Agricultural elk

[Nambaster]

I have access to hunt 216.3 acres of agricultural land. 100 acres is probably grain corn approximately 7-10 feet tall. 50 acres is un cut Alfa Alfa and 50 acres is cut Alfa Alfa. Am I cheating myself by not walking through the corn to look for sign or trying to kick something out? Do elk go into the grain corn? Are there strategies to hunting elk in corn?

The elk seem to be very nocturnal hitting the Alfa Alfa at night. I find fresh tracks every morning but I have yet to catch them in the fields. This is a bonus cow elk tag.

I have seen dozens of elk headed toward the property at last light but they never quite reach the property during legal shooting hours. Any pointers?

 

[hank4elk]

Sneak in and catch them at 1st light when they are leaving.

 

[3855WIN]

Watch the weather. Catch them coming to the field early ahead of a front.

 

[Salmonchaser]

If you have time with a bonus tag be patient. On a small piece like that find the one best intercept point Sit there. IF you blow them out of someplace that small they will likely stay gone.

 

[jpcoll01]

In my experience trying to hunt anything in standing corn is an exercise in futility. YMMV.

 

[sneakypete]

I’d be looking at the standing corn, a few years ago my dad took a bull Full of corn. He wasn’t in the field when taken though.

 

[Stocker]

Pm sent

 

[Stocker]

Lots of good advice. As a certified irrigated corn elk hunter, they’ll be out in the light. You just gotta be there when they do. Cows hang in there tighter than bulls, but the bulls will start pushing them out the next few weeks. Bulls will come out to a call as well.

Last year my wife’s uncle killed a nice 5 point in a bean field. A bull bugled in the corn field behind us and a 7 point came tearing out to my call and stood 70 yards away staring at us. My wife’s uncle said “I shoulda shot that one”.

 

[Stocker]

Also the cows that aren’t ready to be bred or already are will get tired of the constant harassment of bulls in the corn. It’s hard for a herd bull to keep all the satellites away in a corn field. The satellites will constantly harass the cows and they’ll stay out longer.

The area I hunt is almost all pivots so you gotta catch them going from circle to circle.

 

[hank4elk]

I knew I shoulda planted some corn this year, LOL.
Oh that's right, I have water and native grass bottomland.
The neighbors plant rye for their "cattle"...LOL

 

[Nambaster]

I went at first light and checked the property. I watched 31 elk just on the other side of the fence of the property I am allowed to hunt. They were cow calling non stop.

I spoke with the spanish ranch hand, and he pointed to an elk rack hung over his dog kennels and informed me that he had salvaged that bull as a result of another bull goring him to death in the corn fields. With the corn at 7 feet high, I don’t know how I am going to see the elk. They seem to be in the alfalfa every night. I set a few trailcams to understand their movements.

This is in Idaho.

 

[noharleyyet]

It can work, I've seen it. But when I tried to do it...it was maddeningly futile. It's like they're wearing wristwatches.

 

[brymoore]

Fly over the corn

 

[kiwi hunter]

Fly over the corn

i like this,, lateral thinking

drone attack drone attack

 

[Stocker]

The other option is to wait until they’re chopping/picking it. You gotta be there when it happens though.

 

[dgc1963]

I hunt around corn in Pa and I set up trail cams to see where they go in at try and get patterns on trails and then go back a few hundred yrds and catch them coming or going in day light
works good for bear sometimes im 3 to 400 yrds back seems like animals like fields best after dark thats why I back up

 

[brymoore]

i like this,, lateral thinking

drone attack drone attack

Drones are illegal to hunt with in Idaho.

Planes are still legal to scout with in Idaho. No waiting time after flight.

 

[RobertD]

I hunt around corn in Pa and I set up trail cams to see where they go in at try and get patterns on trails and then go back a few hundred yrds and catch them coming or going in day light
works good for bear sometimes im 3 to 400 yrds back seems like animals like fields best after dark thats why I back up

This is what I was thinking too

 

[hank4elk]

It can work, I've seen it. But when I tried to do it...it was maddeningly futile. It's like they're wearing wristwatches.

Replace words corn for water and that's my place.
The clock starts ticking when you walk out the door. Some days they hang around a bit longer. Some days the wind works for you. Some days you pick the right route they will take . Some days you walk right into them.