I have a late 22 elk tag. I have hunted this area several times in the early season for deer but I have never been there so late in the year. I was out there scouting in september but of course the elk were easy to find since the rut was in full swing. Now I am worried because I really have no clue where the elk will be come november 21st. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
221-223 Late Bull
- Thread starter Tushar
- Start date
lvgrizfan
Active Member
- Messages
- 135
If there is no snow and I mean snow not an inch or two, you need to get to the top, those Bulls by then have been pushed high, same as the late grafton cow elk, they are high, you may get lucky and catch a few low, but if I had it, I would go high and work your way down.
Thanks for the suggestions but now I have even more questions. I have been out scouting recently and they seemed to have moved a lot from last month and now I cant find the bulls. I have some bulls on a trailcamera but now they are all gone. I was thinking they would be down low in the valleys come late november but then again they could be high because of hunting pressure. Should I look really high or down low? Do the elk migrate? North faces or south? How deep of snow will they stay around in before moving? Do they have to go in to water everyday?
Yes I do have great optics but Im having trouble finding a good place to glass.
I'm kinda of thinking I should have saved up and hired a guide but I had no reason to believe I actually would draw a tag this year.
Yes I do have great optics but Im having trouble finding a good place to glass.
I'm kinda of thinking I should have saved up and hired a guide but I had no reason to believe I actually would draw a tag this year.
I have the early tag right now, I hunted the first five days and I am taking a two day breather, than back on the mountain till the end of the hunt on the 20th. Like said before, glass the deepest, steepest holes, north facing slopes. I am only glassing up around 4 to 6 bulls a day, still haven't found a bull worth shooting (over the 340 mark) but have seen a few solid mature bulls. Get a hold of me later next week and I will give you everything I know, I'll be breaking up camp on the morning of the 21st.
PMs sent.
If there's any of the early season hunters that want to point me in a good direction that would be great. I have a few trailcams on springs that were getting great pics in september, now those bulls arent hitting water anymore.
I found some bugling bulls last weekend and got all excited but after I glassed them up realized they were just raghorns, probably happy to be with the herd now that the big bulls have split
I appreciate all the advise already offered.
If there's any of the early season hunters that want to point me in a good direction that would be great. I have a few trailcams on springs that were getting great pics in september, now those bulls arent hitting water anymore.
I found some bugling bulls last weekend and got all excited but after I glassed them up realized they were just raghorns, probably happy to be with the herd now that the big bulls have split
I appreciate all the advise already offered.
LAST EDITED ON Dec-17-14 AT 10:18PM (MST)[p]Congrats on the nice BULL you got there. That area looks so much like the area I hunted last year in Nov '13 but no snow then during the early season. Of course all those mountains areas look alike.
5 days after I left and about the time the late season started in Nov 2013, there was a BIG storm and dumped around 5 feet of snow up on top the hill where we were hunting.
Looks like you had no snow this year too.
Congrats again on the nice Bull.
Brian
http://i44.tinypic.com/es7x8z.jpg[/IMG]
5 days after I left and about the time the late season started in Nov 2013, there was a BIG storm and dumped around 5 feet of snow up on top the hill where we were hunting.
Looks like you had no snow this year too.
Congrats again on the nice Bull.
Brian
http://i44.tinypic.com/es7x8z.jpg[/IMG]
Nevadahunter
Active Member
- Messages
- 269
Congrats on the Great Bull!
I dont have time to give a full debriefing of my hunt but it was a success. I wasnt prepared to draw the tag that year and it came completely unexpected. I had ZERO points and drew as a non resident!! Thats whats so great about Nevada, everyone has a chance. My dad drew a few years back but had 11 points as a resident.
The big bulls really move come november. I spent a total of 29 days between my hunt and scouting. I got kind of exhausted. Even around the middle of October I was still finding bulls in their rutting area. After about Oct 20th or so when the muzzleloader hunt starts a lot of the big bulls picked up and moved out. The smaller bulls still were easy to find and I even found they were bugling in November. I think the satellite bulls were so excited to be close to the cows and the herd again they just kept bugling like in the rut. I was cool to hear them but disappointing that none of them were very big. For the most part I found that the big bulls went to the thick mahogany way up high on south faces where was grass growing. They were really hard to spot because that mahogany is such good cover. I spent a lot of time glassing and sometimes would only see a bull for a few seconds then he would just disappear. I knew exactly where he was but being in the thick trees made it next to impossible to see. After the first snow they abandoned using water holes and springs for the most part. They would just get their water from snow patches.
