Mid-day discussions (again)

[Deertick]

I\'d like to discuss mid-day bedding area hunting again.

I\'m headed on a 10-day trip in September to hunt elk, and I don\'t plan on much mid-day hunting there, as we don\'t want to push the elk out.

But ... I do have a weekend prior to that to hunt closer to home. I\'ll probably go once or twice or maybe more. Just to get out, and see if I can find elk in new places to help me develop backups for the future. These will be quick hunts from home -- no camping here.

Most of my time (almost all of it, really) to hunt these areas will be mid-day. I don\'t mind so much if I push the elk out of the areas, as I likely won\'t hunt the same place twice. But if a bull cooperates, well ...

So, it\'s mid-day on a hunting/scouting trip during the season. How would you suggest finding elk?

 

[Tdiesel]

if your arriving at mid-day I guess you could try following their track into the bedding area. Almost all the bedding area hunting I do is following a bugle from the morning till he stops then I have a pretty good idea of where they are. I wait till afternoon and get a constant wind before approaching. Hopefully you could get close and call, maybe get an answer; bedding area hunting is a lot easier if you know where they are. I will say I find bulls in their bedding areas seem to be a lot more defensive. same as if someone was entering your house.

 

[elkmtngear]

I agree with Tod, getting up early, starting down low near prospective bedding areas (dark timber)...and making your way toward their suspected location is the most effective method. I always work into the wind, and I use my nose in the dark timber...and oftentimes I will smell elk right before I see them. Even if you jump a bull from his bed, you can sometimes bark and stop them.

Finding your way through beetle kill blowdowns is the trick for me, while maintaining the wind advantage. My SLIP System trekking pole is indispensible when it comes to navigating that crap. You will see that the elk always know the best way to get through, and oftentimes you will end up on a really good trail that can provide good ambush opportunites.

I\'ve had success both \"stillhunting\"...as well as just walking normally and giving off occasional \"mews\" with a mouth diapraghm. On several occasions, I\'ve walked right into a bedded herd (less than 10 yards).

Last Season, I bumped a bedded herd midday, and returned 2 days later, and ambushed and killed a bull on the main trail 200 yds down from where they were bedded.

 

[Jaquomo]

If you\'re hunting where I think you\'re hunting, your midday thermals will generally be rising. Also seems like the prevailing breeze (when there is one) comes from the SW. The elk there like to bed on NE facing slopes.

Given that, I would work in slightly above where you think they are bedded.

If you have a densely timbered NE facing slope you may have a descending thermal through the timber while it\'s rising elsewhere, which would require approach from below. Every slope is different so you\'ll need to make your decision at the time.

I\'ve never had any luck with anything midday in our part of the territory beside a hearing them run off, if I\'m lucky. P

 

[WW]

My advice for mid-day hunting would be, (Take a Nap)! Elk need a security area. If you bust them out, you\'ll spend extra time trying to relocate where they went. Leave them alone and you can hunt the same area for several days in a row knowing that the elk are still there.

Catch them when they are coming back down in the evening to the feeding areas.

 

[Deertick]

Thanks, all ... again, these trips would be primarily scouting, with hunting as a bonus. Pushing elk away wouldn\'t bother me, as I don\'t expect to revisit these spots again in the season.

Lou, I happen to have a NE-facing slope in mind as the place I most want to check out.

 

[Swede]

Stay downwind (uphill when the breezes are going upwards) but get in close, and undetected. Make some short one or two note calls, and move a few yards away, then wait. As Jeff said, a decoy can be helpful in bringing a curious bull nearer. I have had bulls come midday, but you need to be ready constantly. They come in very quiet. The worst part is that they are in no hurry. You may think nothing is around, or they are not coming, so plan to stay an hour at one location. If they see you first, there will be no shot opportunity.