I know nothing about Elk, so pardon my ignorance.
What is the most important factor in getting close to Elk?
I've hunted Whitetail and Blacktail successfully from the ground. I've never used any calls, just careful about my scent, paid attention to the wind, moved slow and had a little luck.
Is using a call the only way to be successful with Elk? If so, what type of call? Is bull or cow call more effective?
Use the wind in your favor as much as possible, which is hard to do with swirls and thermals. Elk have an extremely good nose. Also move slower than slow.
BOB
Nailed it, let me drive it into the wood a little further!!!
Calling is what you see on TV all the time. It works SOMETIME but the best method for getting a animal every year is so sit and wait. Find where there going ie waterhole, wallow, feed.
If you find one of these that are being used(you can tell) and sit it for a few days you give yourself the best chance of scoring on a animal. Yes its not as fun as hearing a bull bugle, although they do bugle coming into water and wallows.
If you can keep the wind in your favor you have beaten their best defense. Eyes and ears are fairly easy to fool, but you will never fool their nose!
If you can keep the wind in your favor, don't be afraid to be aggressive and move in. Elk make a lot of noise themselves, and I've had them extremely close without them seeing me. But give them one little errant breeze and you'll know immediately what the north end of a southbound elk looks like!
Whip you hit the nail on the head. Best advice I've seen in 5 short sentences. Now tell us how to find them when the hunting pressure is on.
QuoteOriginally posted by ArkyBob:
Use the wind in your favor as much as possible, which is hard to do with swirls and thermals. Elk have an extremely good nose. ...BOB
If you will be hunting in terrain with a lot of changes in elevation the swirls and thermals will be yur biggest challenge by far. Aslo, when working up a slope into dark timber the elk can easily spot you if they are bedded and will be gone long before you get there. Hunting INTO dark timber takes a little forethought and tactical thinking. Its not an accident they like laying in or on the edge of these areas.
I will say going slow is a great tactic, but usless if the elk are in another area. Find them first, then slow down.
Joshua
It took me seven years to kill my first bull. I was slow and careful up to that time. After that first bull I got bolder and more successfull. Like everyone else stated try to keep the wind in your favor, but don't be afraid if it is not perfect. I have found that bugles work best from far away and very close and I only use cow calls when I can see the bull I am after or smell him. (Primos make very good elk calls.) I hunt all day. A bull will continue to bugle from his bed but not with the same vigor or frequency. So I sneek as close as possible to the bedding area and wait for an opportunity to present itself or for the action to pick up when the sun starts to go down and the thermals become more consistent. Try to approach the animals from their elevation rather than down or up hill. And never think that the elk are too far away, too deep in a canyon, or to high on a mountain. Go after them for the experience and decide to shoot or not shoot when your fingers tighten up on the string and your heart is in your throat. I remember every close call I had with a bull or cow, not just the times the arrow found its mark. Good Luck!
All I can tell ya is it's friggin' hard :D lol I have yet to kill an elk but I've gotten close. It takes a lot of patience and attention to the wind.
Craig
I think the key on elk is to really watch the wind. I rarely use calls or if I do it's slim mainly to mask my noise, our hunt starts in august here rut dosen't get going to hard most years . I do alot of ambush set ups and still hunting. When still hunting I walk with the wind in my face and when it changes so do I. A lone bull is much easier to sneak on than a bunch of cows,to many noses and eyes. If you can find a active wallow ground blinds and tree stands are great.
QuoteOriginally posted by longbow2364:
Now tell us how to find them when the hunting pressure is on.
