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drcalderwood
Guest
I wanted to pick some of your brains for hunting strategy on my limited entry rifle hunt for elk. This is the first time I will have been able to shoot a big bull, and the first time I will have been able to hunt elk in the rut.
I have scouted out my area and am now really familiar with it. There are tons of elk in this area and not much pressure from other hunters due to it being further from the roads. (We have hunted near here for years during the general hunt) I have seen plenty of bulls this year, and I spotted a huge 360+ bull in the area last month. I'm hoping for a 340 or bigger bull, but will definitely lower that standard as the week goes by.
Up until now my hunting strategy has been to sit and glass a hillside, ridge line, or canyon bottom until the elk pass by. We have had good success doing this on our spike hunts over the years. The problem with this area is that the elk hang in the aspens in this basin. They have tons of feed in the aspens and cover all the way to the water holes. The basin is about 3 square miles. There aren't any ridge lines or hillsides that are under 600 yards from any vantage point, and the canyon bottoms don't provide any good views. To be honest, it's a great archery area due to the cover. There are some good water holes (3 that I know of in some thick cover) that see quite a bit of elk traffic. But with me having a rifle, I'm not wanting to just sit on a water hole if there is a better way.
So I was wondering if come opening morning I should sit on a ridge, listen for the bulls bugling, and then spot and stalk. If it is a bull of size, shoot him. If not, back away carefully and go stalk another bugling bull. My question with this is how close I will be able to sneak up on them if the cows are surrounding the bulls. I'm afraid they might bolt if they detect me. I was also wondering if I should just go to some meadows on the edges of the aspens and try to call them out into the open. How have you guys hunted the LE elk hunt for rifle?
I have scouted out my area and am now really familiar with it. There are tons of elk in this area and not much pressure from other hunters due to it being further from the roads. (We have hunted near here for years during the general hunt) I have seen plenty of bulls this year, and I spotted a huge 360+ bull in the area last month. I'm hoping for a 340 or bigger bull, but will definitely lower that standard as the week goes by.
Up until now my hunting strategy has been to sit and glass a hillside, ridge line, or canyon bottom until the elk pass by. We have had good success doing this on our spike hunts over the years. The problem with this area is that the elk hang in the aspens in this basin. They have tons of feed in the aspens and cover all the way to the water holes. The basin is about 3 square miles. There aren't any ridge lines or hillsides that are under 600 yards from any vantage point, and the canyon bottoms don't provide any good views. To be honest, it's a great archery area due to the cover. There are some good water holes (3 that I know of in some thick cover) that see quite a bit of elk traffic. But with me having a rifle, I'm not wanting to just sit on a water hole if there is a better way.
So I was wondering if come opening morning I should sit on a ridge, listen for the bulls bugling, and then spot and stalk. If it is a bull of size, shoot him. If not, back away carefully and go stalk another bugling bull. My question with this is how close I will be able to sneak up on them if the cows are surrounding the bulls. I'm afraid they might bolt if they detect me. I was also wondering if I should just go to some meadows on the edges of the aspens and try to call them out into the open. How have you guys hunted the LE elk hunt for rifle?