I had a total of 14 trailcams out there. Surprisingly I only had 1 stolen. (Thank you few respecting my property. If this was in Utah they all would have been stolen). I got a ton of pics, probably over 100k over a period of a few months. All my cameras were on water or very close to it. After about Oct 20th my cameras produced nothing. This is what got me really scared and prompted my original post. I was finding huge 380-390 bulls then all of sudden nothing. Some of the bulls I originally found were killed in the muzzleloader hunt by guides. The big bulls completely distanced themselves from the herd and cows.
I will post the story of my actual hunt later but I wanted to share a few things I learned about that november hunt.
Feel free to ask any questions. I have a good buddy that should be drawing the tag next year so I cant tell you exactly where to go.
If youre looking for a guide I highly recommend Thomas Brunson with Timberline Outfitters. I did not hire him but I ran into him a few times and he is a great guy. He didnt give me BS like a lot of guides do and was very respectable. If I had to do it over again I think I would have saved myself a lot of anxiety and hired him for the week. I told him where I was going opening day and he promised me he would not take his hunter in because he didnt want to ruin my hunt. He also assured me that I was looking in the right place. Such a great guy.
To be continued...
The big bulls really move come november. I spent a total of 29 days between my hunt and scouting. I got kind of exhausted. Even around the middle of October I was still finding bulls in their rutting area. After about Oct 20th or so when the muzzleloader hunt starts a lot of the big bulls picked up and moved out. The smaller bulls still were easy to find and I even found they were bugling in November. I think the satellite bulls were so excited to be close to the cows and the herd again they just kept bugling like in the rut. I was cool to hear them but disappointing that none of them were very big. For the most part I found that the big bulls went to the thick mahogany way up high on south faces where was grass growing. They were really hard to spot because that mahogany is such good cover. I spent a lot of time glassing and sometimes would only see a bull for a few seconds then he would just disappear. I knew exactly where he was but being in the thick trees made it next to impossible to see. After the first snow they abandoned using water holes and springs for the most part. They would just get their water from snow patches.
I had a total of 14 trailcams out there. Surprisingly I only had 1 stolen. (Thank you few respecting my property. If this was in Utah they all would have been stolen). I got a ton of pics, probably over 100k over a period of a few months. All my cameras were on water or very close to it. After about Oct 20th my cameras produced nothing. This is what got me really scared and prompted my original post. I was finding huge 380-390 bulls then all of sudden nothing. Some of the bulls I originally found were killed in the muzzleloader hunt by guides. The big bulls completely distanced themselves from the herd and cows.
I will post the story of my actual hunt later but I wanted to share a few things I learned about that november hunt.
Feel free to ask any questions. I have a good buddy that should be drawing the tag next year so I cant tell you exactly where to go.
If youre looking for a guide I highly recommend Thomas Brunson with Timberline Outfitters. I did not hire him but I ran into him a few times and he is a great guy. He didnt give me BS like a lot of guides do and was very respectable. If I had to do it over again I think I would have saved myself a lot of anxiety and hired him for the week. I told him where I was going opening day and he promised me he would not take his hunter in because he didnt want to ruin my hunt. He also assured me that I was looking in the right place. Such a great guy.
To be continued...
GhostWhisperer
Member
- Messages
- 10
Tushar this is awesome info. I drew a 111 muzzy bull tag (oct 22-nov 5) and really appreciate you sharing. If you have anything further you would recommend I would certainly be appreciative. Congrats on the beautiful animal and thank you again for sharing the info.
