Elk Advice

[TheObserver]

This is the Elk I seen in Region 8

[Bugle M In]

Thats a nice bull.

Another thing, again, about being from the LM and the issues regarding around "scouting".
We both know how hard that can be if we are talking WK/EK or North.
The other factor also is, that even if you make a trip up to scout in the summer, they may not be there come opening, unless
your there a week or 2 before.
You have to them remember, you may not be looking for elk, but for old sign (several years worth) of rubs.
Then you know you will be in the right place at the right time potentially.
When my buddy got the Pitt lk draw, we did scout and we did find those rubs (many of them over several years), so we knew it
was a good place to start.

The real factor is "how much holiday time or time you can make" to get out there.
IF you only have 2 weeks of holiday time, you may want to consider getting time away from work without pay (if work allows) to
add to your total of hunting days etc.

I which case, if your thinking further from the LM, like EK or North, then I would seriously consider the first 2 weeks of the season.
1 week in bow, other in rifle, especially if your having to scout it out, imo.
IF you get any extra weeks, then that is a bonus and you could either continue on the hunt or rework another week at another
time.

You mention R8, and most say the 1st week is possibly the best week (just like many in the EK say), and it seems after the first
few days, the jig is up and the elk are now aware the season is open, so that might be your best time to scout for actual elk.
But conditions might not be right, and sometimes the 2nd week works out better for action.

One last thing though, I am not trying to say the first 2 weeks are the high point of the rut, especially when you talk about
any of those areas, as they all vary from north to south it seems.
Just trying to say that i know scouting can be tough for folks like us down here, and 10+ hour drives for a weekend just don't
work well, so it sucks to have to burn up holiday time in the summer scouting when it takes away from the days to hunt.

What you find in the summer may not be around come fall.
As for meat spoilage and being solo, there is no solution for that, other than not going out to early in the season in that case.

[horseman2]

Years of encouragement by a friend to apply for LEH on VI.
While having lunch when hunting deer in the Nanaimo watershed, a 5x5 bull walked into the clearing and was 13 paces away.
Having never hunted elk previously, applied for 1-10-F in '86 and collected a 12 year old 6x6 that weighed 534 ponds to the locker.
Applied again in 87 and was lucky to tag a 5x5 that weighed 401 to the locker without the neck (gave it to an assistant).
No luck since but the memories will las forever.

[mike31154]

I solo hunt almost exclusively for deer in the northern area of R8 & adjacent R3, R4. I suck as a deer hunter & the city deer rub it in by raiding my yard & garden in town haha. Getting up there in age but reasonably fit & wouldn't hesitate to pack out a deer solo. Larger critters like moose & elk I wouldn't attempt without a partner or 2. That's where LEH comes in very handy.

Myself & 2 buddies on the island have been putting in for both moose & elk LEH for a number of years now & have been successful once in each. The one buddy is our experienced mentor & has been applying for elk LEH on the island for 30 years, never got a draw. I was fortunate in the 2020 draw plus we had a moose draw in 2018. Depending on the type of LEH, if you have partners you can all apply which often improves the odds for you. Having been successful I know for a fact there's no way I'd pursue anything the size of an elk or moose solo. Particularly if the hike in is a long one. For sure it has & can be done, but not this cowboy haha.

I've seen what I think is some very old elk sign in a few areas I've hunted in 8 but never spotted one in the flesh. I bumped a huge bull moose near Oyama Lake last fall & regularly see moose at Holmes Lake. Unfortunately R8 is spike fork season only GOS. It's well known there's a herd of elk not that far out of north east Kelowna. They tend to hang out on ranch land so you need permission which is unlikely to be forthcoming. There was recent article with a photo of the herd near a golf course, should be a post on here somewhere about it. A number of them have been poached on their property so the landowners aren't too happy.

Here's the elk from LEH 2020 on the Island 1-10. It was a November hunt, rut was over so bugling would have been useless. He was with another young 4 point & they were shadowing a herd of cows. All the big boys would be off on their own recovering. Dropped him maybe 150 meters from FSR & it was still a chore to get him to the road. Gutted him where he lay & then used a chainsaw to clear a path so we could get a quad in to drag him out. It was the end of the 1st week when we found this herd having scoured various areas of 1-10. Earlier in the week we spotted a few cows up high in the snow.


Back at camp we quartered him in the trailer. Front being sectioned.


2018 LEH moose, also a young bull but good size. He was dropped close to the road. Quartered where he lay & used quad to drag quarters to the road. I went to get my pickup so we could get him to camp in one trip. Took 3 of us to throw a hind quarter up into the bed. I suppose a ramp would have made it easier.


This will give you some idea of the size you'll be dealing with. We hung & skinned the quarters in the dark. Used quad with rope & carabiner as a pulley to hoist the quarters. Finished around 3 am. A 6 point elk will be pretty similar.


Nothing for the 3 amigos for 2021, none of us got a draw. I'm on my last couple roasts & packs of ground from the elk. I wish you success, elk is some of the finest eating on the planet.

[boilerroom]

^^^ Amazing Mike, thanks for sharing! Keeps me motivated

[Ourea]

A little motivation for the Observer
A region 8 bull I Killed

https://i.imgur.com/1VtC57b.jpg

[mooseknuckler]

That’s a big bull Ourea!

[Bugle M In]

Yup, that is one bull that no matter how many times you see it, there is still something more to look at, so it never gets old.
I have had a first hand view of an R8 bull, a 9x9, that scored well into the 400's.
IT was never put in the books as the hunter didnt want to.
Although, I think there may have been more to that story for "Why" he never wanted to post it. (I will leave it at that)
It had 3 brow tines, each side. (not the standard 2)
It had 2 tines where there is generally only the 3rd.
Super wide, super long and heavy.
I would go over there from time to time, not because he liked to drink and offered great Scotch, but to just stare at it.
He passed away, and I think the wife just gave it away to some Asian fellow to get it out of the house.
And no, she didn't sell it for cash, just wanted the thing gone!

[TheObserver]

Yeah Bugle I have been actually starting to think that, just dedicate two weeks at the beginning of the season. That is a lot of time in the bush, bring the packboards but maybe stay with the truck so I can move. That has been another thing on my mind Elk seem to be moving mostly anyways, and pressure or anything spooking as well they could leave an area they were in for any given number of reasons.

I haven't applied for draws in years but am going to this year. My Dad's and my buddy guides at the back of Pitt Lake, he guided the last boone and crockett rosie that broke the record, so I was thinking about applying there. But I could imagine the odds for the Island draw are better than Pitt Lake.

Yeah Mike that is rough so many Islander's put in for those draws and never seem to get them. Poaching seems to be common with Elk in region 8. I mean it happens all over i'm sure unfortunately, but i've heard lots. I bet that Rosie was delicious, and that is a nice Bull Moose for sure what Region did you guys get that draw for?

Again appreciate the replies guys!

[TheObserver]

A little motivation for the Observer
A region 8 bull I Killed

https://i.imgur.com/1VtC57b.jpg

Ourea, that Bull is an absolute cranker!!!! Very Heavy! Could imagine the smile/feeling when you walked up on him!!

Truly a Bull of a Lifetime