Hunting the Elk Rut in Washington State

[WapitiTalk1]

Wait, huh, what did you say?  RJ, I thought you were Mr. Negative when it comes to the Washington early archery elk season, even with the later season dates starting this year?  Yes, guilty as charged but I figured it's time to be a bit more positive because for the first time in many, many years.... a guy/gal can head out (w/o a special permit) in the Evergreen state and actually hunt rutting elk.. I mean, really hunt rutting elk.. You know, the kind that have snot and drool coming out of their faces when you get really close to them and call them names; the kind that pees all over themselves when they are advertising for other elk; the kind of rutting activity that makes lesser bulls cling like leeches around a herd bull's harem and peel off to investigate a lonely, whiny cow... yep, that's the kind of activity I'm talking about.  Well folks, we get some of that this year.
So here we go.  What are your plans for taking advantage of actually hunting closer to the peak of the rut?  The third week of September is when the majority of the cows come into estrus which can make for a very exciting time to be in the elkwoods with bow in hand.  Make no mistake; cows dictate the show in the elk world.  When there is a hot cow around, the bulls will compete for her attention and advertise themselves as the best breeders through vocalization, and, through physical displays of what they’ve got that’s better than the next guy.  Now, imagine having multiple cows coming into estrus, i.e., the third week in Elktember and you can find yourself in the middle of a madhouse of rut activity! 
Elk really have two main concerns in life; living (surviving) and breeding.  Obviously as elk hunters, we must be keenly aware of these two priorities in an elk’s world, understand them, and use their mannerisms/habits against them in an attempt to bring them home for dinner. 
Living/surviving  - yearlong effort/activity.  Learn and know the area(s) you hunt (feeding areas, bedding areas, transition routes (feed to bed/bed to feed), escape routes, choke points, higher hunting pressure areas within the herd(s)  range , and predation activity) are all areas of study for us.
Breed – early September through when the last cow takes (cows may come into estrus several or more times, even as late as October until she takes).  Elk can’t help themselves, they have to breed.   A couple of points of light about hunting the elk rut:
Cows run/dictate the show (it’s all about the ladies, particularly during the rut, no doubt about it).
All bull elk have the instinct to breed and rut; they have no choice and it’s up to us to use their amorous behavior against them for our gain. 
If you cow call and a bull tells you to get over there now, oblige him.  You may feel the need to cow call as you move in but that is really only necessary from great distances.  He can hear you coming in already.  Get real close, set up, and invite him over for tea and crumpets.     
As a general rule, use the same type of sound you started with once a response is received.   
A herd bull will try to keep every single cow and will seldom leave his harem to pick up a new one, but, he will talk to a cow in a demanding tone (bull calling cow to him bugle and/short scream with chuckles).  A bull will make his rounds when the herd is bedded.  Wind/thermals permitting, this can be a great time to set up by good cover and let things develop.. he may just walk by as he makes his bed check rounds. 
A herd bull can be challenged for dominance but you’ve gotta be in his wheel house, within 50 yards to even closer.  If you haven’t listen to Joel Turner’s podcast on how unhappy it makes a herd bull when you call to his cows, you should. 
You don’t have to be a world class elk caller to have success.  Learn the 4 or 5 basic elk sounds Elknut talks about and you’ll have what you need. Just practice them and try to be as realistic as possible.
When in close to a herd bull with cows, and, you know there are satellites around… soft, whiny cow sounds given every few minutes can bring one of the lesser bulls into your lap. 
This September will be a different situation than what we’re used to in Washington with a different set of rules and we must ensure we have our elk tool kit ready to go with tactics that will work during the rut.   The above are just a few notes from my desk folks.  What are some other tips/tactics you cats can offer that we should concern ourselves with to deploy in the elkwoods this very special September? 
 

[willapawapiti]

That's some great pointers Phantom, thanks!  Oh how I wish it was September 

[deerhunter_98520]

  its going to be a long summer of scouting!

[Duckhunter14]

My advice would be for 80% of the people I've heard attempt to talk to elk to leave their calls at home. I was reading a study on educating elk with a call and how long it will take a bull to respond to another call once he is called in and spooked. It was really interesting; I believe it was in Bugle. If I can find it I'll reference it.