Hunter3006
Member
- Messages
- 28
Hi i am in the same boat you were i have this tag for early November hunt i am so excited i have the 2 weeks off work and just now getting the scouting going question is where will the bulls be that we are seeing where will they go in November will they go high or in the middle i am planning on getting high and let the glasses do the walking thanks
>I dont have time to give
>a full debriefing of my
>hunt but it was a
>success. I wasnt prepared to
>draw the tag that year
>and it came completely unexpected.
> I had ZERO points
>and drew as a non
>resident!! Thats whats so
>great about Nevada, everyone has
>a chance. My dad drew
>a few years back but
>had 11 points as a
>resident.
>The big bulls really move come
>november. I spent a
>total of 29 days between
>my hunt and scouting.
>I got kind of exhausted.
> Even around the middle
>of October I was still
>finding bulls in their rutting
>area. After about Oct
>20th or so when the
>muzzleloader hunt starts a lot
>of the big bulls picked
>up and moved out.
>The smaller bulls still were
>easy to find and I
>even found they were bugling
>in November. I think
>the satellite bulls were so
>excited to be close to
>the cows and the herd
>again they just kept bugling
>like in the rut.
>I was cool to hear
>them but disappointing that none
>of them were very big.
> For the most part
>I found that the big
>bulls went to the thick
>mahogany way up high on
>south faces where was grass
>growing. They were really
>hard to spot because that
>mahogany is such good cover.
> I spent a lot
>of time glassing and sometimes
>would only see a bull
>for a few seconds then
>he would just disappear.
>I knew exactly where he
>was but being in the
>thick trees made it next
>to impossible to see.
>After the first snow they
>abandoned using water holes and
>springs for the most part.
> They would just get
>their water from snow patches.
>
>I had a total of 14
>trailcams out there. Surprisingly I
>only had 1 stolen. (Thank
>you few respecting my property.
>If this was in Utah
>they all would have been
>stolen). I got a ton
>of pics, probably over 100k
>over a period of a
>few months. All my
>cameras were on water or
>very close to it.
>After about Oct 20th my
>cameras produced nothing. This is
>what got me really scared
>and prompted my original post.
> I was finding huge
>380-390 bulls then all of
>sudden nothing. Some of the
>bulls I originally found were
>killed in the muzzleloader hunt
>by guides. The big
>bulls completely distanced themselves from
>the herd and cows.
>I will post the story of
>my actual hunt later but
>I wanted to share a
>few things I learned about
>that november hunt.
>Feel free to ask any questions.
> I have a good
>buddy that should be drawing
>the tag next year so
>I cant tell you exactly
>where to go.
>If youre looking for a guide
>I highly recommend Thomas Brunson
>with Timberline Outfitters. I
>did not hire him but
>I ran into him a
>few times and he is
>a great guy. He
>didnt give me BS like
>a lot of guides do
>and was very respectable.
>If I had to do
>it over again I think
>I would have saved myself
>a lot of anxiety and
>hired him for the week.
> I told him where
>I was going opening day
>and he promised me he
>would not take his hunter
>in because he didnt want
>to ruin my hunt.
>He also assured me that
>I was looking in the
>right place. Such a
>great guy.
>To be continued...
>a full debriefing of my
>hunt but it was a
>success. I wasnt prepared to
>draw the tag that year
>and it came completely unexpected.
> I had ZERO points
>and drew as a non
>resident!! Thats whats so
>great about Nevada, everyone has
>a chance. My dad drew
>a few years back but
>had 11 points as a
>resident.
>The big bulls really move come
>november. I spent a
>total of 29 days between
>my hunt and scouting.
>I got kind of exhausted.
> Even around the middle
>of October I was still
>finding bulls in their rutting
>area. After about Oct
>20th or so when the
>muzzleloader hunt starts a lot
>of the big bulls picked
>up and moved out.
>The smaller bulls still were
>easy to find and I
>even found they were bugling
>in November. I think
>the satellite bulls were so
>excited to be close to
>the cows and the herd
>again they just kept bugling
>like in the rut.
>I was cool to hear
>them but disappointing that none
>of them were very big.
> For the most part
>I found that the big
>bulls went to the thick
>mahogany way up high on
>south faces where was grass
>growing. They were really
>hard to spot because that
>mahogany is such good cover.
