Educated Elk

[Trophyhill]

Paul brought up a great point in the "Our Elk are Different than Your Elk" thread when he said elk adapt accordingly for survival purposes. So.....how have you educated yourselves in order to deal with educated elk?

[twinkieman]

Do to travel, time off, etc., I am never able to hunt until the 13th, or so of September, so some of the elk I encounter have a chance of already being educated. That being said, when I do have an encounter, I don't know if someone else has already called to this elk. I just rely on what I have learned from Elknut1, and from everyone else here on the forum. I try to make the most of every encounter, and LEARN from each and every encounter. Every elk I try to take, I form a game plan, based on what I am or am not hearing, and the I follow it through, improvising if need be.

[elkmtngear]

Do to travel, time off, etc., I am never able to hunt until the 13th, or so of September, so some of the elk I encounter have a chance of already being educated. That being said, when I do have an encounter, I don't know if someone else has already called to this elk. I just rely on what I have learned from Elknut1, and from everyone else here on the forum. I try to make the most of every encounter, and LEARN from each and every encounter. Every elk I try to take, I form a game plan, based on what I am or am not hearing, and the I follow it through, improvising if need be.

I'm in the same boat. I find that after a little pressure, the elk will bugle "sparingly", and bulls are usually in a place that is well-protected from the "weekend warriors" and the muzzy guys.

Once I locate a bull, my goal is to get as close as possible without alerting him of my presence. Sometimes the best laid plans to do this get shot to hell by cows, deer, other hunters, etc.; and the terrain always seems to make an approach a real challenge. Even in the Wilderness areas, there is always some type of access road within 3 or 4 miles...so going in deeper is not always the answer.

Knowing my area and where I can find bulls when they get pressured is the best feather in my cap!

[Toby]

Two years ago we moved from a hunting area with almost no other hunters to one that gets hunted fairly hard, but has more elk. I hunt them pretty much the someway, but this year may try to move in more silently. In my opinion, elk are like deer being hunted in fairly pressured areas. They become accustomed to human traffic to a degree, just learn more ways to detect and avoid us.

[JPD350]

LOL it really depends on what type of education the elk has received, Ivy league or UofPheonix!!

Knowing their basic tendencies and how to read a topo map will help you think and act like an elk that has been pressured or educated.

[Swede]

I have learned to call less and move around less. Call shy, educated elk have not gotten wise to tree stands, so I hunt from them.

[ElkNut1]

What works great has been calling for location, shut it down, move in for the kill quickly! If any sounds are necessary after that it will most likely be a nervous grunt to stop them for the shot once in bowrange!

Calling is still key for locating & killing!

ElkNut1