What would you do?

[iccyman001]

Some of you get full months to hunt your bulls, some of you have limited times like me.

I have early season bow, Sept 1-14th.

The area that I am hunting is predominately bulls. This is based off of trail camera pictures.
The ratio was like 30 bulls to 3 cows :think: .

Obviously I know there are more cows out there and I am looking for them, but what kind of game plan are you going to go into this situation with?

Are you going to be studying their summer patterns and hit them opening day before the pressure starts rolling on?
Are you focusing on their bedding areas and trying to catch them too and from bedding?
Callers, how are you calling in this situation?

Last year at this time some bulls were fired up. So maybe the lack of cows could be a good thing?




Me, I am studying their patterns hard this summer. Then I plan on setting up on some of their routines before they start chasing hard.
The area isn\'t pressured too hard and we get first crack at them for the year. So that could pay off.


I also plan to mess around with Bill\'s early season cold call set up/tactic.
Maybe I\'ll be able to bring some bulls in that way too.




You?

 

[cnelk]

I think youre right on track Dan
Some bugling and cow calling is what I would do.

But if youre not seeing many cows, the bulls may leave that area later to go where the cows are.

 

[iccyman001]

I definitely need to locate them, Brad.
That way I can have an even better idea about what will be happening this year.


There is still so much land for me to explore, but I bet the cows are close.
I know the bulls do leave to chase them, but I know they stay within the general area all year!

 

[JohnFitzgerald]

Cold calling is a term coined a long time ago and many hunters have their own flavor.

I will only use early season cold calling if I don\'t know where the elk are. And chances are I\'d probably only bring in immature bulls. If I have them patterned, I\'d choose ambush and wait quietly for them. Cold calling just adds another level of complexity.

If their patterns change and I\'m not sure what the elk doing, cold calling from many different spots would be my go to tactic.

 

[iccyman001]

And chances are I\'d probably only bring in immature bulls.

I was kind of wondering about this.
I could see the younger ones coming in for sure.


Might be something good to use if it gets towards the end of my trip and I need to get one down.
Or if I am trying to help someone shoot their first elk ever.



I shouldn\'t need to do much of a location bugle either because if I have them patterned down, then I would already have a good idea where they are.

 

[JohnFitzgerald]

And chances are I\'d probably only bring in immature bulls.

I was kind of wondering about this.
I could see the younger ones coming in for sure.


Might be something good to use if it gets towards the end of my trip and I need to get one down.
Or if I am trying to help someone shoot their first elk ever.



I shouldn\'t need to do much of a location bugle either because if I have them patterned down, then I would already have a good idea where they are.

I\'m just as likely to use Contact Bugles as I am to use cow calling in early season cold calls. Many elk have fallen to the Contact Bugle and tree raking alternation. Bulls don\'t have to vocally respond to be and stay interested.

 

[cnelk]

And chances are I\'d probably only bring in immature bulls.

And the problem with this is.....?

 

[JohnFitzgerald]

And chances are I\'d probably only bring in immature bulls.

And the problem with this is.....?

No problem if you want a immature bull. But I wouldn\'t want to spend all this time patterning elk to stick a young\'en. A least not in the first couple days.

Plus, I know a little about what Dan discovered and I would definitely hold out.

 

[Swede]

Consider this too. If the area you know has mostly bulls now, it likely will have few if any by very early in the archery season, when the bulls go to the cows. If an area has cows in July and August, the bulls will show up in early September. Other factors can change this situation, but that is the norm.

 

[Straight6]

I play this dilemma every year with the early dates of Utah\'s archery season (mid-August to mid-September). I have had better luck following the bulls summer patterns up until the end of August, then it seems they make their move to find the cows. Come the first of September, I have to relocate the bulls. I love to hunt the first two weeks of September because I think the bulls are easier to kill before they get the cows with them, I\'ve just had to spend more time figuring out where they move to.

 

[iccyman001]

Consider this too. If the area you know has mostly bulls now, it likely will have few if any by very early in the archery season, when the bulls go to the cows. If an area has cows in July and August, the bulls will show up in early September. Other factors can change this situation, but that is the norm.

Im trying hard to locate some more cows for that reason.
I\'m also waiting a little bit longer before I truly start trying to pattern them. It\'s still very early.

I think July and August will be my bread and butter months for truly setting stuff in stone.


I know I don\'t have many on camera, but I want to say they are really close.

