Summer Scouting

[MT Elk Hunter]

Hey Everyone,

Last season was my first season elk hunting, and it was a lot of frustration and very little excitement. I'm motivated to turn things around this season, so I've been putting the miles on checking out new areas (far away from where I hunted last year)...I've been finding a lot of bulls (sometimes a dozen or more in an evening of glassing), and I'm finding quite a few rubs from last fall in the same areas. That's all very exciting..BUT...I'm worried because I have not yet seen a single cow. Not one. Most all of the bulls I've been seeing are at 8000-8500 feet.

I'm wondering...Am I scouting the wrong areas? Are all these elk going to be long gone once archery season rolls around? And where the heck are the cows? Lower I suppose? If the cows are lower now, will they eventually end up higher where I'm seeing these bulls?

Maybe I have nothing to worry about, but it just seems odd. Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[IdahoElkHunter]

all i can suggest is that you buy the university of elk hunting dvd, it will tell you all about what the bulls are doing before and during the rut, i'd have to watch it again to refresh my memory then i could be of better assistance

 

[lang]

Welcome to elk hunting.  We all do a lot of work for those few moments of excitement.  Keep looking and putting miles on your boots, you'll do fine just don't get discouraged.  Don't think you have to be at certain elevation, elk can be at both ends of the spectrum on any given day and time of day.

 

[Jeremiah Johnson]

This time of year the Bulls will be in bachelor groups removed from cows, another 30 days when the velvet comes off they will disband and not be friendly any longer starting to head the direction of the cows. Prior rubs are a good sign of past years activity. Keep checking on them and you will eventually find the cows location.

 

[montanaelk31]

I'm sure the cows are within a few miles. I'm with Jeremiah on this one. Those areas you found last years rubs means you are getting warmer. Gotta find those cows tho and get them patterned. Women..just search for food and drink, lol. More than likely they are somewhere more obvious and/or accessible from where your seeing those bulls