favorite time to kill an elk?

[Roosiebull]

what is your favorite time of day to kill an elk?

i have noticed some don't hunt afternoons, because of not wanting to leave an elk in the woods over night....the other side of the argument, if you kill one in the morning, you will be packing in the heat of the day.

what is your preference, and how do you handle different situations?

i personally like locating elk in the morning, and ambushing them in the afternoon if the morning doesn't work out....it can also be the opposite, locating in the evening, and making an aggressive play the next morning.

i would say my success is split down the middle, but prefer killing one in the evening, and packing in the dark. with how good GPS units are now, making multiple trips is easy enough in the dark, if you have a safe way out of the woods, i have had a couple packs, where the trail wasn't defined, and if you get off trail, you are into brush you cannot penetrate, especially with a heavy load.

i do like packing without the heat of day working against you, and without all of the biting insects....time seems to go faster at night too, the same pack out seems to be shorter at night.

another option at night, is get to the animal, process it, get it all ready to pack, hang in a tree, get a couple people to help first thing in the morning, and potentially get it out in one trip before it gets warm.

killing one in the morning does not really give me that luxury of taking time to try to get help, things need to start happening quick, unless you kill one in a spot that has a cold creek, or nice cool, shady bottom.

[Elkduds]

As long as heat/spoilage is not a factor, I'd rather shoot early and spend the day packing out. I'm usually by myself. No interest in tracking wounded game in the dark.

[saddlesore]

I shoot early ,typically at first shooting hour,but have killed them later.Since I have the capability to pack 1/2 an elk out right now,I do that,and come back in the afternoon and pack the other half. ML season is still pretty warm so I like to get them back to camp and hung to cool overnight

Where I have been hunting in rifle season there are quite a few black bears, Leave1/2 of one overnight and it's gone. No problem with temps in later October though.
When I was young r we had a place that we killed elk all day long . We did all our packing in the dark, not a lot of fun,but we got it done.I don't like late hunts.I processed too many elk with a flashlight in my mouth years ago.That was before these headlamps were on the market.

[Tigger]

my favorite time? a millisecond after I hit the trigger/release!

It all depends on the temps. If it is cool, shoot it in the morning. If it is warm, shoot it in the afternoon. Packing in the dark doesn't bother me, but staying up all night packing in the dark kinda ruins the next day.

[Swede]

I have killed about 75% of my elk in the late afternoon and evening.
It is a little harder to find a downed elk in the dark. You have to carefully follow the sign. If you lose the tracks and blood, it may take longer to locate a downed animal in the dark than in the daylight. In addition I am already tired so butchering and packing late take on an additional burden.
Still, I would rather kill my critter in the late afternoon or evening. It is cooler and there are no insects to deal with. I hate yellow jackets and hornets. Flies are not a bother at night. Packing is a little easier with the cool night air. Sometimes I am alone and sometimes I have company. It is always early morning before I get to bed. If I have an elk in the truck, I get up when I am better rested and take the elk to town. Then I have a nice store bought breakfast.

[Roosiebull]

Packing in the dark doesn't bother me, but staying up all night packing in the dark kinda ruins the next day.

that is the truth!

i'm not hunting the next day at all if i'm packing meat all night....that is draining, and all of my all night packing missions, I have felt really rough when I wake up. is disrupts sleeping patterns, mixed with the physical aspect, and i'm sure the adrenaline hangover falls somewhere in there....I feel terrible the next morning.

I still prefer night packing during archery season, I don't enjoy the pressure of getting one out of the woods in the heat of the day, it always works out, but night packing is more enjoyable for me.

[Roosiebull]

I have killed about 75% of my elk in the late afternoon and evening.
It is a little harder to find a downed elk in the dark. You have to carefully follow the sign. If you lose the tracks and blood, it may take longer to locate a downed animal in the dark than in the daylight. In addition I am already tired so butchering and packing late take on an additional burden.
Still, I would rather kill my critter in the late afternoon or evening. It is cooler and there are no insects to deal with. I hate yellow jackets and hornets. Flies are not a bother at night. Packing is a little easier with the cool night air. Sometimes I am alone and sometimes I have company. It is always early morning before I get to bed. If I have an elk in the truck, I get up when I am better rested and take the elk to town. Then I have a nice store bought breakfast.

that is exactly my thoughts and experiences. the memories of the all night packs are all fun too, but the next morning is rough, I don't have the ability to really sleep in, I wake up early, and really feel it the next day.

