What to do if pre-rut is slow?

[BRazz]

I often hear about early archery season being prime time to catch bulls blasting away their bugles, eager to answer your calls and come charging in looking for the newcomer. But my experience is that - with a few exceptions over the years - the early season is quiet and slow. Maybe I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time...

How would you guys play your cards in this scenario? Here is my usual predicament in this early part of the season:

First week of archery season. Country is not especially conducive to long-range spot-and-stalk (too much timber). Some elk sign in the area, occasionally some very fresh, but only here and there (no obvious hot-spot). No bugling. No other hunters that you know of. You know elk are in the general area because you've hunted here a few times, you see/smell some sign (poop, beds, rubs), and your game camera says so. How do you proceed?

[twinkieman]

Great question! The two seasons I have hunted early, my experience was the same as yours. The one season I was successful, patience was the key for me. I look forward to seeing what the guys who love the early season have to say.

[BrentLaBere]

Keep moving until you find vocal elk if thats what you want to hunt. Either they are higher, lower, next basin.....ect. But they are talking somewhere.
The latest I have hunted elk was the 19th of September. Most of my time spent has been the first week to the second week. Each time I run into people that say the elk arent talking yet. Just two days prior I had at least 4 different bulls bugling in the same basin. Had my opportunity at two of them, both within 40 yards.
Next two days were spent find other talkative elk, found the same thing after hunting two basins over where the elk were now talking here.....
It also depends where you are located and how the sound will travel. If you are not up high and its heavily timbered, I would say you are missing out on hearing the elk.

Now, if you know the area and want to hunt those elk, I think you should change your approach in two ways. Cold calling can be great way to hunt them and also hunting them with whitetail like methods.
Saddles where they cross, wallows and springs where you can set up a ground blind if a tree stand isnt available. Being quiet and being patient can pay off if you know they are there and know where they go....no need to call this way. I think it depends on how you want to hunt them.

[Trophyhill]

Elk are vocal early season. If you are close enough you will hear them. They may not be loud and sounds can be very short but they will talk to each other. Early season I'm listening for a bull to make that short lazy bugle in the black timber. Once I hear this I know I've found his bedroom. This is where it gets fun and can test my patience. If I'm patient enough and make the right sounds at the right time, I win. If not I go back to camp with a memory.

[wawhitey]

Elk are vocal early season. If you are close enough you will hear them. They may not be loud and sounds can be very short but they will talk to each other. Early season I'm listening for a bull to make that short lazy bugle in the black timber. Once I hear this I know I've found his bedroom. This is where it gets fun and can test my patience. If I'm patient enough and make the right sounds at the right time, I win. If not I go back to camp with a memory.

How early are you talking? Would it be worth my time to head into my main spots at night and try locater bugles sept 1st? My idea right now is that's a bit too early for them to be talkative so the first week of Sept I intend to just put myself where the elk travel and be patient, but if you guys think sept 1st isn't too early to get a response I may try it

[BrentLaBere]

Elk are vocal early season. If you are close enough you will hear them. They may not be loud and sounds can be very short but they will talk to each other. Early season I'm listening for a bull to make that short lazy bugle in the black timber. Once I hear this I know I've found his bedroom. This is where it gets fun and can test my patience. If I'm patient enough and make the right sounds at the right time, I win. If not I go back to camp with a memory.

How early are you talking? Would it be worth my time to head into my main spots at night and try locater bugles sept 1st? My idea right now is that's a bit too early for them to be talkative so the first week of Sept I intend to just put myself where the elk travel and be patient, but if you guys think sept 1st isn't too early to get a response I may try it

I will be night calling September 5th when I arrive for my hunt. I dont think its too early

[ishy]

Personal experience seems that before the 10th vocallizations are very hit and miss. Bulls may be more willing to come in though earlier just not as vocal. Any moment about the 10th to the 12th the switch will flip and it will be full bore on for most days.

[Swede]

BRazz's description on his area makes it sound very similar to where I hunt. Early season is a good time to wait at a wallow/waterhole. Elk follow trails and go to bedding areas, and water. There are passage ways to feeding areas, saddles and benches. There may not seem to be one obvious hot spot, but normally there are places that elk travel through, or are a destination for them. Early archery season is normally warmer and bulls will drink more water and will wallow more then too. Early season is my favorite time for that reason. I have killed far more elk in the early season than after the middle of September.

[welka]

Very good question and answer is not one most will like to hear. We spent 5 years in early season in a heavily hunted area we could count the bugles we heard in 7 days on one hand and were fortunate to kill a couple and have a couple other opportunities, but NOT easy. Lots of frustration no matter what tactic you deploy. The only way we were able to cash in was because we hunted the same area every year and learned their routes and got lucky. Never tried the get up at 2am and listen and maybe that would have helped, but I don't get enough sleep as it is during the week and you have to have a little fun back at camp (think good night potion). Good luck to all.

[8seconds]

I almost hunt every opening season. I too have found elk not to be to vocal the first week or so in September, so i go deeper into the back country looking for used wallows and other traffic patterns chirping on my cow call every couple hundred yards or so and an occasional locator call mixed in.

[Trophyhill]

Elk are vocal early season. If you are close enough you will hear them. They may not be loud and sounds can be very short but they will talk to each other. Early season I'm listening for a bull to make that short lazy bugle in the black timber. Once I hear this I know I've found his bedroom. This is where it gets fun and can test my patience. If I'm patient enough and make the right sounds at the right time, I win. If not I go back to camp with a memory.

How early are you talking? Would it be worth my time to head into my main spots at night and try locater bugles sept 1st? My idea right now is that's a bit too early for them to be talkative so the first week of Sept I intend to just put myself where the elk travel and be patient, but if you guys think sept 1st isn't too early to get a response I may try it

Last year in a heavily pressured CO OTC unit, I got 3 or 4 bulls bugling on the evening of September 4 and ended up back at the truck with a load of meat at midnight. The year before that in NM I blew an opportunity on a giant on Sept 4. I heard a growl and knew it couldn't be a bear. I ripped a challenge bugle and 2 bulls vying for cows within 100 yards of me went bananas.

Last year after my hunt I ran down to NM and called for 3 different friends on 3 different days in 2 units in south central NM on the 6th, 7th and 8th. The first friend killed and the other 2 blew their chance. All vocal elk.

A few years before that while hunting with GS Elkhunter in central CO is when I learned elk are vocal with each other in early season. I was making my way along a ridge on the 2nd of September when I heard what I thought was a heard of cows suddenly right in front of me. Not loud at all and in black timber. Had I been another 30-50 yards back probably wouldn't have heard them. To my amazement the herd bull was leading the group of cows and using nasally cow type sounds as he led his harem over the ridge. Like I said it was not loud at all. Painful memory there so excuse me if I don't elaborate.

Then the lazy bugles I've heard these last 5 years early season. Again not loud, very short and then you don't hear anything and they don't respond vocally to anything other than that first one. Make no mistake about it, if you are hunting where the elk are, you will hear them if you listen. Just don't expect to hear the sounds everyone is accustomed to talking about.

For instance if you hear a growl in black timber you are close and should respond aggressively and without hesitation.