Full Moon

[drcalderwood]

I need to pick the brain of the elk hunting wizards on this board again. While it wasn't technically a full moon this past weekend, it was close and it was really bright with the clear skies every night. I was wondering if the full (ish) moon drastically affected the daytime movements of the elk. Do they tend to feed under the bright moon and then bed down in the deep timber during the day?
This year we hunted hard for three days with our spike tags and only saw one elk, a 5 point bull. We saw fresh sign of elk moving through the area in the past couple of days, but we never saw them in the openings. These areas usually have large numbers of elk. I shot my limited entry bull in this area last year and there were gobs of elk. This year- silence. We didn't see anyone else hauling off any spikes or cows as we passed the other camps. It seems like most everyone was skunked. I guess I'm just curious if this is typical behavior.

 

[azhuntin]

The answer is yes, in my experience with a full moon, the elk will tend to bed at first light and do not come out until right about dark. The best time to hunt is between 9:30 am until 2-3 pm. I have called a lot of bulls out of their beds on a full moon during the middle of the day.

 

[Gator]

Still hunt the dark timber or do a push with several guys and a couple of blockers Sometimes it work pretty good.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
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[drcalderwood]

AZhuntin, are you saying that you can call out the bulls from their beds in October? How do you accomplish that? The bulls seem to shut up around the end of September around here, but I would love to be able to call them and get some response.

 

[Zeke]

I can't be very scientific but under these circumstances I see most elk briefly at first light, very darn few through the day unless bumped and a few elk at very last light.

Hunt mornings where you can see lots of country, sneak the shady haunts mid-day, sloooooowly. Find a good spot overlooking thich stuff in the evenings. Calling has never worked for me by the time the general season rolls around.

Zeke

 

[azhuntin]

DR,

Depends on the pressure the elk have on them and the rut. Most areas and units in AZ, the elk are getting very call shy, because everyone in the woods is calling and they dont have a clue what they are doing- just educating the elk. Sorry I didnt clarify, I am talking around mid to late September. Although here in Az we have had a strange rut this year and a guy I know just called in a bull yesterday from 700 yds out. The key for me when there is a full moon is to get close to their beds, like a 100 yds or closer and then I call and more times than not the bull will come. It is just a matter of knowing/learning what the elk are doing at the time. Everytime I go out I learn more. Good luck on your hunt, the others have given solid advice.

 

[jims]

I would agree that a lot depends on the type of unit you are hunting. An OTC Colo unit with gobs of hunters the elk will likely behave a lot different than elk in a super limited unit. There are a bunch of other factors that dictate how elk behave...from 1 day to the next.

With that said I hunted a Wyo unit this year with hardly any hunting pressure. There was close to a full moon during the first part of the archery season in Sept and no moon towards the middle and end of Sept. Every day in that unit the elk acted different. One day they would be bugling all day long during a full moon...the next not a peep. The entire month of Sept was similar irregardless of the moon phase. Days that I thought would be perfect with 0 moon during the 3rd week in Sept that were overcast with cool daytime temperatures there was 0 activity while the next day with warm temps the elk were going nuts. I got to the point that I was pretty much be-wildered trying to pattern their behavior and figuring out what to expect the next day! I figured out how they were acting each morning and adjusted my strategy to whether they were active or bedding.