> I spent a lot
>of time glassing and sometimes
>would only see a bull
>for a few seconds then
>he would just disappear.
>I knew exactly where he
>was but being in the
>thick trees made it next
>to impossible to see.
>After the first snow they
>abandoned using water holes and
>springs for the most part.
> They would just get
>their water from snow patches.
>
>I had a total of 14
>trailcams out there. Surprisingly I
>only had 1 stolen. (Thank
>you few respecting my property.
>If this was in Utah
>they all would have been
>stolen). I got a ton
>of pics, probably over 100k
>over a period of a
>few months. All my
>cameras were on water or
>very close to it.
>After about Oct 20th my
>cameras produced nothing. This is
>what got me really scared
>and prompted my original post.
> I was finding huge
>380-390 bulls then all of
>sudden nothing. Some of the
>bulls I originally found were
>killed in the muzzleloader hunt
>by guides. The big
>bulls completely distanced themselves from
>the herd and cows.
>I will post the story of
>my actual hunt later but
>I wanted to share a
>few things I learned about
>that november hunt.
>Feel free to ask any questions.
> I have a good
>buddy that should be drawing
>the tag next year so
>I cant tell you exactly
>where to go.
>If youre looking for a guide
>I highly recommend Thomas Brunson
>with Timberline Outfitters. I
>did not hire him but
>I ran into him a
>few times and he is
>a great guy. He
>didnt give me BS like
>a lot of guides do
>and was very respectable.
>If I had to do
>it over again I think
>I would have saved myself
>a lot of anxiety and
>hired him for the week.
> I told him where
>I was going opening day
>and he promised me he
>would not take his hunter
>in because he didnt want
>to ruin my hunt.
>He also assured me that
>I was looking in the
>right place. Such a
>great guy.
>To be continued...
I have the same 221-223 late bull tag you had last year. You got a great looking bull!! Congratulations. I was hoping to pick your brain about this hunt. Everyone I talk to says it's a hard hunt. Because the big bulls move in November. And are hard to find after that. I would love to learn more from you about how things went on your hunt. Please pm me if you could. Thanks
Califelkslayer
Long Time Member
- Messages
- 4,078
Hey guys,
Not sure if this info is any good but I had the muzzy tag in "10" and what was said is true. The bulls with the cows, bugling their heads off, were NOT the top line bulls.
The very best bulls were on top (I screwed up my stalk).
Last year I had the late deer tag. I saw a couple of great bulls in the Muleshoes. They were migrating.
After 2 hunts, and over 4 weeks in the unit I believe some of the bulls migrate out, the others stay HIGH.
I saw 330+ bulls crossing the highway Nov 4-6. The best bull I saw in the Muleshoes was bedded in a snow bank with 40 mph winds and pretty cold. But there is no doubt he was moving after dark towards 231.
So my choises are, hike to the top of Grafton everyday, or glass the Muleshoes every morning, then make your stalk if you see HIM.
Hoping my buddy draws this tag soon. He has 14 NR PPs. Then we'll decide.
Not sure if this info is any good but I had the muzzy tag in "10" and what was said is true. The bulls with the cows, bugling their heads off, were NOT the top line bulls.
The very best bulls were on top (I screwed up my stalk).
Last year I had the late deer tag. I saw a couple of great bulls in the Muleshoes. They were migrating.
After 2 hunts, and over 4 weeks in the unit I believe some of the bulls migrate out, the others stay HIGH.
I saw 330+ bulls crossing the highway Nov 4-6. The best bull I saw in the Muleshoes was bedded in a snow bank with 40 mph winds and pretty cold. But there is no doubt he was moving after dark towards 231.
So my choises are, hike to the top of Grafton everyday, or glass the Muleshoes every morning, then make your stalk if you see HIM.
Hoping my buddy draws this tag soon. He has 14 NR PPs. Then we'll decide.
muleycrazy
Active Member
- Messages
- 241
sent you a PM Califelkslayer
Next time your trying to be slick....Try
being slicker than a 6 year old.
Next time your trying to be slick....Try
being slicker than a 6 year old.
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