Much easier said than done, but keep looking until you find fresh, and I mean FRESH sign. Tracks, droppings, etc. They might be close to a road, but most likely will be a drainage or two away. If you don't find fresh sign, don't keep going back to the same spot day after day or your hunt will be over before they show up. Go find them, and then be careful not to bust them out of the area. Pick your opportunities, and then get aggressive when things are right.
elk are very tricky critters,just when you think you have them where you want them poof they vanish on you.they circle around you when you are calling them in,trying to get downwind of you.not to see if its a human but to put two and two together.they hear elk and either see or smell elk then things get a little calmer.myself i do not wear any type of elk scents at all.i dont want the elk to be able to pin my location down.i will be packing a foldup decoy though and i will spray scent on that.that works great sometimes.bulls are funny critters.they wont come in if they think the only thing waitin for them is a butt whippin.try using lighter bugles,try sounding like a wimpy bull if you bugle.if an elk hangs up on you then he/she is not seeing whats supposed to be there.if cowcalling...i mean there is a lot of different scenarios that can happen.if you have the moxy do what i did and get a cow hide,head ears and all then drape it over yourself and mew your way right into the herd with a lost cow type of wail.that ought to be plenty close.just watch behind you and for gods sake dont have any estrus scent on you. :readit: :biglaugh:
It took me seven years to kill my first bull. I was slow and careful up to that time. After that first bull I got bolder and more successfull. Like everyone else stated try to keep the wind in your favor, but don't be afraid if it is not perfect. I have found that bugles work best from far away and very close and I only use cow calls when I can see the bull I am after or smell him. (Primos make very good elk calls.) I hunt all day. A bull will continue to bugle from his bed but not with the same vigor or frequency. So I sneek as close as possible to the bedding area and wait for an opportunity to present itself or for the action to pick up when the sun starts to go down and the thermals become more consistent. Try to approach the animals from their elevation rather than down or up hill. And never think that the elk are too far away, too deep in a canyon, or to high on a mountain. Go after them for the experience and decide to shoot or not shoot when your fingers tighten up on the string and your heart is in your throat. I remember every close call I had with a bull or cow, not just the times the arrow found its mark. Good Luck!
Very, very, good information! It took me 9 years to finally kill my first bull!! Good luck !!
Theres no one thing when it comes to elk. I am about to throw my calls away. I have called elk in for 20 yr to 20 yrd.but its getting harder and has messd up things more than helped lately One thing I do now is go like hell till I get into them. Elk will bugle more from hearing you walk then calling. if you are not getting into them dont waist time hussle till you do.
Really some sound advice in the above posts.
Personally, I quit cow calls about five years ago. Every bull over two years old has probably heard every cow call marketed today. Not saying bulls don't respond to them, but I think the calls are overused and overrated.
I try to go with sounds that a bull thinks may be another bull, but he hasn't heard before. Half bugles, chop grunts, moans, anything that doesn't sound like a hunter calling elk.
one thing i do know is an elk cannot think.it cannot reason.i have been hunting elk in the same area with the same type calls for over 15 years in this same area and the elk are just as talkative as ever and as long as you put yourself in the right place at the right time they will walk right to you.if the elk are answering you every time you call then pour it to them,they are very vocal.learn how to make different calls.ie...lost call,lonely call,estrus call etc etc....example: i was hunting with my hunting buddy carl in eastern oregon.we worked this bull for over an hour.i threw everything at him but my bow.he finally spotted me moving around and jetted outta there doin 60 and barkin like a dog....i still shot that bull ten minuts later just by talking sweet on the cow call,calmed him down and he came in to 30yds.elk cannot think,if they could they would be shootin back at us.
Ok I will throw in my 2 cents as long as you take it as that.
You have got a lot of good advice in the previous posts. I think that Joe(whip) really nailed it as far as how I like to hunt. I have have said before that I dont call to much. I am not saying calls dont work though. I have a pile of them and practice a lot.
I tend to wait for the right time watch the wind closely and be very aggresive if given the chance. Sound is not a huge issue. The bull that I got this year only went to where he did because I made a lot of noise running down a trail and purposly breaking sticks and kicking rocks. (You see the bull that had been bothering him he had just chased off on that trail.) Is this a form of calling? Many would say yes just not in the way we tend to think of it. I would agree. He though that was a bull coming to take a lady from him and he came to run him off.
