Cow Elk Advice

[WTHunter]

Looking for a bit of advice. I am not looking to steal a spot- but looking for some general info.

My wife is a 4 priority in the Antlerless Elk draw- so she can/should get drawn in many zones around our province. We are wondering what are the higher precentage zones to apply for? We are not opposed to putting some serious work/time in- but both of us will be rookie elk hunters. So farmland, may be easier?

So... looking for good zones with crown land, or zones where it would seem to be easier to get land owner permission.

Also wondering peoples thoughts on hunting them in December. I notice many of the zones have seasons that go until Dec 20. Is there a lot of advantage in waiting and hoping for a lot of snow in order to drive them to farmland?

Us rookies would appreciate any advice that you have. Thanks in advance.

[stubblejumper]

The peace country is a good area and wmu 358 is a good zone in particular.

[willy]

We always see lots in there especially in the dec part of the season. Cab be work gettin ur animal out tho as some of the area no motorized vehicles. We got 2 outa 3 tags last year and only because i couldnt shoot str8 had 3 chances at diff elk.

[Bull Shooter]

WTHunter, I think December is the perfect month for hunting cow elk. Firstly, it is my experience that the animals tend to move away from shelter areas to traditional grazing or wintering areas in late November. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, landowners and friends are usually finished with their own hunting seasons come November 30th and tend to be a lot more accomodating to cow elk hunters in December. My wife shot her first cow elk last season and it was a dandy! Good luck. Regards, Mike

[YamahaMan72]

I personally always like the later hunt fewer people as bull season is closed

[slopeshunter]

+1 what bullshooter said.

I just find they tend to be on the move more when it's cold.

[300Ultra]

A couple of years ago I was in the same position: reasonable priority, where to hunt? I picked the highest success area that I could get drawn in and drew in three areas. (there is new effort/success data published on the SRD site for last year - I would start there)

I had never hunted in the area where I was drawn. After calls to the conservation officers in the area and a bit of general questions I nailed down roughly where the elk might be. There had been some claims paid out to farmers becuse of elk damage, that seemed like a good thing to me. There were at least a few elk in the area, and likley there would be some landowners that would be open to an elk hunter.

Next stop was the air photo library in downtown edmonton for a detailed look at what was reported to be the elky area. Then I bought a county map and started calling landowners. I talked with more that 30 landowners: I got 30 positive responses re access to land to hunt and one marriage proposal. One farmer went out of his way to help me find a good camping spot and help identify the places to start looking for elk. Then back to the air photo library to get copies of the specific places we wanted to hunt in detail.

That first year we saw over 100 elk. It took a return trip in late November to close the deal but we did have alot of fun hunting new land. Last year we returned on my buddy's cow elkd tag, legal bulls were scarce, but he closed the deal on the morning of day two on a nice cow.

We found a couple of great places to hunt elk, and saw a good number of moose - will be returning there this year to chase moose and bull elk.

Good luck, I saw don't be afraid to jump in and go! You will meet some nice new people, and hone those hunting skills that you have been learning. It is amazing to me that when you have that "elky" feeling they are near.

300Ultra

[WTHunter]

Thanks for the advice everyone we appreciate it.