December Elk Hunting

[2rocky]

I tagged along on a friends cow elk hunt in mid December last year near Bondurant, WY aka the coldest place on the planet. It happened to be during a high pressure system which typically means brutal cold but sunshine. That it was. As cold as -10 in the AM getting up to probably 20 in the afternoon. Saving grace was the sunshine. We actually went in on ski touring equipment, which is something you should consider if there decent snow coverage. We hunted one day with just boots and progress was slow and frustrating. Skis made travel a heck of a lot easier. We hunted near a state feed ground as we figured the elk would be making their way to winter range. We saw probably 300 cows and spikes on the feed ground. The only elk we saw on public were 3 bulls. We didn't end up getting an elk but it was really cool to hunt that late in the season. Bring everything you can to stay warm and be careful. The nice thing about hunting that time of year is that the elk are generally in less remote country. Sometimes this means private land - OnX maps can help a lot with that. A good tactic can be hunting public that is adjacent to private winter grounds. Elk may bed in the timber on public and feed on the private. Especially if there is hunting on the private land. Sorry my thoughts are a bit scattered!

I'm gonna exhume this thread to stimulate conversation about deep snow elk hunting. I'll be hunting a Cow tag after Christmas with my college age nephew during his break. @Big Fin i'd be interested in your hunting on Ski's / Snowshoes experience for Bison.

 

[BAKPAKR]

I'm gonna exhume this thread to stimulate conversation about deep snow elk hunting. I'll be hunting a Cow tag after Christmas with my college age nephew during his break. @Big Fin i'd be interested in your hunting on Ski's / Snowshoes experience for Bison.

If the country is not too steep, Altai Hok skis work pretty slick. I think snowshoes work better later in the winter after the snow has compacted some.