Bottom line at the right place and time noise is not a huge deal and can help you if you are making the right noise. If you get the wind wrong you are screwed. As elkherder said before me you can call one back ofter he has ran. YOU CANNOT CALL ONE BACK THAT HAS WINDED YOU. Hunt the wind. I could say alot more about this but I think that is enough.
I had one literally sniffing me over the top of a wire blind on my first deer hunt. A big 'ol 5x5. THAT was awesome! I couldn't move a muscle. They really do make a lot of noise. I heard branches breaking like crazy when he came in.
Elk can cover a lot of ground in a short time, and live in the thickest, roughest country you can find. They are frequently in groups, more noses, eyes and ears. The lead cow will guide their movements. Be prepared physically to cover ground, look, listen, and use good binoculars like 8x40 Nikon. The weather is a big factor in the rut in the areas I hunt. If they are undisturbed, the will stay in an area, bust them and they will go a long distance and won't be back. I prefer not to call too much, you can certainly over do it.
One time while hunting in the Blue Mtns of SE Washington, I walked into a herd, bedded down on a ridge. The fog had rolled into the valley and then up the ridges and it was so thick you could only make out a tree if it was within ten yards. I only saw, one or two, there was one cow that past me about five feet. They couldn't see either and were actually nocking over small firs, when things exploded. I followed one cow down the mountain, and she jump off several rock ledges ten to fiften feet high in steep terrain. I knew I'd never see them again, and was only interested to see how far see would run. I never found out, because she was still running when I got down the mountain.
Hunt alone or in pairs, if there are other hunters in the same area, go find another area.
Elk can cover a lot of ground in a short time, and live in the thickest, roughest country you can find. They are frequently in groups, more noses, eyes and ears. The lead cow will guide their movements. Be prepared physically to cover ground, look, listen, and use good binoculars like 8x40 Nikon. The weather is a big factor in the rut in the areas I hunt. If they are undisturbed, the will stay in an area, bust them and they will go a long distance and won't be back. I prefer not to call too much, you can certainly over do it.
One time while hunting in the Blue Mtns of SE Washington, I walked into a herd, bedded down on a ridge. The fog had rolled into the valley and then up the ridges and it was so thick you could only make out a tree if it was within ten yards. I only saw, one or two, there was one cow that past me about five feet. They couldn't see either and were actually nocking over small firs, when things exploded. I followed one cow down the mountain, and she jump off several rock ledges ten to fiften feet high in steep terrain. I knew I'd never see them again, and was only interested to see how far see would run. I never found out, because she was still running when I got down the mountain.
Hunt alone or in pairs, if there are other hunters in the same area, go find another area.
A few things...
95% of the country WON'T hold elk, keep moving until you find them. If you hunt too slow you simply run out of time; so move quickly until you find them. You can certainly hear them and smell them. Then slow down.
When you do find them try and figure out why they are there. Feed? Cover? Cool? Elevation? North facing? Roadless? Then try and duplicate those conditions in another area.
Calls now days seem to work best if you are very far or very close to them. All I use are cow calls and "spike" bugles.
If you kick them out of their bedding area you may spend several days re-locating them. It's often best to skirt around the edges, some time you can catch one coming in or leaving.
The more you hunt the same area year after year you learn the areas they favor and the country to avoid...mostly you have to pay your dues.
Good luck!
Bob
Make sure you have good Topo-maps of the area you are going to hunt, early in the season Elk tend to stay on the north east side of the Mountain knowing this might save some boot leather. Just my 2 cents
I can't add anything to what has been presented here by much more experienced elk hunters than myself... but wanted to thank you for starting the thread and thank all who have responded.
Hurry up August!
Take a good small camera and record the adventure, including everything that you see that makes you go "wow". Your family and friends will appreciate it when you share the wonder you erxperienced with them. Enjoy the journey.
Elk hunting can be very difficult already. Often takes a great deal of effort and perseverence. Try not to make it into work too. Its already hard enough.
Smell the flowers..
Joshua
great tips so far!
Ill add somethings that I learned.
