The Effects of Weather on Elk Vocalization

[Swede]

How does weather, especially rain and snow falling, effect elk vocalization especially bugling in September?

[stringunner]

I think if it's a quick passing shower (rain or snow) it impacts their vocalization very little, if the weather settles in and stays a while, for hours it tends to shut them down....that is what we have experienced anyway.

[Swede]

mtnmutt: Stringunner's experience is pretty much what I have observed. Sometimes I hear some bugling, but they just don't seem to be near as vocal after a storm settles in. When it is wet out, I like to go with spot and stalk hunting. Sometimes I see elk just standing around in the rain and you can walk a lot quieter. The rain work to your advantage if you can find where the elk are located.

[mtnmutt]

Thank you both. I experienced the same when CO was flooding for multiple days. I have a severe hearing loss, therefore, I am unreliable to make a fair assessment.

Next year, I doubt I will hunt in the rain because of issues with blood tracking. I did this year because I got tired of sitting in a tent.

If you are within 150 yards of elk when it is raining, do you call or just try to sneak in?

Does lack of vocalization change if you have multiple consecutive days of bad weather?

Will you still encounter non verbal sounds during rains, such as, raking?

We see a small change in daylight hours (reduced) of movement during a full moon. Will we see a similar reduction if you have all day rains? Will they head to bedding earlier in the morning if is raining at daylight? Will they leave bedding areas later if there are evening rains?

[Swede]

Those are some great questions mtnmutt.
1. I would always prefer to sneak up on an elk if I can. If I can slip in undetected, no elk will ever hear a peep out of me.
2. Elk seem to get quiet during long storms, but I have heard them then, so they are not totally silent.
3. I haven't encountered raking etc. during protracted rain storms. We do not normally experience a lot of rain during archery season, so I would not be dogmatic about this, but I have not encountered raking in a rain storm as I can recall. This may be in part due to the fact that sound does not carry well when it is raining.
4. I think I see less movement when it has been raining for an extended period, but it seems to differ depending on the intensity of the storm. That may have more to do with my movement than the elk's. Elk move around considerably just prior to a storm coming in and can move around quite a bit just after it starts. Of coarse when rain hangs on for extended periods like it does here in western Oregon or Washington, the elk would starve to death if they shut down much for rain. This applies for the Cascade elk which are classified as Rocky Mountain Elk.