Late Season: Are you still hunting?

[Elkduds]

Snow is piling up in the CO mountains, so late season hunters should be getting into plenty of elk and deer. Like to hear from those still hunting: big game, small game, not video games

[ishy]

Got a little whitetail buck last week. Little but got him with a bow during any weapon and got it on film to boot. Also try to get my short hair out as much as possible for pheasants and grouse. And in north Idaho we get 6 more days of archery elk in December. Never tagged one then, but have fun trying.

[steviek]

Done with my elk hunting trip, but the bow season here in Pennsylvania just finished up. Rifle is about to start. I am presently on lunch break waiting to get off work to head to camp for our 4 day bear season. 3 o’clock can’t come soon enough. Then I’ll be back up after thanksgiving for rifle deer. I’ll also get some late season bow hunting after Christmas.

[Swede]

I think I am done for the year. I have a late season elk tag left, but it is good for a low percentage area that I have never seen except on Google Earth. I certainly agree with what cnelk posted on another thread about the value of knowing your area. In an area with a 3% success rate on elk, going in totally ignorant is almost certainly just a scouting trip.

[WapitiTalk1]

Will leave the morning after turkey day for a 3 or 4 day adventure to the dense jungle of the WA coast for late archery elk/blacktail. The area is 3 point or better for elk and any deer. Will all be spot/stalk and still hunting. I'm not expecting to load the back of my truck with two big game animals but you never know Am hunting an area that I used to hunt many moons ago. The elk herd in this GMU is not nearly what it used to be in the late 80s/early 90s but I hear they are coming back a bit. Anyway, it'll be my last jaunt into the elkwoods this year with a weapon in hand.

[JGH]

Frankly, bowhunting the rut has ruined rifle hunting for me.

I have a tag for cows that goes to the end of January. But, like Swede's problem, I've never been there, and really just poses a way for me to burn diesel fuel for a day and come home tired ... from driving.

In the end, hearing bugles and trees being raked has ruined me for rifle hunting. Being out without the hordes of other hunters ... seeing animals in their natural behavior patterns ... getting close ... calling them ... it's darned-near ruined any motivation to do any other hunting!

Oh ... I'll never say never ... and I enjoy shooting, and other forms of hunting ... and who knows ... MAYBE I'll try to fill that tag ... elk steaks are good however they end up on the table.

I never counted the number of animals I've shot with a rifle ... but it's a big number. And I still love pronghorn with a rifle ...

I never thought I would "only" bowhunt ... I remember after I shot my one-and-only bull elk with an arrow, a friend asked "So, I guess you're a bowhunting snob now." I laughed ... how could that be? I love guns.

Flash-forward a couple of ("unsuccessful") seasons ... he's right ... I'm hooked, and other hunting is a much less-potent drug for me.

[easeup]

heck yeh we are still hunting down here in the rocks and cactus.
granted it is not elk hunting, but chasing pigs, deer and turkeys is fun too.

[easeup]

I think I am done for the year. I have a late season elk tag left, but it is good for a low percentage area that I have never seen except on Google Earth. I certainly agree with what cnelk posted on another thread about the value of knowing your area. In an area with a 3% success rate on elk, going in totally ignorant is almost certainly just a scouting trip.

swede ol' buddy!!!
not saying you aren't right or don't have a valid point, but a few of my finest hunting trips have been on those WTH are we going trips.
so my word of encouragement is in a year that it just didn't happen for you and you somehow got a tag for another shot, well....stranger things have happened.

[Stateline]

Got a late mulie hunt that opens next Tuesday and goes through mid-December. Unfortunately I've got surgery to remove some hardwear from my foot and ankle on Monday. Hoping to heal fast and get out there. That would end a great year for me. Good luck to every one that have tags left to fill.

[MTLongdraw]

I've been at it very hard especially the last two weeks. Rifle season ends December 1st. Haven't seen an elk all rifle season. Have seen a few white tails. I've passed two forked horns but other than that nothing I could get a shot at. I have three days left to hunt.

[Glacier Country]

We went out this morning trying to get my daughter a whitetail buck. She passed up about 10 does and a spike buck. One "Cute" little 3 point was very lucky he was on the wrong side of the creek. He was maybe 15 yards away. It was a beautiful morning spent with my daughter!!! Came home to catch the "Brawl of the Wild" Griz/ Cat Game Montana football at its best! Leaving in a minute with my daughter to try to get a buck, again this evening.
Oh by the way I talked to a guy today that saw 200ish elk just the other day and the herd bull was just "Cranking" bugling up a storm. I have heard of bulls bugling every week at some point since Sept 1st.

[wawhitey]

only tags i have left are cougar (shot AT one with my sidearm last month and missed, damn!) and elk, the two hard ones. so ive been scouting elk out in my neighborhood for last few years ( very small population here ) and i know where they hang out. late season starts day after tomorrow (archery) and so far i havent been called back to work (just took couple weeks off for whitetail hunting) so looks like im actually going to be able to go elk hunting this year! thing is, theres usually a bunch of snow flying at this time of year, and the elk ive been able to pin down usually drop down onto a big chunk of private land where im not allowed to go after them. however, we have an unusual lack of snow right now, none at all. cold as hell tho. so i put a cam up and two days ago i packed a wee bit of bait in to it, and low and behold this morning about 4am a lone cow elk came in and checked it out, tho the deer had already hammered the bait. so basically, this being my last chance for the year to tag an elk, im getting up in the morning and im going to man up and pack a couple hundred pounds or so of sweet cob and alfalfa up on top of that ridge where i know the elk are hanging out, and then the next day the season opens, game on. unfortunately the late arch season here is any bull, not any elk, otherwise i think it would be a slam dunk. just have to hope a bull comes in to the goodies i guess. im going to make a prediction and say that what ill see is a parade of trophy whitetail and mule deer, with some occasional cow elk coming in, hell maybe even a big bull moose. most likely ill be suffering through days of desirable yet illegal targets waltzing by. well see how this goes i guess.

[Trumkin the Dwarf]

YEP! Cut a massive buck track on Thursday in my best area. I know the place like the back of my hand, and know where the does hang out. God willing, he will make it till Tuesday... I need a smiley face where the guy is sweating bullets.