Here in oregon there is a lot of hunting pressure. A lot of those hunters just walk around a call non stop. I was in great glassing spot watching a bull on an opposite ridge. I saw 2 hunters come around the ridge where the bull is and just start calling bugles and cow calls without even looking around. I watched the bull silently slip off in to the timber. The hunters never even noticed a nice 6x6 less then 100 yards away. When they first called the bull looked interested and took a few steps there way. I thought I was going to watch someone shoot this bull I had been watching for the last 4 hours. But when they got no vocal response they called 5-6 more times in the nest 30 seconds. It didn't take the bull long to head the other direction. Since watching that I limit my calling, and I always look around even at close distance when you think you should be able to see with your naked eye. I have walked up on a lot of elk within 100 yards that I could just see ears or legs with my binos due to the shadows and timber I was unable to pick them up with just my eyes. I can only imagine the amount of animals I spooked without knowing in the past.
It sounds like you have a good start if you have ground hunting deer with success. I have personally had a lot easier time sneaking in on elk then blacktails.
For me, elk hunting in AZ has a lot to do with where the water is. I stay away from waterholes by roads and try to find water or trick tanks away from people. I then get to know the area around these holes, noting bedding spots and terrain that elk are usually close to that give them advantage i.e. feeding areas with several escape routes down mountain with rapid elevation changes (steps).
It is hit or miss when it comes to the rut during archery elk here (depending on yoru area), so I spend less time using calls except cow calls which I use to cover noise mostly. Scouting is important, but more important to me is finding hunting locations off the beaten path, road hunters and weekend bikers routinely ruin hunting areas in my experience.
I have had bulls so close I could literally reach out and touch them. I haven't gotten cows that close though, they are always wary. Hunting elk has got to be the most enjoyment I have ever had hunting, and if I don't get drawn, I typically go out and spend some time chasing them around anyway.
Good luck,
Jethro
Whip nailed it down for you.
Move fast until you find fresh sign. Slow down and locate the elk. Get downwind and work in slow. Leave the calling for peak rut times. All other times just put the sneak on them.
I like to hunt in either sex units and shoot the first legal elk. Cow or bull. Can't eat a rack and elk are tasty. Make no mistake, if a big bull is there I will go after him. If a tasty cow happens to wander to close. I make meat!
Does 20 feet count as getting close enough? I put the wife 20 feet from a huge 6 X 6 this year. Only problem it was two days before elk season and we were hunting deer. I am not sure who was more scared when that bull bolted out of his bed. Him or the wife. We were working our way downwing to get around a small herd of cows towards a swamp that holds deer.
Don't be afraid to make noise when you close in on a bull that is talking. I scrape trees with branches, kick over small logs, roll rocks and generally kick up a stink on a hot bull. I want him to think I am a challenger for his cows. A lot of times that bull will come in hot looking to kick some a**. I throw in moderate amounts of calls that simulate a young bull to keep them coming in.
If the elk are not talking, neither am I. Way to many hunters calling before and after the rut, who have no clue what they are doing. This can turn the bulls off and run them into the next county. It can also shut up what little talk a herd is making.
As for finding pressured elk, that is easy. Hike until you find fresh sign, find the deepest, darkest, nastiest hole in the area and start hunting it from the downwind side. Elk always hide where you don't wan't to go. They know it and that is why they are there.
Don't forget to rack and kick stuff to make them think you are elk I have done this and got elk in.
Old whip nailed it pretty good for a flatlander lol. Cover ground until you find sign keep the wind in your face. I have called in elk but most years our hunt is too early for the rut here or it pushes them off with calls. I like to ambush elk if they are not being pushed around. Once I find a herd I don't push them and I look for ambush spots to set up on them. If I can't pattern them I then do alot of still hunting for them once I find sign. Look for remote nasty country or overlook country. My two favorite elk spots are real close to a public picnic spot and a main hiking trail. Scent dosen't seem to matter as much and is only 10 mins from home. They never get good until everyone pushes the private(90% of the unit) and the main elk spots. It is remote because it is overlooked. It is alittle wierd listening to tourist singing campfire songs with elk walking by your shooting lane. Good luck it is habit forming.