a funny feeling i may have to dig out the glasses, but i do know a guy that kills a bull every hear on water, but i don't know what my chances are.  what helps about this hunt, is it's unit 22 south, so it's a desert unit, so water can come into play because of the general lack thereof. 


it's not a great unit, and it's not a great hunt, its just a tag i think i can get.    it just seems elk behavior changes after the rut, and locating them can be a real chore.  seems they just vanish. 


i'm looking to prepare early, so if i draw i'll be ready in november.


thanks!

 

[Alder]

Don't know Arizona, but up here in Oregon the late season I hunt is cow only. We spot and intercept. Either cut tracks and follow until you get close, see where they are going and get ahead of them and wait, or spot in clearings and try to cut them off as they drop through the bottoms of the ravines.


Have been trying to learn to call them in late season, but haven't had any luck with that yet.