Wallow Action

[Sean_TeamNWHunting]

I know that various hunting experts recommend certain times to either hunt wallows or not, but what is your experience with hunting over wallows? When have you seen the most action? What time of year? time of day? Did you utilize a ground blind, tree stand, spot and stalk? What are your overall thoughts on wallow hunting strategies?

Personally, I have mostly encountered elk activity around wallows during mid-afternoon hours from ground blinds. They seem to arouse out of their beds around 2 PM and then the bulls seek out some heat relief from a wallow betwen 2-4 PM, otherwise I have not seem very much activity. A bow hunter must be able to wait patiently and remain quiet in their stand

Feel free to share you insights and experiences. Thanks for participating.

[LckyTylr]

Last year on opening weekend (early Sept) I saw a rag horn and a 5 point chasing each other around a wallow for 20 minutes before dark. They were too far away to get to before dark, so I just watched and planned to sit there the next afternoon. They were REALLY carrying on about who was "King of the Wallow". Full on fighting, then one of them would get off balance and run down the hill, 30 seconds later they'd be at it again. It was really neat to watch. That's the only wallow activity I have ever witnessed first hand, I'm new to this.

[Swede]

Wallows get used most in late August through about the 10th of September. They can and sometimes do get hit later. The wallows can get used any time during the day. I have not observed where I know for sure a wallow was hit at night, but have no doubt they do. I sit over wallows in my tree stand a lot, but a location has to have much more going for it, to get me to hang a stand there. Even a good wallow is just not reliable enough. Some wallows don't get hit at all for the year, while others get used several times. Most good ones will have sporadic use at best. My advice is to look for a good water hole at or near several well used trails, and consider the wallow a bonus. Before you carry in or make a blind, or hang a stand, look around the area under consideration. Are there fresh rubs in the area? Are the trails getting some use? Maybe even the drinking water is dirty from the elk? You don't need all of these things to overwhelm the area, but you want evidence of frequent elk use so your chance of getting an elk there is good. Obvious the greater the elk use the more likely you are to get one. Consider wallows a bonus to an already good location. It is a sad fact I have seen hunters find a fresh hammered wallow, so they set up over it. They are excited when they make their find, so they wait there and wait there ......, but nothing returns for the remainder of the season.

[Swede]

I forgot to add that a good place to wait in a tree stand is in good cover, near or adjacent to a bedding area. They are often good locations year after year and can be found on Google Earth or Flash Earth.

[>>>---WW---->]

Elk can't tell time! So pack a lunch and enjoy the wait. Personally, I don't believe in doing any calling or using decoys. The wallow or waterhole is the attractant all by itself.

[planebow]

Four years ago I took My hunying partner on his first elk hunt. The first day all we found was wolf tracks. On the afternoon of the second day I told him I knew of a wallow that we could go sit on. After I had a nap it was getting later and nothing was happening so I got up and walked over to where my partner was siiting. Started talking and about that time a 6 point stared coming thuogh the trees to the wallow. My partner shot him at about 10 yards for his first bow kill on his first bow hunt. It was about 6 oclock in the evening.

[CrazyElkHunter]

I have a wallow less than a 1/2 mile from camp I put a tree stand and a camera on every year. Every year I get pictures of bulls and cows on that wallow. I have taken bulls in Aug. and up to about the 12th of Sept. on it. Last year I had a back up wallow in a basin that I saw bulls hitting from the ridge the night before the opener of archery season. There is a perfect natural ground blind 30 yds from it. I shot a 6/5 on it at 6:30 pm the next night on the 25th of Aug. I only sit at wallows from mid day til dark. Only bulls I have pictures of in the AM were bulls passing by and drinking from the wallows or just passing thru. These 3 bulls all were taken off of wallows in the last 3 years.

[Swede]

Bill is that a small portion of the wallow seen just over the back of the bull in your middle picture? What is drawing the cows into the area? Trails, water, a passage?

[CrazyElkHunter]

No, the wallow is about 30 yds behind my buddy that took the picture. I shot the bull directly underneath the stand. He was not the bull I was after that hit the wallow the night before. A lot bigger 6x5. He just happened to be passing by behind me not going to the wallow. When I shot him, I cow called a few times and he stopped right away in view, stood there for a few minutes and fell over less than 30 yds from my stand. The elk use this ridge a lot. Bedding areas are all over this ridge with lots of cover, water and food. It is a main passage when they are pressured, and they travel up
and down to get to the thick oaks in the lower elevation and the timber in the higher elevation. Less than 5 miles separate the 2 areas.

[Swede]

Bill, it looks like you have a reliable place to wait for a good bull.

[cnelk]

What has been your experience while waiting at a wallow regarding elk making sounds as they approach?

Do they bugle? Are they silent?
Are they cautious at all?

[Swede]

My experience has been mixed. Sometimes they will just come in without hesitation, but I have never had them call while real close, but they can call from back in the forest and wait before coming in. I am satisfied bulls call from wallows if given an opportunity. When I am there they got shot first, so game over. I believe those that call from well back in the forest are checking to see if another bull is there. I have learned the hard way to never answer these guys. Stay completely quiet. A hunter can wait over an hour, so don't get impatient.
Last year when my bull was coming to the wallow, he was extremely cautious. He stood behind a young White fir in front of me for 15 minutes before he stepped forward to where I could get a shot at him. I thought it rather inconsiderate of him to keep me waiting as it was getting late in the evening. I guess in summary bulls are all different in their approach to a wallow.

[CrazyElkHunter]

They usually approach with caution and come in quiet if the wallow is not in the open. On occasion, I have had a few bulls trot in. The bull I shot last year came in at a full trot. That wallow is in a open park. On the wallow near camp, it is surrounded by bedding area, a creek that splits into 3 streams and is thick. From my tree stand, I have seen several bulls hold up at about 40 or 50 yds for several minutes before walking in very slow or turning around and head back on the trail they came in on. Back in the mid 90's, I was moving thru a area that I had seen a nice bull running off a smaller bull in the evening. The next morning I slipt in before sunup, found what I thought was a good spot to call from for when it got light enough to shoot. I let out a short bugle and he screamed a 100 yds above me and came on a dead run straight at me. I still think I shot this bull in self defense because he never let up and at 4 yds I arrowed him straight on, a shot I never take. He slid right by me, spun, stumbled and fell 10 yds from me. As I sat there going over what had just happened, I spotted a well used wallow 15 yds away. I did not know it was there do to slipping in before sunup. I figured when I bugled, the bull thought the smaller bull was invading his wallow and came to kick butt

[CrazyElkHunter]

Bill, it looks like you have a reliable place to wait for a good bull.

Yeah, I was very fortunate to find this wallow. It has been very good to me. Even better, it is very close to camp. I have a few more wallows, but this one usually fills my freezer.

[CrazyElkHunter]

I would like to add that this is a over the counter area and has a ton of hunters. The bulls are not very vocal as a rule because of all the pressure. If we get any bulls to talk, it is usually after muzzle loaders leave on the last week. I love calling bulls, but since I started hunting this area I have been forced to change my hunting tactics. I'm not much for sitting in trees for several hours and get bored easily. I'm from the west coast where we mainly spot and stalk. I will be 62 this year and the knees are shot, 5 surgeries, so covering a lot of ground like I used to is a lot harder.

[Swede]

Bill the area you hunt is very similar in several respects to the area I hunt. Where I hunt it is all OTC with lots of people and many of the hunters have the newest Primos elk call that just has to be blown on or squeezed. The reason I started going more and more to tree stands was because of over calling. Stands are far more productive in areas like ours, and they are a great tool for us "mature" hunters.