2 week elk hunt when to go

Jasher

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Planning a 2 week elk hunt in Montana general archery hunt for 2020. The opening should be Sept 5th. So if I am correct is it better to go the 5th until the 20th or wait a week and go the 12th to the 27th?
 
I am no expert as I have only been elk hunting for five years but we go the opening week every year in CO and have always had good luck. The guy we hunt with says that a couple of weeks later you will definitely hear more buggling throughout the day and the rut will be in full swing. But he also said that as for killing bulls it is actually a little better to hunt before the rut is at its peak as the big bulls will have their cows with them. It seems that while we hunt during the first week that the bulls are establishing their pecking order/dominance/territory and oftentimes the older bulls will be by themselves which makes them easier to kill IMO. We hunt almost exclusively at or near water. By the end of the first week we normally see the dominant bulls starting to gather cows. Another big factor is that during the first week the elk have not been buggered or pressured so that is also a plus. We hear plenty of buggling which really surprised me and we have called in several bulls as well during the opening week. Don't discount the beginning of the season as it has been great for our group. Just my $0.02
 
Wait 2 Weeks. Hunt into October when the rut is still on and there are fewer people out.
 
we go to Idaho and go the last two weeks of sept. and have had good luck sometimes they are quiet at first then really get talking
 

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