New to elking

[WoodOx]

I know some of you on here are veterans at the elk game, but Im completely new to it.

In region 8, when should I expect the rut? Beginning of sept right?

Any chance bulls will still be rutting when season opens up on the 26th?

I would imagine the game bios aligned season opening with the end of the rut, so if that is the case then, how do you hunt bulls post rut?

Thanks

[Brambles]

Normally the elk will be bugling from the last week of August to the Oct 1

There will be periods in that time when they will be bugling better that others, if its real hot the might not bugle too much and you'll need to watch for the first stretch of cool weather to shock them into bugling.

Elk are big animals and need lots of water so in years when its hot its actually a bit easier to find them, look for spots on the mountain where there are lucious stands of deciduous trees, thats were the water is and the elk will most likely be hanging out.
Not sure if its the same for Region 8, it can get pretty brown over there but it works where I'm from.

[Fisher-Dude]

Region 8 elk require the hunter to have a firmly wedged, large horseshoe to be successful. I've seen them in the summer, but have yet to actually see one in GOS or hear one bugle in reg 8.

The season opens up in some MUs on Sept 10. Usually, the 10th to the 24th is the best part of the rut. The new 8-15 GOS season is designed to open after the peak of the rut.

Post-rut bulls are hard to find - they go solitary, shut up, and hang on steep, thick north faces where they have food and water close by, and spend their time resting and feeding after the rut. Some may be out looking for cows in the second estrus in the first part of October, but they tend not to wander as far as they did during the September rut.

[WoodOx]

Cool thanks Brambles.

The area ill be hunting is even in the most southern regions of Region 8, so it gets very very dry there. There are wet areas though, of course. As a matter of fact I believe a river is near where I will be checking out.

Would you recommend doing some bugling to try and locate the bulls? I will prob be going out sept 26th.

[WoodOx]

Fisher - do you know anyone who horse/hike hunts OK mtn for them?

[hunter1947]

I have recorded all my kills on bull elk over the last 30 years and 70% of the animals i took have been the last week of Sept. That time of the month it is cooler out and the bulls that don't hold a herd of cows which is a satelit bulls will come in with a coaching with a bugle or cow call. Reason for this is the second estrus has started and the satelit bulls will be wound up when this second estrus starts ,i find that cow calling works the best at this latter time in sept ,there not looking for a competitor they are looking for the gals.

[WoodOx]

I have recorded all my kills on bull elk over the last 30 years and 70% of the animals i have taken have been the last week of sept.

So then, whats your secret :wink: ?

[hunter1947]

Hear are a few of my secrets . First of all you have to go wear there are elk ,then you have to know how to bugle and cow call. I work hard pursuing them up at 4am in bed at 10pm ,i am in an area wear i know that they are and get in there before they get moving around ,then i wait. After they have moved from the feeding area into the black timber i crawl in after them setting up every 15min giving a few cow calls ,after 15 min i move on crawling ,i keep doing this till around 1pm ,then i head back out to get back to my camp ,i have a bit to eat then head back out around 3pm ,will stay out till dark. I will sit in the dark 1hr after listening for bugles ,this tells me that it is not a hunter but an elk. In the mornings i don't blow my head off with bugles ,i just give a couple bugles and the let them get back to me if there there ,bugling lots shuts them up ,there cluing in these days knowing it is not another elk but a human. I then move on and about every hour i will give a bugle ,but in between i will cow call 80% of the time, find rubs ,droppings wallows rubs and feed and you are into were there are elk ,like fisher dude said they have to have lots of water , i will find there travel path wear to go from there bedding areas to there water source and find a good place to set up and catch them on the move to get there ,evening to me has been more productive then mornings . Elk move into the timber to there bedding areas just after sun up and the start moving around in the afternoon around 4oc. If you work 4 or 5 year old slashes that's good because they come into just before dark to feed on the numies ,it's like candy to us. Why are you hunting in region 8 and not in a better area like 4-4 or others ???. So much to say ,i could carry on for ever ,so my above words give a little bit of my knowledge ,hope this helps all ,thank you wayne.http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif PS Agaucher if you need to know anything about elk just send me a private message and i would try to help you out in anyway a can ,that goes for anyone ,i would love to pass some of my knowledge on before i am in the happy hunting grounds.

[Fisher-Dude]

Fisher - do you know anyone who horse/hike hunts OK mtn for them?

Yes, I've hunted the top end and have friends who have hunted the rest, mostly before the fire. I think they are spread out more now than before the fire. My dad shot a few elk years ago up there - and I'm so damned old I can remember driving right through there to Naramata and listening for trains at the railway crossing! No park road closures in those days.

The problem with hiking in and shooting an elk is trying to get it out before it spoils in the hot September weather. Also, packing an elk 4 or 5 miles out of there ain't no easy chore. I've packed elk that far in the EK when I was younger - it's a killer. I'm not sure what the resident population is like there since the fire - elk like heavy timber, and although there are patches left in the park, 95% is burned out. There's lots of feed for them now, but they need the timber to escape the heat and predators too.