Elk Rutting Dates

[Toad Hunter]

All right - we are a few months away but ... from your experience folks when do Elk start to rut in the Peace Country? What is the difference between the satellite bulls and the BIG BOYS?

[gary murray]

Satellite bulls are the little runts and rag horns that hang around the herd with the hopes of snagging a cow when the big boy ain't looking. I hope i got that right otherwise there will be two pages of people quoting me lol. Sorta like when you're in the bar sitting at a table with some hot little ladies and there's always a few little dweebs that try to get in on your action. You know, when you gotta take a pee and you come back and there's another guy all of a sudden sitting at your table chatting them up.

[elkdom]

when is the elk rut?, you mean bugling and most productive times for bugling up big bull elk I assume?,

well I have had them bull elk returning bugles as early as Aug 18, and I have had bulls return bugles as late as December,

I have killed bugling 6X bull elk, 20 minutes after daylight on the first of September, and I have killed bugling 6X bull elk at dusk on the 31st of October,

as for the "best bet??" going through my canceled elk tags I have to say the best part of "rutting/bugling bull elk" is from Sept 10 until Sept25/28,,,

but there are many variables, weather, forest fires, industrial activity, hunting pressure, prior weeks of water and feed availability,

thats my observations from hunting elk a bit,,,:neutral:

as for "satellite bulls"?? well thats exactly what they are. satellites to the herd of cows that is dominated by the most "Aggressive Bull elk" not all herd bulls are 6X6 or larger, many times I have worked hard to get close to a herd bull,only to find he is a 5x5 herd bull, and after passing up a couple of 6 pointers ,hoping the "screaming aggressive herd bull is the biggest"?? ahh $hit ! only to find a young aggressive 5x5 holding a herd of 12/15 cows!

[Toad Hunter]

So, ELKDOM, is there any rule of thumb. What about the Moon - Phases.

Temperature?

When are you planning on going Elk hunting?

[elkdom]

So, ELKDOM, is there any rule of thumb. What about the Moon - Phases.

Temperature?

When are you planning on going Elk hunting?

moon phases,full moon, the elk move/feed bigtime at NIGHT! less during the daylight hours, check that against opening and closing dates of the elk season, the less moon, the more daylight time they expose themselves feeding, moving to feed

temperature, the bulls get more aggressive as the weather cools, also the herd instinctively feeds more as it gets cooler towards fall, and before a storm elk will feed longer, or travel, keep an eye on your barometer and the weather channel!

A BIGGEE issue to seeing elk, is real windy weather or heavy rain, elk HATE both! in heavy rain and heavy wind they seek out shelter, I have found places where 30/40 elk have spent several days ,all lingering under huge pines, spruce, no fresh tracks a hundred yards away, but tons of elk poop and the ground all padded down from them bedding there for a long time, also the elk can be bugling like mad for several days, then if it rains for a coupleof days, the bush gets silent of elk "talk"
the wind makes elk very uneasy, it makes it hard for them to scent for danger, wind makes it EASY for hunters and predators to get close if you use the wind to your advantage, and you have some idea they are in a certain area,
elk are HABITUAL animals, if its safe, if its a good place to feed, if it has water, cover, and escape routes, they remember it all and use it to their every advantage! and some areas for many years,

when do I plan to hunt elk??? :-? every day of the year,:grin: when I am not working or busy, (hunting is after all spotting, observing, checking out new areas) year round if you get the opportunity,:grin:
I will carry my tags and ammo from Sept 01 until Oct 31, but my favorite time for bugling is from about Sept 07 until Oct 10 8) again weather is key!

[Toad Hunter]

I will carry my tags and ammo from Sept 01 until Oct 31, but my favorite time for bugling is from about Sept 07 until Oct 10 8) again weather is key!

So, it should be not bad then from the 7th - 14th of September you do say.

How do you have so much flexibility with your time?

[elkdom]

So, it should be not bad then from the 7th - 14th of September you do say.

How do you have so much flexibility with your time?

I live about 30 klms south of Dawson Creek, near the Alta/BC border
time dictates only where I choose to hunt, from 2 klics down the road from my house, to 300 klms away to the north, elk are in every direction I choose to hunt from where I have my home,
I know its HELL living here,:roll: but some ones gotta live here! :-?

so this is how it is, I am self employed, if I am busy, cant get away at a drop of the hat for several days, then I head out before daylight, a few klms from the house, park the truck walk in a couple of klms, do some cow calls, maybe bugles, see what happens, check for sign, if elk talk to me, I work a stalk, if it gets so I need to head to work or to town for work supplies, I call it off till later that afternoon or the next morning, quite often I hunt elk for 3 hours in the morning, head to work for 8 or 9 hours, rip home, grab my gear head off in the bush till after dark, hunting elk, if I have several days to hunt, then I head off farther from home, but mostly I hunt within 50/100 klms of my home, elk, moose, bear, wolf, deer ,both species,,,
last night about 6;00pm myself and 3 others were sitting on my deck at rear of my house, the magpies were making a big fuss in my driveway about 50 feet from my deck, I stand up and see what they are squawking at, and holy $heet! there is full grown Lynx standing at the rear bumper of my pick-up not 30 feet from the 4 of us, we had been watching 2 whitetail does and a fawn at the bush line of our lawn about 50 yards in the other direction, talking at normal tones ,having a cooler and visiting, prior to noticing the Lynx, lots of game near where I live,,,

[elkdom]

So, it should be not bad then from the 7th - 14th of September you do say.