Anyways its always quite comical to be in the elk woods listening to elk talk to each other and then off in the distance (usually from the closest main rd) hear a guy rip off a long whistled bugle with no chuckles or gutteral growl and then wail on a hoochie mama like it stole from him. I never understand the reasoning behind that. Yes every now and then you can get a bull to respond, but most areas I hunt are highly pressured and when called to poorly, elk (I've actually witnessed this) will run the opposite direction. I think the single biggest mistake during the rut is overcalling, followed closely by poor calling and lastly utilizing the wrong call at the wrong time. A lot of those decisions are reading the situation, judging from past experience, and sometimes just getting lucky. But just like most other situations in life (unless you're locating) you will learn much more from listening than you will from talking. I killed my WA elk at under 5 yards with my bow and never made a peep and got to within 15 yards of a bull in MT that was bugling his brains out after only locating his position with a bugle and moving in silently. Thanks to the swirling winds I wasn't able to the let the air out of him, but it just goes to show that sometimes being silent can be deadly. Read the situation and always pay attention to the wind. Just my 

Clint

[TommyH]

Elktember.........

[coachcw]

Every elk behave differently, I'd never say leave a call home live learn and get better that's what hunting is about.  Killing a big herd bull in peak rut  is tough. Catch him pre rut he is easier to get close to. The later season should provide for  cooler Temps for sure.

[Todd_ID]

Every elk behave differently, I'd never say leave a call home live learn and get better that's what hunting is about.  Killing a big herd bull in peak rut  is tough. Catch him pre rut he is easier to get close to. The later season should provide for  cooler Temps for sure.

You're right on this. The very best time to kill a big bull is the last week of august until Sept 6. In that time the big guys are sizing up the competition without cows. Around the 7th the small guys of the big bull category have the cows. Around the 20th the biggest take over by the lead cow moving the herd to her breeding bench or place she's been bred for 16 years. The mega bulls are already waiting there and kick the big boys out. From then until October 10 you won't call a mega bull into bow range without getting darn lucky and being darn good.

[flcracker]

I found last year that I was doing more soft calling once I got into and elky area than a lot of locating calls. The are I hunt is pretty pressured with road hunters (even during archery). It kinda reminded me of soft calling for turkeys. I'm not that experienced with elk hunting but it worked for me, is this a fairly common tactic?

[CP]

Good advice in this thread but I’m not sure how it helps in finding a true spike.

[Duckhunter14]

Every elk behave differently, I'd never say leave a call home live learn and get better that's what hunting is about. 

I was just being facetious Coach, I would never leave my calls behind. The implication was that based on some of the calling that I've heard; those individuals would be better off leaving their calls behind. But I do agree with you, learn from your past experience and spend as much time in the woods as possible. 

[Todd_ID]

Good advice in this thread but I’m not sure how it helps in finding a true spike.

If you were to follow this advice,  then likely the first thing you'd call in would be a spike.  They hang with the cows from June to august and with the bulls during September. This is how they learn how to be a bull. They shadow the bachelor groups of bulls, and they are easy to call in if you're calling to a grouping of bulls.

[kentrek]

Every elk behave differently, I'd never say leave a call home live learn and get better that's what hunting is about.  Killing a big herd bull in peak rut  is tough. Catch him pre rut he is easier to get close to. The later season should provide for  cooler Temps for sure.

You're right on this. The very best time to kill a big bull is the last week of august until Sept 6. In that time the big guys are sizing up the competition without cows. Around the 7th the small guys of the big bull category have the cows. Around the 20th the biggest take over by the lead cow moving the herd to her breeding bench or place she's been bred for 16 years. The mega bulls are already waiting there and kick the big boys out. From then until October 10 you won't call a mega bull into bow range without getting darn lucky and being darn good.

You mentioned the lead cow going to her special place..will she kind of go on lock down once she gets there ? and will the herd get split up while the mega bull stays with the lead cow ?

Generaly speaking of coarse

[huntnnw]

Still doesnt mean much in NE WA and N ID...the best rutting activity I have seen over the years are the last few days of Sept and first week of Oct is insane in many of my areas..Smokepole for me

[PlateauNDN]

So far the average time for peak activity the last 6-10 years has been the last week of Septemberto mid second week of October. Just my experience in theareas iI hunt. 

[coachcw]

Good advice in this thread but I’m not sure how it helps in finding a true spike.

I have called in way more spikes and young bulls prerut they are very willing to say with a herd. if a bull has showed up and bumped him he will hang pretty close often if you present as a lonely cow or very young bull he will come take a peak . remember when calling early season to give it time say 45 min then move a few hundred yards . I have had bulls run in with out a peep and take there time coming in undetected . Remember your making noise while moving through the woods so you might as well try to imulate one of the animals that lives there .