Feeding area?

[Toby]

Where do you look for the best ones and what exactly are you looking for? Are they always in meadows?

[Lefty]

Meadows?

Try corn, hay and beets!!
Certain elk have preferences but there are many variables.
Ive watched big bulls stay in the thick cover, feeding here and there and dont enter any open areas during season with daylight.
A small group of 2 or 3 bulls may not need to go far for food or water in May -the first weeks of Sept

Not sure if you have seen the DVD or followed the story on the Spyder bull But an example of an experienced bull

[Swede]

Feeding areas vary a lot. Considering hunting season September thru November before snow covers everything with a thick blanket. Sometimes there is enough good forage everywhere that most of the landscape can be considered a feeding area. Often cows and calves take in the lower meadow grasses while the bulls hang out on more marginal spots.
Where I hunt by mid September, the best feeding area is the ranch. The cattle have grazed most of the available grass on the National Forest. It is mowed down as close as they possibly can. On the Forest the elk then forage what they can on the upper slopes, in the spots cattle do not like to go. Later in September after the first frost, the elk will start foraging on the Pine grass. Cattle will forage on the Pine grass as a last resort. I guess the frost does something to make it more palatable. Also after some late summer/early fall rain the elk love foraging on the mushrooms that pop up.

[Indian Summer]

The first question would be during what month.

During bow season you won't necessarily find elk by looking for feed sources. Elk are scattered then into smaller groups or harems. Feed can be found inside the timber pretty much everywhere. I find that early in the season it's almost like they avoid taking advantage of large feed sources like meadows saving that stuff for later in the year when browse becomes non-existent.

Later in the year most feed doesn't have the level of nutrients it does when it's green so they are forced into the open where the amount of feed is higher. Meadows, clearcuts and waterways are all later season food sources.

[zpd307]

our area in Colorado is predominately dark timber. I found some hidden pastures on google earth prior to last years hunt, after I couldn't figure out where the elk were headed down the mountain to in the evenings. I was too afraid to follow them for fear of chasing them out that first year. anyways, when I went to them last year, they were being hit hardcore. tons of fresh sign and new sign everyday. this was middle to later sept during the muzzleloader season. opening morning we had a raghorn respond to our calling by raking a tree just in the timber from one of the pastures.

[Toby]

I should have mentioned September, during the bowhunt. I often read about sitting trails between bedding and feeding areas, but my experience has shown that they eat just about every where, and have only found a few high meadows where they were really concentrated. I have a lot less experience than some here, so was looking for your ideas.

[Indian Summer]

I gotcha. I think what most are talking about is once you find elk and see where they are set up at that point in time. If you're in a situation where you watch them for a day or two you can get an idea of their bed/feed movement. But then it's time to get aggressive because they could move on at any minute.

[Trophyhill]

I look for feeding areas that have water, cover and lots of area near or around these places. Then you have the 4 ingredients that make up elk habitat.

[Toby]

Trophy,

Do you mean lots of open area around these places?

Toby

[Trophyhill]

Trophy,

Do you mean lots of open area around these places?

Toby

Not necessarily. A big area provides multiple escape routes. This can be near big open meadows or big expanses of dark timber or a mixture of both. I think the key is escape routes

[Indian Summer]

They may use the bigger more obvious places after dark but they are in no hurry to get there during bow season. I'd be looking for smaller openings. Better yet timber with feed in it. Start paying attention to how things grow. South slopes will have grass in the timber if some sun can get through. North slopes don't have the grass, especially in thicker timber, but may have lots of browse. But on the edges there is always a transition area. Where the dark timber first gives way to some more open stuff. Often that's right at the top of the hill where it levels off. maybe the edge of a burn but still inside the timber. Edges are always a good place to be.

The other thing besides feed is water up high. The lower you get on a hill the easier it is to find water. But there are always elk up high somewhere and water can be scarce up there. If you find the highest water around you'll find elk. (unless the road is on top) Also water means an opening in the tress which means sun & grass. Sometimes this is where elk will feed for a bit before heading to larger food sources. Since that high water isn't as common as food it's always a good bet for a starting place especially in earlier/warmer weather.

Trophy Hill mentioned looking for the key ingredients. If you can find some secluded water up high with thick cover, or right in thick cover, feed can be a mile or a couple miles away and you'll find signs of elk there.

On the other hand if you look for those feed areas and there does end up being elk sign there it can be miles to where they actually are.

If it makes you feel any better... the trails will be pretty obvious. They may be using higher or lower ones so you need to change elevation until you find the one with fresh sign. But if the ingredients are all there they will have been using it for generations and you can see their sidehill routes along benches, above or below impassable spots such as cliffs, and into places where the trail fades out because the elk spread out to feed. Hope that helps.

