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Elk hunting advice
Hey guys wanted to ask the experts (and the peanut gallery) about elk hunting, Specifily your experience on crown land hunting. This coming season will be
My first year attempting to locate and harvest an elk. The zones I’m currently spreading time learning about include 521,522,360,357. So basically valleyview,grand prairie and surrounding areas. My question is around how a person chooses a specific area of crown land to begin scouting. Each of these zones have crown land and private land and have very similar topography. Generally the thought is elk live in high country and come Down to the fields as the snow gets deep. These wmu don’t really have much for montains, more foothills if anything so really so this logic probably isn’t valid? I’m going to make the assumption that the elk in these wmu stay in the deep bush much of the year and end up in the fields once the snow falls? I’m also curious on how effective beginner elk callers are? I’m spending more and more Time with my bow in hand and am truly looking forward attempting to make some calls and even better yet hear a response ...I’ve hunted moose for years and was realitivly sucseful at calling right away. With deer I seem to have limited to little success. Any advice will help! |
Elk hunting advice
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Well for starters, elk are the easiest/ hardest animal to hunt. Yes they tell you where they are most of the time (if you can entice them with calls) but bulls in bow season will be herded up. With exceptions to satellite bulls trying to sneaking in a poke or two on the cows. They'll have dozen sets of eyes on you guarded by their cows. Closing the gap between them and the cows is your objective. Decoys work well in open country. It might take you yrs to learn their language and habits before harvesting one. But their is always some short of luck involved. I hunt in one of them zones and our group of 8 usually takes 2-4 bulls a yr. Last couple yrs have been slower and not seeing many herd bulls over 300" like in be past. Lots of hunting pressure and hack hunters pushing them around. I hunt both archery and rifle season, you can almost guarantee after first day of rifle season you won't hear a peep out of them hunting around crown/farmland. So get on them early. Patience and learning what turns them will get you within bow range. Sometimes it's just the right tone that makes them go wild, others it's completely staying quiet and still. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
Ive notices for the most part that there are pockets of elk year after year in the same places . One oil lease will be a mile from another but over the years there are never any tracks at the one . Can’t explain that . But they move ALot . Do lots of scouting close to your hunting trip . If you live far away fallow the weather or talk to a Oil worker or grader operator about sign , when it rained last because it tells you how old those tracks are
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I'm no expert but I base alot of my scouting and glassing on areas which have access to water. All animals drink. Its pretty easy to use Google Earth (or even just Google Maps) to narrow down your hunting areas. From there, spring shed hunting can put you on to sanctuaries (late season "rest areas" for bulls).
I recommend reading and watching content from professionals like Randy Newberg - seems like he knows what he's doing. Best of luck. |
Creatures of habit, year over year watch your cams. Almost to the day where you will see them. Dont chase them. Unless you are satellite hunting. Good luck. Bump them and you screw up pattern for 7-14 days.
Good luck. Have fun. |
Elk are easy to kill once you find them. Out of the 28 kills I’ve been on not one was called in. Been anywhere from 30 yrds. 200 yrds. Like I said the hardest part is finding where they like to hang out, once you figure that out the rest is easy.
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Find scrapes, rubs and wallows and you'll know you are in their kitchen Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
This thread is making me sad, 8 months to go ; )
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Exactly ! And many of these such zones are used perennial by elk, One particular area I have hunted for many years ( crown/public lands) , I have killed 7 or 8 bull elk ( 6 point or bigger) and all within an area not 500 meters from each other, over the past 15 years or so, Hence ? The Elk Dump :) |
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This stretch of treeline if only 200 yards across x 1k long. not much pressure in there. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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they didn't even click in to what an elk hunting paradise the were hiking through, I did NOT embellish where or what we were hiking through,, they snoozed , they loosed , :sHa_sarcasticlol: I can hear a busy interprovincial highway faintly from this zone, when conditions are suitable, I can often hear ATVs within a km or do close by , I can hear cattle moo-ing faintly from leased rangeland not far away, :mad0030: But the Zone yet goes unbothered , pretty much ,,, :thinking-006: |
Thanks everyone for the replies. Lots of experience talking there. Reading through the posts a few times it seems the biggest suprise to me is that the elk seem to stay (once you find them) in that general area year after year.
Based on input I think I’ll be focusing more of my time to archery hunts and early season. Probably only get 3 trips total (each 3-4 days) but if I’m lucky I’ll find the pockets everyone is talking about. Harvest is a bonus. I’ve noticed that all of these zones have cow draws with multiple date slots available as well, I imagine the earlier dates sept/oct your more likely to find the elk in the bush and nov/dec in the Fields? Obviously will be attempting to secure some private land access but don’t have any expections. Never hunted that direction/have no contacts in the area. Thanks again folks. |
I thought about starting the same thread several times... Just sold my house, and moving to Athabasca, and I've got the elk bug.
One thing I've learned from all of the posts I've read, is DON'T use the hoochie Mama call... from what I've heard, it's the exact same as yelling "HEY ELK, COME HERE AND LET ME SHOOT YOU" in the bush. I think diaphragm calls are the way to go, and tossing one in your mouth and practicing while you drive is simple, yet effective, in the off-season. |
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elk
Some guys have touched on Scouting, it is perhaps the most important advice you can get for elk hunting. Some say you should scout 3-4 days for each day you actually hunt. Lots of boot leather is secret! Why do you thing guides can put hunters onto elk.
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I killed my first bull in this country last year (year 2 of hunting). If you are going the crown land route, the biggest issue isn't finding elk. Pick any farmland/bush intersection, and the chances are pretty good there will be elk in there.
The issue for me was just the thickness of the bush. It ain't like the pines in the southern rockies. Making moves on animals through the bush is very difficult. This year they were bugling really well in my area, so I knew they were there, and had good encounters for two weekends, before I finally called my bull into the open. |
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He does an awesome cow elk chirp and cow talk mews from his mouth, But I do agree, some areas suffer from Hootchie Mama NOISE POLLUTION ! , And this will make elk immune if not scared of hootchie mommas blasting meaningless noise, So will incessant bugling at the wrong time :thinking-006: |
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