Elk Hunting. North vs. East

[Rob]

Morning all, hope everyone's hunting season is going good. I'm looking at passing on sheep/goat next year and getting into Elk hunting. Picked up a wall tent and stove already and practicing my calling.
We are thinking of hunting them pre rut and into the rut. We were looking at heading North above Chetwynd/Fort Nelson but are now considering the East Kootenays. Have a couple questions for those who are knowledgeable on this. We would have a main camp set up and have gear to spike out if needed as well.

1) Is the rut times similar for both areas-Mid to third week Sept is my understandinig
2) Is it still in the 30's in the EK, making game care more of a concern

Cheers, Rob

[bigneily]

yes and yes .

[campking]

I have hunted both but areas going back a few years.
I would say yes to both of your questions, when we hunted in mid September in the EK we would get a full (4'x 8') utility trailer full of ice from the local ice rink and if I remember correctly it lasted the
full time we were there we would lay our meat on the ice and worked great.

[Rob]

That's a lot of ice...lol. any thoughts on which area my be lower in hunting pressure? (Probably a dumb question as I would think both get hit hard)

[todbartell]

Fall equinox in 2018 is Sept22, you'd want to plan your hunt to be there for the 5-8 days leading up to this date for peak 'rut action'

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[J_T]

Agree with the others. Yes to both questions. In addition to Tod's comments above, pay attention to the moon cycle when planning your hunt.

[Rob]

Agree with the others. Yes to both questions. In addition to Tod's comments above, pay attention to the moon cycle when planning your hunt.

best to go when it isnt a fuller moon or the other way..a

[Darksith]

Morning all, hope everyone's hunting season is going good. I'm looking at passing on sheep/goat next year and getting into Elk hunting. Picked up a wall tent and stove already and practicing my calling.
We are thinking of hunting them pre rut and into the rut. We were looking at heading North above Chetwynd/Fort Nelson but are now considering the East Kootenays. Have a couple questions for those who are knowledgeable on this. We would have a main camp set up and have gear to spike out if needed as well.

1) Is the rut times similar for both areas-Mid to third week Sept is my understandinig
2) Is it still in the 30's in the EK, making game care more of a concern

Cheers, Rob
Rut time is the same yes
it can be hot in the EK you bet

Ive hunted and struck out in both places, elk are smart and you need to find the right area to hunt them. The more you are willing to hike and work for it, the better your chances will be. They are both busy busy places

[Rob]

Rut time is the same yes
it can be hot in the EK you bet

Ive hunted and struck out in both places, elk are smart and you need to find the right area to hunt them. The more you are willing to hike and work for it, the better your chances will be. They are both busy busy places

thanks, we have no issues hiking or spiking out and would prefer to do so.

Cheers, Rob

[J_T]

best to go when it isnt a fuller moon or the other way..a Everyone has their thoughts on when it's best, either no moon or full moon. Usually when a hunter favours one moon cycle over another it's because it suits their hunting style. Under a full moon the elk can be more active at night. Which can be great if you're hunting style is to be out there listening and hiking in the wee hours. But, they can go quiet at daylight. Although sometimes under a very bright sky, elk lose sight of what is night and what is day. That can also play to your advantage. Hunting in a no moon cycle will have elk very active right at daylight.

Spike camp in an elk hunt is really just sleeping mid day under a big tree or on a ridge somewhere, chasing shadows to stay cool. Remember, anything you do out there, any time you are out there, you make a smell and that is the biggest give away to an elk that you are present. Garlic, coffee in the urine, booze. All contributes to spreading your scent.

[todbartell]

best to go when it isnt a fuller moon or the other way..a

full moon will make for more activity during the night. Elk can be heading to their beds before shooting light, which will make for some good hunting mid day when they get up on their feet and browse around before bedding back down until evening. Best not be in camp napping! Be downwind of bedding area and work the calls. You have lots of time before next September to master calling and know what you're saying

full moon will be Sept24 2018. In 2017 we seen a new moon (dark) on Sept19 which overlapped nicely with the fall equinox and majority of cows coming into heat

[Rob]

Thanks for the info Mark.

