elk rutting already - or was it just hanky panyk at 2 am?

[Britt-dog]

I watched six rag horns bugle and push each other around yesterday. There were no big kids around so the little guys were feelin their oats. Cows were paying no attention.

[lord grizzly]

Was out the other day looking for a bear. Heard a few bugles in the distance. Sounded like a two legged camo wearing bull. If it was a four legged type. He gonna be lonely this September.

the worst bugle I've ever heard was about a 320 6x6

[yakimarcher]

I heard bugling at Rimrock while bear hunting Sunday.

[TheHunt]

I have heard bugling as well.

[snake]

i have heard bugling the first week in december

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Seems about right for the display period of the rut to be starting... Some cows will be hitting their first estrous also.

[2MANY]

This time of year I hear bugling in my sleep and experience rut like symptoms.

[WapitiTalk1]

This time of year I hear bugling in my sleep and experience rut like symptoms.

Truer words were never spoken  .

[bracer40]

This time of year I hear bugling in my sleep and experience rut like symptoms.

Truer words were never spoken  .

Love that It's nearly here!
The to do list is nearly done but I keep wondering if I've left anything important undone!

[lamrith]

Elk vocalize all year long but obviously, much more when the rut actually starts as their is more to talk about (particularly the bulls)....  I had a bull sing back to me at camp during my mid July scout trip to Idaho.. he was just saying hello.  Ya, I think homer the spike was just going through the motions on something he thinks he's supposed to do.  I seriously doubt if that cow was coming into her estrus cycle this early and if she was, she certainly wouldn't let junior breed her... it doesn't work that way.         

Strange things happen when the Peddler is in camp.

Yeah you just never know what will happen when he is around.

It was a welcome sound for sure.  Took a bit of effort to hold RJ back, he had a bowe in his teeth running for the trail..

[DOUBLELUNG]

Based on everything I've read, air temperature does not trigger rut behavior, but rather the length of daylight. If there have been studies done that conflict, I'd love to see them.

Depends on your definitions.  Breeding is synchronized to day length (photoperiod), but many rut behaviors (bugling, sparring, wallowing) are affected by weather.  I will take one day after a low pressure system passes through, over a week of nice weather, based on 25+ years hunting the buggers and 3 years full time tracking radio-collared cows.  As one specific example, in 2002 in Wyoming my partner and I covered approximately 75 miles on foot with highs in the 70s and bright sunny days.  We heard two elk bugle, and I had one blown opportunity on a real nice bull with a handful of cows.  A cold front moved through the 7th night and we woke to overcast, windy weather with temps in the 40s.  We split up that morning, with a plan to meet at lunch.  Over the next 4 hours, I heard a minimum of 20 bulls bugling in the small valley I was in, saw 12 bulls and uncounted cows, had three bulls come in to me based on them hearing me walk, and killed a nice 6x6.  My partners experience in the next small valley over was parallel to mine, except he killed a big 5x5.  On another occasion in another year in a different Wyoming mountain range, I had a brand new job and 1 day I could take off from work including weekends.  A big cold front came through one night and I got up at three, drove two hours to the end of the pavement, chained up to get through the deep mud, and drove another slow 15 or so miles, arriving slightly after 7am at a favorite L-shaped side drainage which had a timbered riparian bottom, timbered ridgetops and side drainages, but was otherwise 80% mountain big sagebrush.  I got to the rock outcrop that sits high up at the point of the L around 9 am, having circled around to avoid going into the drainage.  My reward?  A high count of 472 elk, and at least 75 mature bulls all screaming their heads off, sparring, herding cows and tearing up the ground and saplings.  I got back out of the valley, and looped around to near the mouth of the drainage, to come in downwind of all the elk.  About an hour later, I was slowly working in on three big bulls all sparring, when a spike ran up from behind and stood broadside at 20 yards.  I shot him.  For the rest of the day as I was packing him out, there was nonstop bugling and bulls running everywhere.  On both of those occasions, I don't think there was any breeding going on, but it was definitely rut activity turned on by a change of weather. 

[2MANY]

This 10 fold.

[bracer40]

Based on everything I've read, air temperature does not trigger rut behavior, but rather the length of daylight. If there have been studies done that conflict, I'd love to see them.

