getting to know elk

[ChrisC]

I'm planning my first elk hunt out west for next year. Being from the east coast I am not too familiar with elk. I was wondering if anyone had recommendations on what books to read that would provide insight to their preferred habitat, food, possibly hunting techniques, hunting pre-rut vs. post rut, etc..basically a hunting elk for dummies. A quick look seems to provide several options, but I didn't know which were more useful than others. Thanks.

 

[idnative1948]

Click on YouTube at the top of the page, or go here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQOcUD2aFxEjc-_4JJBLYyg

 

[huntid73]

Along with Randy's videos, I like the Eastman's book, it breaks down elk movement and behavior like Randy does into pre-rut, peak rut, post rut, and the Eastman's include hunting the elk migrations when the snow really flies in the mountains. I have found both Randy's videos and the book to be good references.

 

[esracerx]

I like bugling bull. The whole Jacobsen family win all sorts of awards on elk calling

 

[ElkNut1]

Chris, are you rifle hunting or bowhunting? Dates interested in?

ElkNut1

 

[Apparition]

Pay really close attention to what Elknut has to say, he knows how to kill bulls.

 

[Corax]

Elk101 has a University of Elk Hunting Online Course - I think it is excellent. Also Colorado DOW has a free series called Elk Hunting University.

 

[ChrisC]

I haven't decided on dates yet, nor archery or rifle. I'm leaning towards rifle, and my thinking is that I have a greater chance of harvesting one simply due to the shooting range rifles have over archery. However, it may be harder to find elk during the rifle seasons, so I don't know.

I saw the elk101 course through a link on one of Randy's pages. I haven't come across any bad reviews of that, and for $59/$99 it'll be one of the cheapest hunting related purchases ill make.

 

[Majja]

What is the name of Eastman's Book?

 

[huntid73]

Elk Hunting the West the Eastman Way

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Pay really close attention to what Elknut has to say, he knows how to kill bulls.

Yep! IMHO there are few that are any better than Paul!

 

[ElkNut1]

Guys, thanks for the kind words!

Chris, since you're considering a rifle hunt you really only need to focus on two avenues here, Glassing & Calling! Both are used for location purposes & to be treated as one in the same! Personally I do not focus on what elk may be eating in Oct. In other words I do not focus my hunt on any special forage as if there was snow everywhere & food was rare to locate for the elk. I look for Elk Country with water, cover & seclusion away from most other hunters, feed for them is nearby & they will find it. Bulls can still be bugling during Oct as a third Estrus Cycle for the cows can still come into play, because of this a Bugle can come in handy well above a cow call, yes a cow call can work but I prefer the bugle because of its far reaching abilities over the cow call.

Since you're most likely hunting on foot like many of us we try to stay in that 3 mile or under range so packing out elk is doable. At this time we would only consider a trail head if unoccupied or it was to be traveled while still dark to areas that we would branch off of to get to higher glassing/calling points. We prefer starting our elk hunts away from most public access. We choose areas to start at that most hunters would drive on by because of steepness or rugged terrain.

Here's a photo of an area only a mile away from a dirt road (gps mile) we would climb to the top on the right side of photo & start our glassing from there. It's about a 1000 foot climb to that top. We can move to the left & follow the top of that ridge to maintain elevation as we both glass & call as needed. Once on top you can glass, glass & glass some more as the country can really open up. We prefer areas where topos show water in the bottoms or springs coming down draws or finger ridges feeding larger creeks & such. These higher ridges are easily found on USGS 7.5 min 1-24000 topo maps.

The 2nd photo is what can be seen on the other side of these ridge tops! Great glassing area with no human intrusion from the other directions. When calling at first light or last light you are generally checking to see if there are elk in the cover that you cannot easily glass into. Some areas can be more heavily timbered so bugling several times may be needed in hopes of a bull giving his position away, this is if no elk can be see due to glassing for sometime there! If elk are glassed we do no calling at all from there, it's time to form a plan to stalk either way elk are located! Hope this helps some!

ElkNut1

 

[ChrisC]

Elknut,

Thank you for taking the time to do that write-up, and for the pictures. Sounds like I need to start practicing bugling.

