Rifle strategies...

[Jcberg26]

I've only killed two elk (1 bow/1 rifle) so I'm still trying to learn as much as I can from all of you elk killers on here! Itis very thick and steep where I hunt and I get 3-5 miles from the roads and camp in my Kifaru Sawtooth so I can stay out there. Other than being high early and late and sitting meadow edges what do you guys do to consistently kill elk with rifles? Do you hunt the timber mid day or is that counter productive? Thanks in advance for your tips and experiences.

Jeremy

[BRazz]

Hi Jeremy.

I do what you suggest in early and late parts of the day. Lots and lots of glassing where we can, or sitting openings/meadows/saddles when we can't. During midday we almost always take it easy and stay away from bedding areas. I know guys on here sometimes like the bedding areas, but I think that's mostly for when the elk are rutting and you know precisely where they are. This is hardly ever the case for us in October... so we hedge our bets and try to not blow them out of the area.

Also we do pretty minimal calling during that time of the year, although on occasion we've gotten into some bugling matches with a bull. That is the exception more than the rule.

Best of luck to you!

[powderhogg01]

last season I was with a buddy with a cow tag. we started up high early, spotted the elk, waited to see where they would go. then some hunters walked up on them and they bailed off the other side. we followed and worked slowly giving the occasional light lost mew. I would try that if your hunting in real thick timber. weather may also effect your plans!!

[Indian Summer]

The way I roll is kinda with the wind. In the morning I'm trying to be at a bedding spot before they get there if I happen to know where that might be. But if morning had passed, or I don't really have a specific plan I move or sit when the urge hits me. Sometimes revolving around how cold it is. I'm never in a hurry. How much ground I cover isn't as important as how well I cover it. Too fast ad they see us first. Snow on the ground changes everything. If it is snowing and you have the patience to glass thoroughly as you move you can kill elk instead of getting busted and that includes in their bedding spots.

The way I look at it is if it's gun season the clock is ticking. I can make it happen instead of waiting around hoping. I think having terrible hearing actually helps sometimes. Using me eyes to peer through timber and spot anything that might be an elk is something I'm good at. So if the elk are bedded, I am hunting them in their bedding spots. If you truly look everything over before every couple steps you CAN see them before they see you.

Once you spot them chewing their cud the problem quite often is finding the bull. That usually means a long time sitting making sure the wind holds out and waiting for them to get up and mill around just a little. Also moving around yourself trying to look through different gaps in the cover around the perimeter of the herd.

Obviously the better you know your area the better you can effectively still hunt it without getting busted. Knowing the lay of the land and where you can expect to see elk gives you the ability to move a little quicker between hot spots or vantage points. More importantly it helps you to slow down when you should. If you don't know the area that well then you are in learning mode so you'll have to live with getting busted here and there. How else can you learn what places the elk like to hole up at that exact time of the year right? That's why to me where I spend time is important. If I know I will be hunting the spot in the future every day good or bad, or getting busted, is an investment in future hunts. But if I probably won't be back... getting busted sucks because there is no value to it since I'm not there to learn. Find a good spot and stick with it so you aren't wasting any more time than you need to.

Never forget the natural process of things. Commit to a spot and then hunt it hard top to bottom. Of course you are going to cover ground as you learn it. Then as you learn what's going on there you will spend less time in the dead zones, and move slower and sit longer in the high percentage spots. Maybe during the day you move slowly from one hotspot to another to warm up and see who might be bedded where or who might be moving spots just like you!

On a sidenote: If you see elk bedded and have an idea of which way they will move when they go to feed then I would set up and let them come to you instead of being too aggressive. Especially if you know nobody else is around and you might be able to watch them today and move in tomorrow. If there is hunting pressure I am more likely to be aggressive before someone else shows up and blows them out.

[powderhogg01]

hunting like indian summer is suggesting is a deadly tactic. I often use it for mule deer. I will state that it is tough on you mind.. to still hunt effectively takes an incredible amount of patience. Looking at everything that may be something and double checking. With that said I got very close to many elk tat way during archery season, I was just never able to make things connect. Good luck out there!

[Jcberg26]

Thanks for the great responses guys!

[powderhogg01]

still hunting is one of my favorite ways to hunt. It really can put you into a zen like trance where you really and truly are one with the mountain. I hope you have some good success with it, when done properly it can really pay off. As far as I am concerned with as many rifle hunters in colorado as there is I would hunt more aggressively in those seasons, Having witnessed someone else impatience cost my party likely several elk. That is a different story for a different time, hunt fast, hunt hard, but most importantly hunt smart. This forum has so much great info buried in its archives, if you have not already, take a look through some of the older post... years of information mixed with the info from huntatlas and other gov. sources there is a lot to be had from the comfort of your computer, noting beats boot on ground recon though!!!