General Elk Hunting Questions

[CubsFan]

Hello, hoping some people may entertain a few general questions from a novice.

1. I get that at dawn and dusk you should be setup glassing but what are you generally doing between mid morning and when you set off for your evening glassing spot? Should I continue glassing hoping to spot bedded down elk? Still hunt dark timber? Something else?

2. From Randy's podcast on his elk system he says post-rut big mature bulls will be off by themselves but younger bulls will still be with the cows. Generally speaking will some of those younger bulls with the cows still be legal shooters based on Colorado's rules (4 point or brow tine of 5+ inches)?

3. How would my strategy change if I was going after a young but legal bull or cow (I have a cow tag for late season)?

Thanks!

 

[Eyeguy]

First off....many on here know a lot lot more then I do.
1: Where I hunt....glassing is a much closer affair. Looking 1-200 yards along a bench is "glassing". No real areas I can get up and see a mile around me. What I do is try to find where the elk are bedded. During archery you can get close, sneak in and try to call a bull to you. Post Rut...if you can spot one bedded you can pop him once he stands up. Elk bed higher up then they feed in the area I hunt so this involves hunting the side of the mountain. They come down to feed in meadows in the evening. My mid day usually involves eating lunch....drinking water.....and listening for bugles. We have had luck spotting satellite bulls during the rut by just being in the general places that elk bed (high benches). They travel along these looking for herds of cows they may be able to push in on. Post rut our strategy was to try to intercept the elk between where they were bedding and where they were feeding. They were still bugling so this was fairly easy to accomplish. I don't think it will always be this easy.
2. During first rifle it was exactly as you stated for us this year. Younger bulls were still bugling but the one old mature bull we got was all alone. and silent. The bull I shot was a smaller 6x5 but was traveling with 4 other legal bulls. Two 5 points and two 4 points. Any of the 5 would be "legal" in CO. This hunt happened to be in southern CO.
3. What will the elk be "wanting and needing" during your late cow hunt. Im thinking food/water will be a top priority as colder times are ahead....and shelter/safety. Not sure how/where the elk migrate where you hunt. Where we go the elk live up on a higher mountain and simply come farther down to the surrounding lower canyons and timber as snow piles up. Snow will be a factor. If there is a lot....look lower. Find an area that will provide them cover to bed that is away from pressure. Where will elk go after 3 or 4 rifle seasons and plenty of archery hunters have pressured them. Now...where will they go to feed. How can you position yourself to find these elk as they move between each. I hope some of this was helpful. Others on here that have been doing this longer then I have will add more specifics. Keep at it and good luck!

 

[CubsFan]

Thanks eyeguy this definitely helps.

 

[Gr8bawana]

When looking or glassing make sure you don't look far away to begin with. Last year we were sneaking along a finger ridge where we has seen 7 bulls about an hour earlier when I put my hand on my son's shoulder to stop him. I whispered that there was a bull right in front of us and he couldn't see it because he kept looking too far ahead. Finally I said he's only about 20 yards away and he finally saw him. We had snuck up on him as he was dozing in the sun warming himself.

http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/images/attach/jpg.gif

 

[Deleted member 18333]

The answers largely depend on where you are hunting and what tag you have. However, I will assume that you are most likely hunting an OTC CO elk unit looking for any legal bull. Here are my answers based on that assumption.
1. Keep glassing. Maybe move to other vantage points but keep glassing. You will have plenty of elk moving around as the other hunters start moving most likely starting around 10:00 am. You may very well glass up a bedded bull but more than likely you will see them moving away from other hunters. I wouldn't hunt the dark timber unless I was certain the elk were in there. Rather than aimlessly hunting timber I think that time would be better spent glassing. Also, take a nap. I do that just about every day while hunting. It makes getting moving hours before sunrise much easier to do day after day.
2. Yes. Find a herd and you will quite likely find a legal bull in the bunch.
3. The only thing to keep in mind is if your strategy of glassing, moving, glassing is not producing any results then you will need to move. The elk are where they find you and no amount of glassing is going to turn up bulls that are not there. Once you're in a elk rich spot then stick with this plan, otherwise move until they find you.

 

[BuzzH]

I probably do everything wrong when it comes to elk, but I've been successful by essentially using common sense.

I think conditions can make a big difference in how and where you hunt.

I totally disagree with mulecreek on the "aimlessly hunting dark timber". I've killed a lot of elk in my "aimless" approach of hunting heavy timber. I think you need to understand what you're doing and why when you hunt timber, but its not an "aimless" approach if you do it right...and when conditions warrant it.

Right now, with the temps in the 60's and 70's, you are going to be hunting elk about 1.5 hours a day by glassing feeding areas. I would be hunting exclusively north slopes and shade right now, no question.

I've found that elk usually bed on the upper 1/3 or 1/4 of the top...usually at least 1/2 mile away from their primary feeding areas. When I hunt the timber, I hunt SLOW...and then SLOW down some more. Keep the wind right, and then move SLOW again. I've shot several elk in their beds at midday, they usually just aren't paying that much attention. Remember too, that even though its hot, elk will continue to feed and move in the timber on sunny, hot days. Another way you can hunt elk in those conditions is to glass from the south slopes into the north slopes. Elk usually don't stay bedded all day, they get up and move around, take a leak, dump, maybe poke around and feed a bit, then lay back down.

On cold days, elk will bed on the South slopes and in the sun...which makes it wayyy more fun to hunt. They are a lot more visible and stay out to feed later in the day, and come out earlier.

Don't over look wide open country either, sometimes elk just get "stuck" out in the open and it can work well.

Just 2 days ago, I glassed the wide open while in my elk area hunting and found a 270 class 6 point feeding his way toward cover that was maybe a mile away. I was right in his path, and passed him at 356 yards as he slowly moved to cover. Elk aren't supposed to do that, but with some cloud cover and slightly cooler weather, he was out longer.

About noon, I worked my way along a timbered ridge and walked right up on another 260-270 class 6x5 bedded with his spike buddy. They were completely oblivious, and I left them there, bedded in the shade. Also, about 3 PM I was glassing a timber edge and noticed 3 elk just milling around in the shade. They didn't feed into the open, but I assume they were feeding just inside the timber line.

Whatever you do, just do it right and well...if you're still hunting timber, do it right. Watch the thermals, hunt slow, pay attention to detail. Same if you're glassing...don't do it for 5 minutes then get distracted. Keep your eyes glued to the glass for 30-40 minutes at a time. Take a break, then glass some more.

The biggest problems I see with most hunter is not only do they not hunt the right way for the conditions, but hunt like total ass even when the conditions are right. Plus, most have the attention span of a 3 year old.