Elk Wallows

[bjn7f0]

Greetings my fellow hunters....I am very curious as to what you're experiences have been with elk wallows? I'm not looking for hunting areas. I'm looking for generalities or things in common from area to area, state to state. I realize bulls use the wallows to cool down from the heat of the rut as well as to drink. So in your experience, what's the best time to sit a wallow? Mid morning, afternoon, evening? Does it matter if it's early in the season, Sept. 1st or is it just as effective Sept. 22nd? Do they wallow earlier and stop wallowing earlier in Montana vs. New Mexico. Do they wallow later into Sept. or October in NM vs. Montana? Does altitude/elevation make a difference? In my experience bulls tend to wallow more when it's hot and dry. Which is usually the early part of Sept. Altitude/elevation do appear to make a difference. The higher you go it's typically cooler so they won't wallow as much as lower elevations. I like sitting wallows from around noon till dark. What are your experiences?

 

[elkmtngear]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-04-12 AT 12:20PM (MST)[p]At least in September, I agree with Noon to Dark, when it is hot, being the optimum times.

These elk came in two hours after we set the trail cam on a newly found wallow. Unfortunately, the day we decided to hike back in and sit the wallow, the temps dropped by a whopping 20 degrees, and nobody showed!

Best of Luck,
Jeff
http://www.elkmtngear.com

 

[Zeke]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-04-12 AT 01:35PM (MST)[p]bjn7f0,
My experience with August/September wallows is that the elk will already be there too early in the morning to always get on stand undetected.
I've seen little activity around noon. The best time for me, in Ut, has been from 4 until dark.
Like I said, mornings are great but, more times than not, the elk are already there and I can't get in. I'm willing to chase elk but I don't want to chase them away from my wallows!
For this reason I chirp and spot-n-stalk in the morning and stand hunt in the evenings.
My 2 cents,
Zeke

 

[elknut1]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-06-12 AT 12:41PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Jun-06-12 AT 12:39?PM (MST)

Postby ElkNut1 ? Tue Jun 05, 2012 11:34 am
When do elk use Wallows the most? The last 10 days of Aug.
to 2-3 weeks into Sept. This has been our experience in several
states. After that time frame, if you give or take a few days it is
likely you will see wallow use fall dramatically. A lot of the bulls
will hit them at night after this time frame because bulls start to
get pre-occupied with rutting activities. Wallows are still in use
but more sporadically. Hot or cold weather can also be a contributing
factor in amount of use.
As a side-note, I've seen bulls use wallows as late as mid Oct.
When I say use, I don't mean one was near one or merely getting
a drink from it. I mean full blown use where he gets covered in
mud! My good friend shot a bull 100 yards or so from a wallow.
The bull was a muddy mess and came running to his cow in
distress sounds - and to boot there was 8? of snow on the ground
and coming down hard! This goes to show you that wallows are
not just a hot weather item and that a cow in heat can change
everything when a bull gets heated up and ready to compete for a
hot cow?s attention.
By the same token, bulls do not use the same wallows every
year. There will be years that some wallows are good bets but
another year they will show no use at all. This can happen for a
variety of reasons? maybe a particular bull was killed off, the
elk decided to move to a different vicinity, or different bulls have
moved in and made their own wallows. Obviously lack of water,
hunting pressure, or the fact that better feed and water may be in
another area can also contribute to not having wallow activity.
This is why it is imperative to find active wallows each season.
I really love the highest water/wallow on the mountain. They
seem to be elk magnets and are away from hunting activity.

We have found the last 2-3 hours of daylight are the most productive times! Hunting the wallows nearest bedding areas are a must late in the evening sits. When going to hunt a wallow we generally will not hunt the surrounding area & accidentally disrupt those elk, we want them left in their natural routine of movement once up from their beds!

ElkNut1

 

[completesportsman]

I've only hunted around a wallow once, it was the first week of archery in CO, OTC tag, and a bull, 5x5, came in at approx 9am. I almost had a shot but he saw me and spooked.