It's true- it can happen, but it is very rare in my experience. I have only tagged one elk thus far, so I am much less acquainted with elk abilities than a Whitetail's.
How far away have you seen elk bust a hunter by scent? I watched a bull last week feeding in a tiny meadow in the dark timber near the top of a mountain. Another hunter was sitting about 200-250 yards above the elk, although the bull and hunter were obviously not aware of each other's presence...
One day this past season, I was still-hunting dark timber, and I periodically smelled elk all morning. I could see old elk tracks and droppings on different benches of the mountain, but as I worked my way slowly through the timber (keeping the wind in my favor), the wind would swirl periodically...
I shot a yearling cow elk this past weekend (Probably a 300-pound animal). I didn't take the organ meats or the meat in between each rib, but I took everything else that was edible. We got 101.9 pounds of boneless meat.
Got it done this past weekend after several failed stalks on other bucks. This big guy was so busy making scrapes that he never saw me sneaking up behind him. Having the kids nearby made it an extra special day.
Clint, have you thought about coming out West on a cow tag for your initial hunt? I don't mean to be a Debbie downer, but the fact is that most people are going to have tag soup the first time they attempt DIY public land elk hunting. A Wyoming cow tag is about $300, which can save you an awful...
I'm not sure what qualifies as old... but some of those bucks have blocky bodies with sagging bellies, and reaaaallly black faces. Those are the ones that look old to me, regardless of horn size.
Since moving to WY in 2020, I have eaten 7 pronghorns, and they are excellent table fare. However, my wife nor I have never killed an old buck. If I shoot an old buck this year, am I going to dislike the meat? Do older bucks have tougher meat, or a gamey taste to them?
Fresh snow would definitely swing the odds in my favor- if the elk hadn't moved out of the high elevations, yet. I hadn't thought of checking for travel corridors between meadows, that is genuis, wytex.
Over the past 2 years, I have become much more adept at locating post-rut elk on public land. However, I have found myself overlooking, or downright avoiding high elevation meadows (pictured). The truth is, I'm just not sure how to approach the darn things. There are practically no glassing...
Wytex, what is their cwd plan for that area? There have been no CWD related changes in the Snowy Range where I usually hunt. I just found and read an article on the cow elk (Lucky) that was wonderful to find out. I would hope would she is being used to raise other CWD immune elk.
I live in Cheyenne Wyoming, right near "ground zero" for CWD. I have noticed that deer populations in this area have stopped declining and have begun "leveling off", according to the WY Fish and Game records. I also read an article that recorded some deer that were taking about twice as long as...
Mine lasted from late September through early January, in spite of all that I could do. I have rarely been sick, even staying healthy when my wife and kids got sick, so this was a major frustration for me. I join the YMCA in January, and started playing pickleball twice a week. I felt like I was...
Yes, I believe that I had it. I had....coughing fits as the sun set almost every day, a constant feeling that there was fluid in my lungs, wheezing after activities, sleepiness in spite of lots of sleep, slight weakness, an inability to jog very far and a general feeling that I was "under the...
I have found that Dan O's comment is spot on---at least in Western prairie conditions.
After shooting out in field conditions (WY open prairie) many times over, I found that my maximum effective range is about 175 yards because of wind drift. Even at that distance, the wind gusts often cause 5...