[Rob]

I'll be hitting the chris roe videos hard after hunting season

[Bugle M In]

full moon will make for more activity during the night. Elk can be heading to their beds before shooting light, which will make for some good hunting mid day when they get up on their feet and browse around before bedding back down until evening. Best not be in camp napping! Be downwind of bedding area and work the calls. You have lots of time before next September to master calling and know what you're saying

full moon will be Sept24 2018. In 2017 we seen a new moon (dark) on Sept19 which overlapped nicely with the fall equinox and majority of cows coming into heat

good stuff....never considered when "fall equinox happened"....always something to learn, no matter how long one's been doing it....thanks

[Rob]

full moon will make for more activity during the night. Elk can be heading to their beds before shooting light, which will make for some good hunting mid day when they get up on their feet and browse around before bedding back down until evening. Best not be in camp napping! Be downwind of bedding area and work the calls. You have lots of time before next September to master calling and know what you're saying

full moon will be Sept24 2018. In 2017 we seen a new moon (dark) on Sept19 which overlapped nicely with the fall equinox and majority of cows coming into heat

Would the elk still be as vocal during the day if they have been up feeding all night? Any recommendations on good elk books to read?

[todbartell]

Bulls will bugle from their bed but it's often a real half hearted bugle. Ultimately bull vocalizations will be peaking when there is cows coming in, or in, estrous. Herd bulls & satellite bulls will be screaming their heads off if theres a hot cow. This can happen at any hour and in any temperature

[j270wsm]

Not being a dick, but the elk numbers in the EK are ridiculously low. Not saying there isn't any elk but there might be better places to look than the elk valley.

[J_T]

Would the elk still be as vocal during the day if they have been up feeding all night? Any recommendations on good elk books to read?
You generally won't find bulls bugling in the day time in the EK. At daylight, they will do a short location bugle to round up the cows and move to bedding grounds. If you are hunting in the rut, a bull might continue bugling for an hour while they are moving. Normally, unless you engage that bull prior to full daylight, you won't find much bugling in daytime hours. However, if you are able to get them started and you 'do the right things' it's possible to have a lot of fun keeping a bull active through the morning into early afternoon. If you are hunting in the rut, a bull might initiate bugling for an hour while they are moving. The trend here is for bulls to keep silent. Bugling brings in predators. They do more raking of alders.

Elk hunting:
1) Google Maps - find out what your looking for and look for it (terrain, aspect, vegetation, water, road networks)
2) In the field stay mobile, all the bs about "boots on the gound" and getting away from other hunters is nonsense. Hunters hunt elk, where the elk are, in the GOS you will hear other guys bugling, you will have a hunt impacted by other hunters. That's just how it is.
2a) If you come across another group of hunters and they might be working a pocket of elk, move on.
3) Look for logical pockets that might hold elk - it's not whitetail hunting, you don't have to sneak
3a) Keep your nose up. Elk smell, if you catch a wiff, they're in the area
4) Look for active/current sign in these pockets. vegetation chewed off, fresh shit....
5) when you find sign, slow down
6) depending on the time of day, consider backing off and watching it, or setting up and calling
7) if it doesn't pan out, don't hesitate to move on
8) "If" you are on a bull and morning is getting late and he doesn't seem to be closing that last 100 yards, don't give up, change your calling. If you are bugling, shift to a cow call. Stay hard on the cow call and don't give up.

Preparation:
1) learn what bugles to use, when to use a long high pitch location bugle, when to keep it short, when to sound aggressive, when to chuckle
2) there are to few cow calls, but never to many. Mix them up, sound more like a herd moving through the bush. Like fishing, you never know which lure is the right one for that occasion (sometimes soft, sometimes loud)
3) keep a quiet cow call at the ready, as you walk in the bush, make soft sounds (I keep mine in my hand most of the time)

Remember, elk are loud (when they move through rough timber), big animals and they know who they other players are out there. Come off as a hunter (bugle from a road with a view - everyone does) and they won't be interested. Come off as that shitty little 2 year old upstart from across the valley who is all of a sudden in their kitchen and they'll want to hurt you.