We also have a good handle on water locations and a good amount of bedding areas.
So I think all of this time in the woods, scouting, and cameras will pay off some good dividends in the long run.



Last year when I hit the woods early season they were still in bachelor groups.
I know they probably split soon after that though. I was only there for a day :dk:

 

[iccyman001]

I play this dilemma every year with the early dates of Utah\'s archery season (mid-August to mid-September). I have had better luck following the bulls summer patterns up until the end of August, then it seems they make their move to find the cows. Come the first of September, I have to relocate the bulls. I love to hunt the first two weeks of September because I think the bulls are easier to kill before they get the cows with them, I\'ve just had to spend more time figuring out where they move to.

I definitely want to kill them before they get paired up with those cows!!!!
My goal is to attempt to pattern them throughout July into late August.
Then maybe throw all of my cameras on travel routes when we get out to start hunting.

That way if we see they are moving around in different spots, we can try to be flexible and develop a new plan!!!!

 

[JohnFitzgerald]

Bulls being cow\'d up isn\'t necessarily a bad thing. Herd bulls become more defensive and immature bulls get kicked out of the herd and look for company. A callers paradise.

 

[VTHOKEE]

We definitely found the cows just the wrong kind. I am confident in our scouting ability that we will locate them. The area we found is a high traffic area and could be a key travel route year round. We are on the right path and hopefully Dan will get his 2nd bull and I\'ll get my first.

 

[iccyman001]

We definitely found the cows just the wrong kind. I am confident in our scouting ability that we will locate them. The area we found is a high traffic area and could be a key travel route year round. We are on the right path and hopefully Dan will get his 2nd bull and I\'ll get my first.

Elk will definitely be shot....

 

[JohnFitzgerald]

We definitely found the cows just the wrong kind. I am confident in our scouting ability that we will locate them. The area we found is a high traffic area and could be a key travel route year round. We are on the right path and hopefully Dan will get his 2nd bull and I\'ll get my first.

Elk will definitely be shot....

Uh oh! Dan, it\'s bad luck to say stuff like that.

 

[iccyman001]

We definitely found the cows just the wrong kind. I am confident in our scouting ability that we will locate them. The area we found is a high traffic area and could be a key travel route year round. We are on the right path and hopefully Dan will get his 2nd bull and I\'ll get my first.

Elk will definitely be shot....

Uh oh! Dan, it\'s bad luck to say stuff like that.

People say this to me all of the time.
I am just a very very very positive person and I am very confident in myself and what I try to do!
Scouting, practicing, training, etc.

I promise you it\'s not cockiness!

It\'s mostly my positivity.
Then I also watch too many people who have great skills, lack in confidence and it kills them!



I am fully confident in my elk hunt this year, along with my others

 

[mtnmutt]

For my CO area, the cows right now are still over near the calving area. Do you happen to have a concentrated calving area? For my CO unit, it is right near the Winter concentration area. However, my area probably gets far more snow than your NM unit. The snow forces them to stay closer to the Winter concentration area for calving. Especially this year with so much snow.

The cows appear to wait for their calves to be more mobile and the calves start to eat more vegetation before I start to see them on my trail cameras in July. Generally, calving is late May into early June.

The bulls start moving to the cows in large numbers during opening week (1st week in September) which may be influenced by the shear number of hunters that go up high and end up driving the bulls down. I have seen bachelor groups into the first week of September.

 

[iccyman001]

For my CO area, the cows right now are still over near the calving area. Do you happen to have a concentrated calving area? For my CO unit, it is right near the Winter concentration area. However, my area probably gets far more snow than your NM unit. The snow forces them to stay closer to the Winter concentration area for calving. Especially this year with so much snow.

The cows appear to wait for their calves to be more mobile and the calves start to eat more vegetation before I start to see them on my trail cameras in July. Generally, calving is late May into early June.

The bulls start moving to the cows in large numbers during opening week (1st week in September) which may be influenced by the shear number of hunters that go up high and end up driving the bulls down. I have seen bachelor groups into the first week of September.

We have some areas that I THINK they are calving areas and where they are holding up.
Plenty of cover, water, and food. All within a small area, so it would have everything I need and be safe from predators.

The only reason I am not TOO sure is because I also viewed it as a bedding area and don\'t want to go trampling through.

I will definitely keep my eye out in July like you said. Hopefully I can start catching some

Thanks for the info!

 

[cnelk]

MtnMutt
How far to you think the bulls are traveling to the cows?