Depends on your definitions.  Breeding is synchronized to day length (photoperiod), but many rut behaviors (bugling, sparring, wallowing) are affected by weather.  I will take one day after a low pressure system passes through, over a week of nice weather, based on 25+ years hunting the buggers and 3 years full time tracking radio-collared cows.  As one specific example, in 2002 in Wyoming my partner and I covered approximately 75 miles on foot with highs in the 70s and bright sunny days.  We heard two elk bugle, and I had one blown opportunity on a real nice bull with a handful of cows.  A cold front moved through the 7th night and we woke to overcast, windy weather with temps in the 40s.  We split up that morning, with a plan to meet at lunch.  Over the next 4 hours, I heard a minimum of 20 bulls bugling in the small valley I was in, saw 12 bulls and uncounted cows, had three bulls come in to me based on them hearing me walk, and killed a nice 6x6.  My partners experience in the next small valley over was parallel to mine, except he killed a big 5x5.  On another occasion in another year in a different Wyoming mountain range, I had a brand new job and 1 day I could take off from work including weekends.  A big cold front came through one night and I got up at three, drove two hours to the end of the pavement, chained up to get through the deep mud, and drove another slow 15 or so miles, arriving slightly after 7am at a favorite L-shaped side drainage which had a timbered riparian bottom, timbered ridgetops and side drainages, but was otherwise 80% mountain big sagebrush.  I got to the rock outcrop that sits high up at the point of the L around 9 am, having circled around to avoid going into the drainage.  My reward?  A high count of 472 elk, and at least 75 mature bulls all screaming their heads off, sparring, herding cows and tearing up the ground and saplings.  I got back out of the valley, and looped around to near the mouth of the drainage, to come in downwind of all the elk.  About an hour later, I was slowly working in on three big bulls all sparring, when a spike ran up from behind and stood broadside at 20 yards.  I shot him.  For the rest of the day as I was packing him out, there was nonstop bugling and bulls running everywhere.  On both of those occasions, I don't think there was any breeding going on, but it was definitely rut activity turned on by a change of weather.

Wow! Great reply w loads of credibility and cool experiences to boot!
Thank you!!

[elkboy]

Based on everything I've read, air temperature does not trigger rut behavior, but rather the length of daylight. If there have been studies done that conflict, I'd love to see them.

Depends on your definitions.  Breeding is synchronized to day length (photoperiod), but many rut behaviors (bugling, sparring, wallowing) are affected by weather.  I will take one day after a low pressure system passes through, over a week of nice weather, based on 25+ years hunting the buggers and 3 years full time tracking radio-collared cows.  As one specific example, in 2002 in Wyoming my partner and I covered approximately 75 miles on foot with highs in the 70s and bright sunny days.  We heard two elk bugle, and I had one blown opportunity on a real nice bull with a handful of cows.  A cold front moved through the 7th night and we woke to overcast, windy weather with temps in the 40s.  We split up that morning, with a plan to meet at lunch.  Over the next 4 hours, I heard a minimum of 20 bulls bugling in the small valley I was in, saw 12 bulls and uncounted cows, had three bulls come in to me based on them hearing me walk, and killed a nice 6x6.  My partners experience in the next small valley over was parallel to mine, except he killed a big 5x5.  On another occasion in another year in a different Wyoming mountain range, I had a brand new job and 1 day I could take off from work including weekends.  A big cold front came through one night and I got up at three, drove two hours to the end of the pavement, chained up to get through the deep mud, and drove another slow 15 or so miles, arriving slightly after 7am at a favorite L-shaped side drainage which had a timbered riparian bottom, timbered ridgetops and side drainages, but was otherwise 80% mountain big sagebrush.  I got to the rock outcrop that sits high up at the point of the L around 9 am, having circled around to avoid going into the drainage.  My reward?  A high count of 472 elk, and at least 75 mature bulls all screaming their heads off, sparring, herding cows and tearing up the ground and saplings.  I got back out of the valley, and looped around to near the mouth of the drainage, to come in downwind of all the elk.  About an hour later, I was slowly working in on three big bulls all sparring, when a spike ran up from behind and stood broadside at 20 yards.  I shot him.  For the rest of the day as I was packing him out, there was nonstop bugling and bulls running everywhere.  On both of those occasions, I don't think there was any breeding going on, but it was definitely rut activity turned on by a change of weather.

Wow! Great reply w loads of credibility and cool experiences to boot!
Thank you!!

Absolutely agreed.  It is this kind of contribution that is a major plus of this forum! 

On a related note, my hunting partner and I have learned that hot dry weather is a good time to wait on wallows or wet meadows, but cooler, cloudier weather spreads the elk out to more parts of the landscape (as described above).