late day hunting

[POk3s]

yep, on the bull i posted about above I had him found by 6:30, enjoyed the moment for 15 minutes or so and got to work. I had the backstraps on my back and the quarters hanging in game bags at about 8:00.

 

[konasage]

Is anyone having trouble uploading photos... ihave a mac is that an issue?

 

[IdahoHombre]

Agree with all above. I'll just add that a good headlamp is essential, especially if you're alone!

 

[JohnDeereGreen]

You may not have as good of a chance of finding an elk at 1 in the afternoon as you will at first light, but it's one hell of a better chance than you will have of finding an elk back in camp. Now, I do know an old boy who shot a cow nearly every year for 15 years, and was never more than 500 yards from his trailer. Most years he was done by 10 AM opening day. But he was clever, and let other hunters push the elk to him.

So if your not a cagey old fellow, who knows the country he's in like the back of his hand, you'll be much better off hunting til the end of legal light every day. The first elk I ever shot was one I spotted around 2 in the afternoon, as I sat in the warm afternoon sun, enjoying a sandwich, and wondering where the hell the elk were. She wandered over a hill with some friends, and trotted down a gully towards me. I put down my sandwich-the part I didn't enhale-and laid down with my rifle on my pack. I ranged her, and that was that (with a lot of jumping up and down afterwards). Did I get lucky? You bet I did. But I was out and about at two in the afternoon looking for elk when that luck came around.

 

[angels2011]

Still hunting is still my favorite type of hunting (since I don't bow hunt anymore). Get them in their beds, up close in the timber...man, that's fun. Wish it was feasible for an OYOA episode but 1 guy alone in the timber is hard enough, I can't imagine 2 guys stalking to that range packing a camera AND getting the right camera angle.

 

[ElkNut1]

Chuck, there may be reasons your buddy shared such info with you! There are many areas that hold elk but come 10:30-11am & the thermals become extremely unpredictable, therefore in some instances it's better to backout than to hang around & spread ones scent around. If you're winded elk can relocate great distances away from where they were found! In such areas you can do more harm than good!

Too, he may be a guy that takes nearly all his elk in the am so prefers this time frame & recommended it to you. There are many hunters who just don't like evenings as they fear if they take such a large animal at that time they may have to leave the tracking for over-nght as well as breaking it down & getting it out once found.Many reasons why hunters think the way they do, it doesn't make them wrong or right!

These considerations are especially true for bowhunters! Personally, I like hunting either all day or mornings/evenings. There are many times depending on the action that I will return midday, depends on my mood! (grin) With this being said we take 90% of our elk by 11am. If I had to choose between the times to elk hunt the morning would be the definite choice here because of past results!

Too, like others mentioned glassing is tough to beat at these midday intervals & evenings as long as the country ones hunting leans towards it. The more heavily timbered areas where it's so thick just doesn't allow for much glassing, semi open to open country as BuzzH shows in his photos are ideal.

Once elk are located during these midday adventures take a mental note that these are elk in or near their bedding areas, they are generally not far from feed & water sources for midday browsing/watering, they will use these areas over & over for years. Too, in thick terrain type country if it's Sept-Oct & glassing is nearly impossible I like to still get on vantage areas where I can hear well & listen for bugles or cow talk, this has paid off many times as elk will generally communicate during these midday times, once again they are near bedding areas so take note of it!

Rifle hunting has a huge advantage in bad wind conditions as distances can still be kept & yet be effective as long as you hunt smart! Lots of good info above to digest!

ElkNut1

 

[THEBUGLER]

For years I was always a "morning guy", but the older I get, the wiser I get I take full advantage of the hunt from dawn till dusk, and am hardly ever back in camp during daylight hours. The last 4 bulls that I have been fortunate enough to kill were taken in the evening. Though this last fall I didn't kill, our evenings were full of hot bugling, and the mornings were blah. Had we been lulled into thinking evening hunts were less productive, we would have hardly had any bugling action at all.

Hunting in the evening, the hunter must be even more selective when taking high percentage shots due to the difficulty of tracking. A can do attitude and being prepared is what gets the job done once the bull is on the ground. If you have a headlamp, flashlight, knife, meat bags, and know exactly where the truck or camp is, then its not a big deal working up a bull and getting back out. Its mind over matter, which regretfully, is what held me back for many years. "The only thing we have to fear, is fear it's self" ~FDR

 

[streamer]

shot my elk this fall at 2:00 just kept putting onthe miles and glassing areas, you can't shoot them in camp playing cribage.

 

[sagebrush]

Elk hunting is physically demanding. I usually hike in in the dark and hunt until the activity wanes, usually around 10 or 11 AM. Then I take a nap, have a big lunch, take some Ibuprofen and get after it in the afternoon. I usually get back to camp 2 or 3 hours after dark, that would be 7 to 11 PM depending upon the time of year. I can usually last about 10 days by conserving my energy during the middle of the day but I have scouted and hunted as long as 17 consecutive days. I'm not a very effective hunter when I'm too tired to think clearly and hunt hard.