Wallows/water

[live2huntelk]

Who has had success hunting wallows/water?  When is the best time of day? mid to late afternoon? My understanding is that one use of wallows is to coat themselves in mud/water to cool off.  Where are typical wallows? near drainages? near bedding areas?

 

[hike2hunt]

You need to get on the elknut page, his books and CD's are the bomb. Answers a lot of questions.

 

[Montana_BackCountry]

wallow location depends largely on terrain.  I'm hunting the mountains of western MT these days.  I often find wallows right off of slow running stretches of creeks that have been dug out by bulls.  also marshy areas at the outlet/inlets of mountain lakes and ponds.  Out in eastern MT it was a bit different because the creeks ran dry a lot up in the hills so wallows were down by larger rivers and water bodies.  suppose otherwise getting out to know the landscape in person has no substitute. Where is your hunt?

 

[live2huntelk]

Colorado.
I would be interested in hearing Corey's perspective on wallows....he didn't mention anything about them in the University of Elk.

 

[BrentLaBere]

I agree, I would have also liked a section discussing this.
Last year I hunted near two different wallows. Both were in the middle of the transition area between bedding and feeding. They used them in that situation, early and late. They werent the wallows they used in the middle of the day. I think you would typically find those further up on the mountain/hill side closer to bedding areas.

 

[live2huntelk]

@BrentLaBere.........Did you have any luck watchingthe wallows?  What month/week where you hunting?

 

[sumnerhorses]

Wallows can be great in hot weather if you don't get bored sitting all day, but if you hunt a place like the one I hunt they have multiple wallows to choose from.

 

[BrentLaBere]

@BrentLaBere.........Did you have any luck watching the wallows?  What month/week where you hunting?

No, I didn't have any luck over these wallows. I was actually shown them by another hunter where he had called in and shot at a nice 5 point. He had another younger bull also come into the calling. Both seemed to come in non aggressively from the way I understood. Almost coming in just to investigate who was making that noise and if it was someone new in the area.
It seemed to have more action in the evenings.

 

[turbo1967]

In the area I shoot my bull last season there was around 40 to50 wallows so it would have been tough pickinig the right one to set up on but if its hot and theres fresh wallows you are in the right spot.I find they dont travel far from them when its hot.will very with diff areas.

 

[BrentLaBere]

Good Point Turbo,
One thing I forgot to mention is that it was around the 13th to the 16th of September.

 

[Montana_BackCountry]

You can always check for recent activity around or in the wallows themselves.  If the area around the wallow is freshly torn up or the water is murky you can gather clues about which wallows are being used at the time of your visit.  Also smell is a huge give away.  I've been in on wallows that reeked of bull from recent use. 

 

[farmboy]

There are numerous wallows in my honey hole and clear evidence they are visited frequently.  I never hunt them in the heat of the day though because in this spot the wind constantly changes direction from about 10 a.m. till sunset.  The morning activity is just too good there for me to risk spreading my scent all over the place.  I know if I sit there it is far more likely that I will get winded and push the animals out.  Not worth the chance.  When the breeze begins to swirl mid morning I leave the area and hunt somewhere else until the next day.  Then I return the following morning to find unpressured animals getting after each other and guaranteed close encounters.  I know many others are successful on wallows in the heat, but every area is a little different.  It might be worth it to consider if sitting on a wallow in your area might have some unintended consequences.  Just a thought. Good luck.

 

[stbmldcgrvs]

I hunt wallows.  I think it is a great method but it takes more learning than you might think.  The trick is keeping your mind busy while you wait.  At first it is like 5 hours of boredom followed by 3 minutes of sheer adrenaline rush.  Later, as you progress you learn how to keep your mind busy and all of a sudden there are lots of things that grab your attention.  If you have trouble being with yourself then this method may not be for you.
I used it to get my Book Cliff's Bull.  I heard the elk bugling at the spring in the mornings and evenings and since 3 days of up and down hunting hadn't produced because of the sheer numbers of cows blowing our cover, I needed to recharge and catch my wind.  I had a great time as dusk approached.  I watched a spike, raghorn and heard the elk bugling in the area.  Just when I thought it was over and there was about 15 minutes of light left I looked to my left and there he was 25 yds away.  That's when the real story starts.  Great hunt!

 

[BrentLaBere]

stbmldcgrvs,
Great Bull! Sounds like patience paid off. I think for a white tail hunter going elk hunting this may be the easiest transition possible. It can come down to when does a hunter pick his time over the wallows and when to run and gun. From what I learned last year it depends on time of day/time of year/and your area. haha, I guess point being is try to read the situation best as possible for your area. Like others have said read the recent sign around it.