Late season archery advice

[hogslayer]

I am still in shock at how the early season went.  Heard one bugle in last 6 days of the season.  I haven't been in this position in a while. But I was going to see if I could get some help from some members for a late season west side archery hunt.  I pretty much do whatever it takes to be successful and can't take the early season defeat. 

Thanks.   

[Elkslayer89]

Well it's all about putting feet on the ground in the late the elk are on the move. They are trying to stay warm and find food. Also with the rut coming in to play so late I'm hoping to pull some sattelite Bulls out with some cow calls not all cows go into estrus at the same time so I'll take my chances. Hope this helps

[huntingbaldguy]

If you know a place they frequent, a bench, saddle, etc... i would consider putting a blind or tree stand up.  Hunt it in the morning, go into the thick brush mid day, back to blind/tree stand in the evening.  That's kind of my plan.  We are going to try and bag 2 cows.  Will take some doing for sure, but i think with this plan it will be doable for at least one.

[steeliedrew]

I too am thinking about late Elk. In 4 days of Elk hunting this early season we had 3 close encounters with good Bulls as a crew and I was lucky enough to have a couple solo encounters as well.  Could have been worse for sure and while we did manage to get a big 5x6 really fired up on the opener the rest of the season was pretty quiet.

My late season honey hole got mowed down last year. Found that out the hard way on the late season opener last year. Rode my bike in before first light and as the sun came up I saw that the timber company had come in and clear cut the entire hillside that held elk like clockwork every day no matter what!

I'm thinking what I'm gonna do this year is stay on the move a ton, making sure to be in high spots in the morning that I can glass distant cuts and focus on still-hunting south facing slopes especially if it's snowing.

[huntingbaldguy]

steeliedrew:  Quick question.  In your experience going from early to late season, is that what they do is seek out south facing slopes?  To be in the sun when it's out and try to keep warm, or another reason? 

I just don't have a lot of late season experience, only rifle and we've still seen many of our elk on north facing slopes.

[steeliedrew]

Truth be told this is only my 4th year hunting elk and hunting all together actually so I'm just going on late season info I've read in years past and my own, fairly rookie experiences. Also that late season honey hole I had that got clear cut last year was a south facing slope. It was a flawless little area. Basically a massive clear cut a couple miles behind a gate with a road cutting down the middle of it. Looking uphill from the road it appeared that you could see everything so people would stop and glass it, and then keep moving. However, the cut was full of micro topography like little bowls and valleys that you couldn't see until you got up to the edge of the timber above the cut and looked down.

Without fail this herd would be in the cut all night, and then feed into the fern jungle, spaced out timber above the cut to bed. But I could often find these elk bedded within the bowls and valleys of that cut in broad daylight cause they knew nobody could see them from the road. They had everything they needed. Ample food, cover, security, escape routes, and even a creek running through the cut to drink from. Possibly, the fact that it was a south facing slope had nothing to do with it but I keep it in the back of my mind as a possibility. This was in the Winston so maybe this was a location where they tended to go when pressured?

[steeliedrew]

Let's keep this thread going for hogslayer...and the rest of us with knowledge to gain and tags to fill come thanksgiving weekend. Maybe RadSav wouldn't mind chiming in on this topic?

[huntingbaldguy]

The area we hunted early season i kind of established a route they take regularly.  It's pretty diverse but the one common factor is that they follow a creek it seemed.  They may be on one side going up and the other side if going down (depending on wind) but they seemed to rarely deviate.  Granted early season was hot, i'm not certain that will be their route come late season, but there is cover, food, water and bedding all along the route, like you are saying.  It was confirmed to us quite a few times in scouting and in season, and most of the slopes they hit were east or north facing, not a lot of south.  Could just be area specific though.  I'm sure most people notice that some places because of topography, don't have a lot of one specific directional slope, but they have bedding, water and cover and you find fresh sign, so you know elk go there. 

To me it's all about spending time in an area that you know holds elk.  Watch their paths, see where they come from and where they go, set up cams in strategic locations.  It's really interesting some days they go in one way, come out the same way another day, all depending on wind.  If you watch them feed through a cut, they always have the wind in their face, so you can almost predict the direction they will be going day to day and try to get in behind them.  For me of course, getting close was the challenge this year.  Not expecting it to be a lot easier come late season, especially since the cows are the old wise ones.

[steeliedrew]

Figured I'd revive this thread for hogslayer since late archery elk is about to start and this thread seemed to fall through the cracks.  Let's hear some late season tactics for bulls and cows.

I'll start with a question. Anybody have success calling in cows using lost cow sounds on a cold calling setup in the late season?

[hogslayer]

I don't think cold calling will work at all as well as cow calling.  By late season most Elk have got kicked and called at so many times they are over it.  My experience has been that cows don't really talk that much outside of the rut except to warn each other of danger.  I have done some scouting and been baiting a spot with cameras in north bend.  Had elk coming in everyday to feed, then 2 bears came in and seem to have taken over.  Not 100% sure it was the bears or that modern started during the same week that kicked the elk out. I think they will be back in time for late season.  I have done good hunting the east side in the snow in years past.  But have a west side tag this year.  Thanks for keeping this going!

[steeliedrew]

hogslayer,

A couple years back in the late season I had worked my way into the middle of about 15 cows in some west side timber. I had a perfect wind and was able to observe the herd for a good ten minutes while waiting for a shot. Those cows were VERY vocal. I have always guessed it as every day herd talk because these elk were quite a ways in and hadn't been getting pressured and they didn't know I was in there.  I ended up getting a shot but my arrow was deflected by ferns. No joke. Maybe that experience was a rarity but they sure weren't shy in talking to each other.

Sorry to hear about the Bears in your elk spot. They sure can be a nuisance when you're looking to keep track of Deer and Elk

[blackveltbowhunter]

    During the initial onslaught of thanksgiving weekend, look in deep holes and thick bottoms. After the weekend,  The elk will begin to emerge in my experience. They have to eat and will be on their feet, if the weather nasty it will be even better. Cold or snow better still.

  As far as calling, I find its still helpful at times, but I use it much less and for very different reasons. I have heard herds chattering many times while on their feet feeding, but its more social communication IMO. And they do not respond by coming in at all. If they are talking and I am close I will jump in the fray in an attempt to get into position for a shot. I will also give occasional calls while still hunting simply attempting to elicit a response or cover the occasional branch breaking. But I don't look for any setups in late season.

[steeliedrew]

Thanks for posting that.  Sounds like steep and deep for the opener might be in the cards.

[pd]

Thanks for the thread, guys (especially SteelieDrew, thanks for keeping it alive).

This was my first real year elk hunting with a bow.  I should have tagged a bull a couple different times, but muffed up the hunt; purely my fault, lessons for the future.  Thus, I have the late season to redeem myself.  My schedule won't allow me to go until early December, and probably only 2 nights/3 days away from home.  I have never done this, so it is all a new experience for me.

I am hoping the elk (mostly cows & calves, some spikes thrown in for good measure??) will be in herds, 15 to 20 animals (wet by southwest WA).  Mostly, I am building a plan based upon what I know, which isn't a lot.  A recipe for failure, to be sure, but what else can I do but try.  It will be very interesting to see what happens.  Good luck to all.

[wooltie]

I will be moving, looking, and listening.  Watch the wind and setup a stalk if I locate them.

During regular season, we had a permit cow tag and stalking with no calling was our only option to get close.  Bulls were screaming every day, but we had to remain silent to get close to cows.