Bull elks appear more wary than in past

[Ithaca 37]

Nearly halfway through the September-long bow hunt for elk, the season is revealing characteristics that make it unique from the recent past..........
Secondly, the all-terrain vehicle restrictions appear to be having an impact, making hunting more serene than it has been.
"It's quieter," said Blackfoot's Bob Tieken. "I have not seen any abuse."
Finally, the elk herd as a whole is putting up a better fight.
"It has changed dramatically over the past 20 years," Tieken said. "The bull elk used to be very aggressive and it's rare to find a bull elk aggressive anymore. The days of them coming across canyon looking for a fight are gone.
"We've seen all the big stupid aggressive elk taken out of the gene pool. They'll still bugle but they won't coming looking for a fight. They have adapted and evolved and our technique has to change as well.".............Here's the rest:

http://www.journalnet.com/articles/2003/09/17/features/outdoors/outdoors11.txt

Another thing that's making the elk hunting more difficult is wolves. The elk are learning to be more wary so the wolves can't sneak up on them as well. They are more alert and spot the hunters earlier.

All this is good. Elk have been too easy to get anyway, these changes will make the hunting more interesting. I might even take elk hunting up again myself if it gets a little tougher.

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 09-27-2003 17:36: Message edited by: Ithaca 37 ]</font>

 

[ELKCHSR]

!!!Bring on the challenge!!!

 

[whitedeer]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> "I might even take elk hunting up again myself if it gets a little tougher". <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Gawd.....someone hold my head.....I'm gonna puke!

 

[Moosie]

So... What Ithica is Saying is He used to hunt elk when they came running in.. then Stopped when they became "HARD" to hunt ?!?

Good luck hunting the "HARD" whitetail doe's this year Ithica .. Oh wait, you hunt those for "MAnagement"

Hehehe

 

[Ithaca 37]

I've heard that 90% of the deer around where we hunt whitetails have been killed by blue tongue disease this summer, so it might be a little tougher year than usual to find a big buck. There were too many deer and not enough people willing to shoot a doe.

What could be easier than elk hunting except maybe those game farm hunts?

There's way too many of them. They run around in big herds, making all kinds of noise, bugling and cow talking. They're big as a horse, smell so bad you can scent track them like a hound dog, they come to calls real easy, they have yellow asses that show up like taillights on a low rider, and lots more. Besides, I don't like packing them outta the woods.

I can't believe you guys think elk are hard to hunt!

A friend called last nite from WY. He just got back from guiding some elk hunters. Three guides, seven hunters. Six hunters got 6 point bulls, the seventh passed up four six point bulls looking for a bigger one. One of the guides is 81 years old.

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 09-28-2003 15:05: Message edited by: Ithaca 37 ]</font>

 

[1_pointer]

Ithaca- I'll make you a deal! I'll buy a tag for elk in ID next fall and you can show me how to make it easy to get one!! I'll do all the packing and even split the meat with you, plus you get to help educate the next two generations (I hope to have children someday) of hunters about the wiley wapiti! BTW, I'm serious!

I'm getting better at finding them, but that may be because I've been working in a limited draw unit the last two weeks. It's not been uncommon to hear up to four bulls bugling from one spot!

 

[JoseCuervo]

Pack one out by yourself, and you will have been educated....

You will learn why the ATV crowd is so against any regulations...

I think I'll start a thread on Packin' Elk, and get everybody's opinion on how many pack loads it takes.

Edited to remove the "Anti" that was accidentally inserted...

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 09-28-2003 19:23: Message edited by: ElkGunner ]</font>

 

[Ithaca 37]

Gunner, I think you mean, "why the ATV crowd is so against any regulations".

You're right, # of pack trips for a spike size bull boned out or not boned out would be an interesting topic.

 

[ELKCHSR]

I make it out last year with two loads in the big hole, bones and all, I didn't bring out the hide though, the head is still in the garage...
I got real lucky last year in Jackson, a guy came along with a horse and after helping him gut out his animal, he helped drag mine to the truck and every one else around helped put it in whole. That was fun!!!

 

[Oak]

I think you can make elk hunting as tough or as easy as you want it (in CO anyway). If you just want to kill an elk, you buy a cow tag for December, wait at the rancher's CRP field, kill your cow, and back the pickup up to her and load her. If you want it to be a challenge, backpack in and hunt for the biggest 6x6 you can find, kill him, and pack him out on your back. There's any number of levels in between those extremes.

Oak