Paul in Idaho
Well-known member
I have heard a lot about bulls moving into sanctuaries after the rut, but haven't heard much about what the cows do.
In mid-October during my deer hunt, I saw lots of elk. Bulls were still bugling and tending cows. This year I had a November antlerless elk tag, so I went to the same area where I saw so many elk just two weeks earlier. They were all gone. There had been about 2 inches of snowfall since I was there, and no elk tracks were visible anywhere I hiked. My hunt covered elevations from 8000 to 9600 feet, in dense timber, mahogany shrubs, and open sage and grass meadows. Not one elk track was found.
What are everyone's thoughts about what cow elk do between the rut and when snow pushes them down to winter range?
In mid-October during my deer hunt, I saw lots of elk. Bulls were still bugling and tending cows. This year I had a November antlerless elk tag, so I went to the same area where I saw so many elk just two weeks earlier. They were all gone. There had been about 2 inches of snowfall since I was there, and no elk tracks were visible anywhere I hiked. My hunt covered elevations from 8000 to 9600 feet, in dense timber, mahogany shrubs, and open sage and grass meadows. Not one elk track was found.
What are everyone's thoughts about what cow elk do between the rut and when snow pushes them down to winter range?