iccyman001
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- Apr 30, 2014
- 5,489
\"cnelk\" said:
Very good question
What would you do?
- Thread starter iccyman001
- Start date
Very good question
Over in the NW corner of CO the bulls travel many miles to the cows. We scouted a whole lot of country and had cams up after early June, and only saw 4 cows. None on cams. Those four were spotted in June. But we probably saw 60 different bulls. So we decided we needed to kill our bulls early before they left for parts unknown. Luckily the plan worked, but if it hadnt worked it would have required a major reset to find them again.
Where I hunt now for the first week, the bachelor groups are splitting up during the first week and the mature bulls are quietly doing recon on the cow herds. They move a couple miles from where they\'re summering to where the cows are summering.
I believe in hunting the loner bulls the first week and use the cows as bait after that until the herd bulls hook up for the rut.
Where I hunt now for the first week, the bachelor groups are splitting up during the first week and the mature bulls are quietly doing recon on the cow herds. They move a couple miles from where they\'re summering to where the cows are summering.
I believe in hunting the loner bulls the first week and use the cows as bait after that until the herd bulls hook up for the rut.
iccyman001
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- Apr 30, 2014
- 5,489
\"Jaquomo\" said:
I am thinking it will be similar out here.
I only have my one year out there to base it off, but day one out there, they were still in groups.
My hope is to make it happen super early before they start making a run for the cows!
Current game plan is to ambush and set up on their summer pattern.
If they start breaking up and I need to reset/change tactics, then the calls will come out.
I only have 14 days to work with, so everyday is crucial.
Like JF said. Some calling that early might bring in some immature bulls.
Well guess what, after day 5 and when I still have need meat for the freezer, the immature bulls would taste great :wave:
:upthumb:Good question. I never thought of it as an amount of distance they travel to go to the cows. It is more of a difference in elevation of where the bulls and cows are located which is influenced by where the roads are located. Hunters mostly hunt above the main forest service roads and the elk figure this out opening weekend.\"cnelk\" said:
For 4 years, I put too much importance into the sign I found during Summer scouting. Hunting pressure opening weekend drives the elk from these higher elevations. If I was after larger bulls, perhaps these are the places to hunt opening week. As an inexperienced hunter, I would rather find elk in higher numbers opening week. 2 years ago, I figured out that the cows are mostly below 10,800 ft opening day. The younger bulls start to head down to them opening week. I am new to using trail cameras, so I previously relied only on elk sign.
Before the bulls go find the cows, the bulls are mostly above 11,000 ft with some travel through lower elevations to go from food, water and shelter. Opening weekend, I do see the bulls in these lower elevations traveling from food to bedding. For mid-late August, I have trail cam pictures of the younger bulls going down at night to feed in lower meadows and then heading back up to daytime beds.
Whether it is late Summer or pre-rut September, the elk in the area are traveling miles at times between food and bedding. Food isn\'t exactly everywhere. It is mostly pine and not much aspen. Medium to large meadows are not littered everywhere. Other units have a much higher concentration of aspens, meadows and parks than my area.
Perhaps when they form herds they don\'t cover as much distance and hold up in more secluded places to avoid hunters. I have limited experience of elk behavior after they form herds. My hearing loss prevents me from capitalizing on contact bugles to find the bulls. This made mid-late September hard for finding the elk. 2 years ago, I started hunting the same unit for all of September. Previously, I jumped around too much for mid-late September hunting. Last season, I found one of these secluded elk havens in mid September. They can stay in this 1-2 square mile area that has food, water and shelter and never see a hunter.
My comments should not be interrupted as generic for anyone\'s unit. They are only observations for this one CO OTC which has a very low percentage of private land and a high concentration of mature pine forest. I have hunted 5 CO OTCs. They are all unique in their own way.
Sorry Dan if my comments hijacked your thread. I did learn a lot from other peoples\' responses to your questions. Perhaps your thread should be titled: How to Interpret Summer Scouting Information for Opening Day Hunting.
iccyman001
New member
- Apr 30, 2014
- 5,489
\"mtnmutt\" said:
You never hijack my threads or have to worry about it!
You ask a lot of great questions and bring lots of great information to the table!
If anything, I just ask you to keep it up