[Roosiebull]

I shoot early ,typically at first shooting hour,but have killed them later.Since I have the capability to pack 1/2 an elk out right now,I do that,and come back in the afternoon and pack the other half. ML season is still pretty warm so I like to get them back to camp and hung to cool overnight

Where I have been hunting in rifle season there are quite a few black bears, Leave1/2 of one overnight and it's gone. No problem with temps in later October though.
When I was young r we had a place that we killed elk all day long . We did all our packing in the dark, not a lot of fun,but we got it done.I don't like late hunts.I processed too many elk with a flashlight in my mouth years ago.That was before these headlamps were on the market.

predators are a real consideration in many areas, i'm lucky in that aspect, we have lots of bear, lions, and coyotes, but they won't come close to anything that smells like a person, between trips I leave the shirt closest to my body on the meat if I cannot get it into a tree....our animals are scared of people.

I have heard stories about affognak, and strawberry island in SE AK(by Kodiak) there is really good Roosevelt elk hunting there, but you HAVE to have a good extraction plan for getting them out of the woods quick, if you leave anything alone, it's gone. the brown bear are very brazen there, and you cannot leave meat unattended.

[Lefty]

Anytime I have help along
My archey cow elk was killed in the heat of the day . On BLm land so I was able to work my way to the elk, , winched her up and gutted, back at camp I dumped 150 lbs of ice in and around the elk,. Nearest town another 100 lbs of ice. The meat had cooled by the time I got home, skinned and processed all the meat before dark
Last fall 2nd week of October my daughters moose was tagged about 8:00 AM, we Quartered and bagged the moose by noon not too much long it was in the truck.
My moose the year before I killed my moose at 1:00 about 15 degrees gutted it then went to get the sled for moving meat. Stated cutting the moose up about 4:30 may 30 degreeses good for working loaded and in the truck at 8:30 without help,.. and believe me moose are a whole lot bigger without help.
Im dont recall but Im guessing it was in the teens when I loaded everything up,.. It was a cold ride back to the pickup
Unloaded at the meat cutters at 11:00. And dead tired the next day
Most game I retrieve before going to bed, so earlier is better.
I left one deer over night, all cut up
My youngest daughters moose,.. big mistake on the moose shot at 5 minutes after sunset, . My fatherin law said it was plenty cold for it to sit over night, it wasnt . Our meat cutter told us every first moose people loose neck/ brisket even when gutted. Moose hold their heat

[saddlesore]

Packing in the dark doesn't bother me, but staying up all night packing in the dark kinda ruins the next day.

that is the truth!

i'm not hunting the next day at all if i'm packing meat all night....that is draining, and all of my all night packing missions, I have felt really rough when I wake up. is disrupts sleeping patterns, mixed with the physical aspect, and i'm sure the adrenaline hangover falls somewhere in there....I feel terrible the next morning.

That is my problem,If I miss a night's sleep,I'm screwed up for two days

[Swede]

A problem I have is that if I am up to 3:00 AM or 4:00 AM, I can't get to sleep right away. I lay awake for an hour or more, then get up about 8:00AM. I am tired all day, but can manage. That night I will sleep good again.

[BrentLaBere]

I would prefer to get one in the morning. Mid afternoon with bugs isnt ideal. Out of all the elk ive been apart of taking down, one was right before dark. It wasn't ideal for packing but was great for cooling the meat down right away.
I would not be comfortable leaving an elk overnight in one of the areas I hunt. Out of the 3 elk that have been shot, there was a bear on the carcass the next day. Usually sleeping on it and guarding. Last year we saw two bears posturing over it. Pretty cool to watch but not something I would want to walk into in the morning or dark. I havent had to track one down in the evening yet, but could imagine it being difficult.
I also agree with others on how packing through the night will ruin the next day or so. It is usually the main thing and its a nice break after before getting back to hunting. Taking a trip to town and washing clothes, ect.

[TimeOnTarget]

my favorite time to kill an elk? Any time during legal shooting hours. I've only ever shot 1 elk in the morning. But I've packed a few out until 3-4am and then gotten right back on the mountain for sunrise. Who needs sleep!?! I've been known to go 45+hrs without sleep while hunting. I'll sleep when I get home.

[RO1459]

I used to hunt all day and would shoot right up to the last minuet of light. Now that I am older, 69, I have no desire to be packing an Elk out after dark. I have an outfitter that will pack my game out for me, but if I shoot it after 3 PM they will wait until the next day to go in and get it. If the weather is not cold enough that leaves me packing all night. So I now limit myself to shooting before 2 PM.