Archery elk harvests: morning, mid-day, or evening?

[cbellosu]

Any statistics on if a majority of elk are harvested during archery are harvested during the morning, mid-day, or evening?

I would be happy to hear about your personal results as well. I plan to hunt nearly every day in September, taking a break from my job, and wondering what time of the day I should focus on if I am not hunting all day? Thanks in advance.

 

[kwyeewyk]

I don't know about the actual stats, but I certainly see elk throughout the day and wouldn't forego hunting any legal hour on the assumption that you won't see them at that time. I'd say it seems like bugling activity often drops off mid day, in my limited experience, so maybe that has some effect on harvest, but I'd bet most successful elk hunters spend the entire day in the field.

 

[Gellar]

In my experience when I have been successful we have found the elk in the evening but don’t make a play on them. The next day we hike in in the morning staying clear of where we think the elk might be traveling from feeding to bedding ground. We slowly work our way closer to their bedding ground throughout the day. Keeping in mind where they were feeding the night before and Where they want to go again that evening if they havent been disturbed. Mid to late afternoon as they adjust to avoid the sun or just get stir crazy we can hopefully intercept one between their bed and food.
I would love to say I just blow on an elk call and they all come running no matter the time of day, but I am Not a good caller and I have much better success sneaking into travel corridors and intercepting them.

 

[mmcneil]

Most of my encounters have been mid morning or early afternoon.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Lol...

CO hunters wont even ask the commission to do reporting, most western states don't do reporting. You think someone is compiling time of day statistics?

Montana, WY, CO don't even know how many elk are even killed in each unit.

 

[Deleted member 18333]

33.3% were shot before 7:10 am. 33.3% were shot between 9:00 am and 10:00 am. The remaining 33.4% were shot after 6:00 pm. Small sample size but my wife looked it over so it is peer reviewed.

 

[Elkwhisper]

I think I am at around 20 archery elk and have been present for several more. Mid to late morning is for sure the most productive time, by far...particularly on bulls. That said have managed to notch a couple tags at first light and have taken some cows and calves at last light.

 

[2rocky]

Actual weapon probably less relevant than time of year. I've been fortunate to hunt bugling bulls in the last week of September with a rifle or bow a number of times. So let's say "Peak rut"

2006 10 am Following cows leaving hayfield and came to calls and decoys
2007 Day break following cows out of feeding area
2008 8:00 am with cows feeding
2010 8:00 am (feeding solo)
2010 6:30 pm calls while following cows to water
2011 1 minute after morning legal shooting light
2012 2 minutes after morning legal shooting light
2015 10 minutes after first light
2016 8:00 am with cows headed to bedding area

Needless to say I don't miss the morning hunt when elk hunting. I played cat and mouse with the one evening bull in the morning as they were leaving their night feeding area. I relocated them in their evening bedding spot near the river and made that count.

Usually I'm hearing bugles in the dark in the morning and getting in position for a shot at daylight.

 

[WyoDoug]

My experience hunting elk both archery and rifle is there is a drop off during middle of day but in no way write off hunting during mid-day. I usually use that period when I am hunting elk or antelope for a short "wilderness nap" as Randy calls in in one of his videos. The orange hats seem to peak around the mid part of the day and drop off at dinner time (6:00 city time) and peak again around 10ish and that lasts until they are hungry again. I set up before dark where I think they will come through and move to a new spot during the evening and stay put pretty much until dark, unless I am seeing things then I don't move. If I do walking and hiking, it's during the mid part of the day.

 

[GrantK]

Personal experience is that for archery mid-morning (9:00-11:00) is by far the most successful, usually I am on elk early but it takes a bit of maneuvering before getting a shot. early in my archery hunting career I was most successful midday, I think at that time I was more cautious and it just took longer to close the deal... out of 20ish elk with a bow a grand total of 2 were in the evening, I hunt evenings much less aggressively and it shows...

Rifle is similar but more evening action, I've killed a number of bulls I spotted on their feet during the day and had to wait until late for them to stand up and present a shot, also a couple 2 minutes into legal light, but again a significant majority mid-morning...

Interestingly I guided for years and the vast majority of elk killed by clients were midday, we very rarely could actively pursue elk the way I like to due to clients lack of fitness so we sat crossings and funnels much more, I would bet 80% of the elk we killed at that operation were between 11:00 and 3:00...

 

[ElkNut1]

85% morning, get them in their bedding area & call them in! OTC public lands.

ElkNut

 

[sdkhunter]

The last 5 bulls I've taken; 1 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon.

I should say that I'm also not an early riser and in many ways prefer to wake up in the mornings with the sun hitting my tent and only start hunting after a decent breakfast I am NOT the hunter that is getting up at 4AM to hike to some distant drainage.... So I'd probably shoot more elk in the morning if I hunted harder in the AM....

 

[cmbbulldog]

Morning to mid-morning!

 

[buffybr]

I've only killed one elk with an arrow. It was back on August 14, 1973, the opening day of the Colorado archery season. I lived in Steamboat Springs then and was hunting just outside of town with my Herter's recurve bow, fiberglass arrows and Bear razor insert broadheads.

Three bulls were feeding in my direction through the oak brush, so I just knelt down, let the first one pass by, and made a 10 yard shot on the second one. Just a few minutes after I shot him I heard the noon whistle in town. I sat right there and ate a sandwich and waited 30 minutes before I stood up. The third bull had stood there out of sight until I stood up, then he ran off through the brush.

It took me another half hour to find my bull. I gutted him there, but did not quarter him, but I did prop his rib cage open to let him cool. It was probably around 3 pm when I got back home, and close to 6 pm when the landowner showed me a way to drive my truck right to him. When I got him home I was able to hang him from a large cottonwood tree.

The next morning (Sunday) I quartered him and was able to hang the quarters in a friend's cellar. The next afternoon my friend called me to get "that stinking thing" out of his cellar. Evidently the side that laid next to the ground had not cooled and had soured and spoiled.

That was the last time that I archery hunted in August, and the last time that I've left an animal on the ground for very long.

Every time that I see a hunting TV show where they shoot an animal, then wait until the next day to look for them, I'm sure they will find a spoiled animal when they do find him.

 

[cbellosu]

Lol...

CO hunters wont even ask the commission to do reporting, most western states don't do reporting. You think someone is compiling time of day statistics?

Montana, WY, CO don't even know how many elk are even killed in each unit.

Good point, and at this point I doubt I would trust any government data. I was curious if there were any independent studies such as the Starkey project, etc

 

[cbellosu]

Thanks for all of the thoughts! It looks like I will be having very many early mornings this fall and make that a priority. I am sure I will also hunt many evenings, but this helps with my debate of whether to focus on morning or evening hunts.

 

[cbellosu]

85% morning, get them in their bedding area & call them in! OTC public lands.

ElkNut

Thanks Elk Nut!

 

[wa_archer]

morning to mid morning. I have had some opportunities on lone bulls mid afternoon just out travelling but that was just being right place right time. With that said if in an area can glass last light stalks on feeding elk can be successful.

 

[Gman12]

I have had more luck in the afternoons in early archery around water. I see elk in the mornings but I see more in the last two hours of daylight.

 

[Bigjay73]

33.3% were shot before 7:10 am. 33.3% were shot between 9:00 am and 10:00 am. The remaining 33.4% were shot after 6:00 pm. Small sample size but my wife looked it over so it is peer reviewed.