No doubt one thing new elk hunters need to do is get on a trail and follow it. Yes you may eventually get busted but that's ok. Follow it for miles and pay attention to everything. Elk bed in different areas depending on the weather. There won't be one bedding spot. They have bedrooms all over the house. Explorer mode is the natural first step of any hunter elk or deer. But be smart about it and cram your brain with every detail along the way.

[timberland]

Of all the tips and advice in this forum, Indian Summer's last post is the one I would print off and hand to every new elk hunter. It is spot on for the areas I hunt. It is a simple, easy to follow game plan for anybody to follow without being overwhelmed with info on calling, habitat, elevation, benches, stand locations, etc.

[Trophyhill]

Trophy Hill mentioned looking for the key ingredients. If you can find some secluded water up high with thick cover, or right in thick cover, feed can be a mile or a couple miles away and you'll find signs of elk there.

On the other hand if you look for those feed areas and there does end up being elk sign there it can be miles to where they actually are.

Love everything else you pointed out too and this is so true! I was going to put this in there but got lazy on my iPhone. This is all kinda unit specific. Not all elk habitat is created equal. Some units may have habitat fairly close as we look at it and in other gmu's what is quite a distance to us is nothing for an elk.

[ElkNut1]

Lots of great info as usual! As mainly a bowhunter & hunting Sept & parts of Oct I locate feeding areas one way! I find them after dark! It's the quickest way to locate the ones the elk are using right then & there during your stay not where they were at one time. Locate elk by calling an hour or so after dark or 1-2 hours before light & where you hear them is where they are feeding & watering. Both will be reasonably close to one another in most elk country. Using this method has proved to be fast & very effective in locating the buffet table during our stay! --- You will find that these areas they are in are very close in description to what Indian Summer has explained, only thing I locate them with sound & save the boot leather until I know right where they are!

ElkNut1

[Trophyhill]

Lots of great info as usual! As mainly a bowhunter & hunting Sept & parts of Oct I locate feeding areas one way! I find them after dark! It's the quickest way to locate the ones the elk are using right then & there during your stay not where they were at one time. Locate elk by calling an hour or so after dark or 1-2 hours before light & where you hear them is where they are feeding & watering. Both will be reasonably close to one another in most elk country. Using this method has proved to be fast & very effective in locating the buffet table during our stay! --- You will find that these areas they are in are very close in description to what Indian Summer has explained, only thing I locate them with sound & save the boot leather until I know right where they are!

ElkNut1

Great point Paul. One thing I'll point out too this is, as the hunt wears on, if a guy is covering a lot of ground during daylight hours and hunting sun up to sun down, those after hours calling sessions get tougher to handle as fatigue sets in

[Swamp Buck]

WOW, Indian Summer might get post of the year with that last one. As I read the post my mind started to wander and mark all the high water spots in my brain. Now that I think back the elk sign in these areas was tremendous, it is just a lot harder to get up that high by daybreak. One question that I have is how high of water? Highest water below timberline? Anything 3/4 and up? Obviously there are many other factors but that is a great place to start. I am getting my maps now.. Great post Indian Summer, I have enjoyed your honest and strait forward thinking for some time.

[Toby]

Of all the tips and advice in this forum, Indian Summer's last post is the one I would print off and hand to every new elk hunter. It is spot on for the areas I hunt. It is a simple, easy to follow game plan for anybody to follow without being overwhelmed with info on calling, habitat, elevation, benches, stand locations, etc.

Absolutely, fantastic post. I will definitely follow that advice this year. Thanks for sharing.

[pd]

Lots of great info as usual! As mainly a bowhunter & hunting Sept & parts of Oct I locate feeding areas one way! I find them after dark! It's the quickest way to locate the ones the elk are using right then & there during your stay not where they were at one time. Locate elk by calling an hour or so after dark or 1-2 hours before light & where you hear them is where they are feeding & watering. Both will be reasonably close to one another in most elk country. Using this method has proved to be fast & very effective in locating the buffet table during our stay! --- You will find that these areas they are in are very close in description to what Indian Summer has explained, only thing I locate them with sound & save the boot leather until I know right where they are!

ElkNut1

Paul, this is kind of an older thread, but I just found it. I will take your advice here, and try to find elk in their feeding areas 1 to 2 hours after and then before sunset/sunrise. My question is the type of call: When you go out in the dark at night, do you rely on a single locator bugle, 5 to 10 minutes apart?