 

[AdamW]

Wow thanks for that info ElkNut! I'm another first year rifle hunter (CO first rifle) and this is great info. A couple of questions if you don't mind:

1) My partner and I have hesitated on calling, mainly from lack of experience and not wanting to be bugling and other hunters thinking "What the heck are you doing dummy?" Haha. Do you think there is value in taking the next couple months to practice up on bugling? I'm willing to put in the work of not sounding terrible if so.

2) Your first picture makes me as a newbie think: how do I know I'm not busting elk out of the ground in between where we are and that peak when we are making our way over there?

 

[TimeOnTarget]

Wow thanks for that info ElkNut! I'm another first year rifle hunter (CO first rifle) and this is great info. A couple of questions if you don't mind:

1) My partner and I have hesitated on calling, mainly from lack of experience and not wanting to be bugling and other hunters thinking "What the heck are you doing dummy?" Haha. Do you think there is value in taking the next couple months to practice up on bugling? I'm willing to put in the work of not sounding terrible if so.

2) Your first picture makes me as a newbie think: how do I know I'm not busting elk out of the ground in between where we are and that peak when we are making our way over there?

Im not even in the same league as Paul but from my experiences, If you are busting elk out, youre gunna hear them.


I've learned 2 things about elk, They have long legs and they do what they want. Once you find them, the hard part is over IMHO.

 

[elkobssessed]

Chris c,
Your best case scenario would be to hunt the rut, most genereally that is in the archery season. The rut does allow the inexperienced hunter to at least locate bulls due to their bugling. I have never hunted the heat of the rut but more towards the end. In the moddle of october there will still be a few bulls that bugle but It has been my experince not as many and mostly in the dark, once it is light out it gets quiet. If there is a hot cow that didnt get bred it will most likely be young bulls that will be fighting for her. Plus during the rut bulls are not thinking with their head. It is nice to have one bugle and let you know, here i am.
I would not worry about busting elk anywhere near a road...you might, but they generally arent that close to the road. Go in early, stay all day and dont give up. Its alot of work hiking up mountains but its worth it. enjoy your hunt. it beats the crap out of working

 

[JohnCushman]

Speaking of ElkNut....his playbook has awesome information too

 

[ElkNut1]

Adam, sorry for delayed response, it's been very busy for us this time of year!

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1) My partner and I have hesitated on calling, mainly from lack of experience and not wanting to be bugling and other hunters thinking "What the heck are you doing dummy?" Haha. Do you think there is value in taking the next couple months to practice up on bugling? I'm willing to put in the work of not sounding terrible if so.

1 - Absolutely! I wouldn't even think of not having a Bugle with me on an Oct hunt. I love glassing for bulls with a rifle but there's those spots where the Bugle will do the leg work for you when binos cannot cut through the thicker timbered areas! Use a Bugle like the Chuckler XTR, it has the built on mouth reed & takes less than a minute to learn. You are only concerned with the highest bugle note you can muster up, it's a Location sound & is non intimidating to other elk! No need for grunts or chuckles here, you are just trying to locate unseen elk by triggering a response!

2) Your first picture makes me as a newbie think: how do I know I'm not busting elk out of the ground in between where we are and that peak when we are making our way over there?

2 - As far as busting out elk as you travel through country similar in the photo, I wouldn't be too concerned with it. In many cases as I get into areas as that I look for fresh sign that shows elk are most likely in there. Too, it doesn't hurt to give a few soft cow sounds & a short bugle as you move through, this can be done as often as needed depending on the distance involved, this would show you are a small group of elk moving in or through, it can trigger a bugle giving the real elk away before you bust into them. Don't worry about sneaking through it like you were deer hunting or still hunting, move quickly with eyes & ears open & get to those tops to glass. It's no big deal if you bust a few elk out, it's part of hunting some days! (grin)

ElkNut1

 

[AdamW]

Thanks ElkNut! Great info. Can't wait for October!

 

[nvgoosehntr]

I signed up for Corey's University of Elk Hunting Online Course and gathered a lot of great info there and I also ordered Elknuts playbook and really liked the scenarios that he has in there - he really makes you think about what the elk are doing and how to react. I think that the two teaching styles complement each other and both of those resources have definitely helped me build my knowledge and confidence. I cant wait for this season!