How do you have so much flexibility with your time?

sept 07 until sept 21 I find is the best fishing :redface:,

shhhh I said "fishing" to throw the other guys off, that might be reading this thread :wink:

[Jelvis]

The first full moon in Sept it starts and carries on til cows bred.
Kootenay Kareoke
__________________________________________________ ______________
End of August bulls are polishing and getting worked up
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jellery

[elkdom]

The first full moon in Sept it starts and carries on til cows bred.
Kootenay Kareoke
__________________________________________________ ______________
End of August bulls are polishing and getting worked up
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jellery
and a good many bull elk are already "Polished OFF">(freezer meat) by the end of August!:shock: as elk season opens on Aug 15th in many MU's of Reg 7B 8) and many of those "antler polishing bulls" are very VOCAL once they start polishing bones, even though the rut is not technically on yet!:)

[hunter1947]

In the EK bulls start looking for cows starting the last week of Aug.

More times then so you see smaller bucks with does just before the main rut gets on its way ,then when the real rut starts then you see the big boys come into view ,they take over the does from these smaller bucks ,its the same way for elk.

When the big bulls collect up there cows for breeding season they keep close tabs on all there cows during the rut period.

There could be up to 5 satellite bulls hanging around this herd of elk and the big fellow keeping them at a dissidence from his girls.

I have called these satellites in more times then you can shake a stick ,they are the ones looking for stray cows ,thats why it is important to cow call when you know the time is right. ,who knows you might even call the big guy in if none of his cows are into estrus http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif.

[Toad Hunter]

Sweet.

Pretty helpful.

I am getting the itch to go and walk around. Once I heard my first call I was hooked.

Now I just have to get permission from the better half.

TH

[Riverratz]

Sweet.

Pretty helpful.

I am getting the itch to go and walk around. Once I heard my first call I was hooked.

Now I just have to get permission from the better half.

TH

Get the "better half" involved in hunting with you...... "permission" will never be an issue.

[capper911]

I heard my first bugle last fall and am SOOOoooo Hooked....:P My Girl did her C.O.R.E. this spring and had her first Elk steak as well, so now she's itching as bad as I am....:) No more "Permission"...

[lunatic]

Don't waste your time hunting in the Peace Country......go to the EK or WK. Elkdom has killed all the big bulls in this area and the ones he didn't get, I got!

[elkdom]

Don't waste your time hunting in the Peace Country......go to the EK or WK. Elkdom has killed all the big bulls in this area and the ones he didn't get, I got!


Dah! you got it right big guy!:smile: we is the the "Elk'inators" :shock:

see you for some "fishing" on the 1st of September! lunatic

ps: I said "fishing" so those other guys dont get to know what were talking about! :idea:

[BlacktailStalker]

I agree with everything elkdom said.
That full moon is key, you might see/hear very little on days when the nights were well lit by a moon.

However elk need to water every day, usually twice.
You can always use that to your advantage, learn how/where they travel and set up.
If its hot, hunt the rivers and the north timbers where its cool. They may not be as vocal but you can be sure the rut is still happening !
I think weather and pressure is your biggest variable to compete with, not timing.

I can't wait to get into the elk hills this fall, H47 and I have a LOT of premeditated hunting spots to hit hard this year :biggrin:

Sounds like you're livin' right up there Elkdom.

One thing I'll add is that the second estrous can be almost as good and even better for some reasons in my opinion.
Obviously any time in the bush is good time though.

[elkdom]

I agree with everything elkdom said.
That full moon is key, you might see/hear very little on days when the nights were well lit by a moon.

However elk need to water every day, usually twice.
You can always use that to your advantage, learn how/where they travel and set up.
If its hot, hunt the rivers and the north timbers where its cool. They may not be as vocal but you can be sure the rut is still happening !
I think weather and pressure is your biggest variable to compete with, not timing.

I can't wait to get into the elk hills this fall, H47 and I have a LOT of premeditated hunting spots to hit hard this year :biggrin:

Sounds like you're livin' right up there Elkdom.


alls good!:D and never pass up those "northeast" facing slopes,the coolest place at mid day,look for the headwaters of creeks,and springs, look for wallows,thick cover, and tiny,small grassy meadows surrounded by heavy timber or thick willows, look for scrapes and big rubs, some rubs 10,12 feet high to the top where the barks is rubbed off, thats where the herd bulls take the cows to do, you know what, yeah the nasty ;-) then IT happens,,,,

click,,,BOOM

[hunter1947]

alls good!:D and never pass up those "northeast" facing slopes,the coolest place at mid day,look for the headwaters of creeks,and springs, look for wallows,thick cover, and tiny,small grassy meadows surrounded by heavy timber or thick willows, look for scrapes and big rubs, some rubs 10,12 feet high to the top where the barks is rubbed off, thats where the herd bulls take the cows to do, you know what, yeah the nasty ;-) then IT happens,,,,

click,,,BOOM

Elkdom I was tinking of 16 feet up for a good rub from a herd bull ,LOL :smile:.

[hunter1947]

I agree with everything elkdom said.
That full moon is key, you might see/hear very little on days when the nights were well lit by a moon.

However elk need to water every day, usually twice.
You can always use that to your advantage, learn how/where they travel and set up.
If its hot, hunt the rivers and the north timbers where its cool. They may not be as vocal but you can be sure the rut is still happening !
I think weather and pressure is your biggest variable to compete with, not timing.

I can't wait to get into the elk hills this fall, H47 and I have a LOT of premeditated hunting spots to hit hard this year :biggrin:

Sounds like you're livin' right up there Elkdom.

One thing I'll add is that the second estrous can be almost as good and even better for some reasons in my opinion.
Obviously any time in the bush is good time though.

No worries on finding your elk this Sept ,Oct big man ,I will have master ,Denny ,Pooh all tied to different trees for you when you arrive into our hunting camp ,LOL :lol:.