Free: Contests & Raffles.
Equinox is the 22. I agree with Stein.. 8-15 should be good.
Any 7-10 day combination that encompasses the third week in September. That is the time most of the cows come intro their estrus cycle and when the bulls are pretty much, at the peak of their rutting activities (locating cows, protecting cows, breeding hot cows, challenging bulls when there is a hot cow in the mix).
I've had 2MANY good hunts during a full moon phase to worry about it.The full moon works well as an excuse for lack of success.Schedule for when it works best for you.I promise you elk can breed just as well in the dark as they can in the minimal light the moon provides.Lights on..............Lights off....................Who cares.
I certainly understand hunters wanting to maximize their valuable time off from work and days spent in the elk woods with stick and string. What's the answer? It depends as each phase of the elk rut offers various and unique opportunities. It seems lone bull encounters are more prevalent in early September as the boys are cruising for the girls (herding up activity). Testosterone levels have risen in the bulls and they gravitate towards the gals (suddenly, those ladies don't seem all that bad and just perhaps, they are worth hanging out with). A few cows may come into their estrus cycle (early) during this period. This can certainly be a very exciting time to be out with your buddy, attempting to call in bulls. As the second week rolls around, herding activity is really somewhat settling down as the "initial" herd bulls have established their groups, love sick juvenile bulls are engaged in covert cow stealing operations from established herds, and challenging/advertising bugles ring throughout the drainages. Again, a few more cows are coming into their estrus cycle (and as we all know, the rut is all about the ladies). The third week is when the majority of the cows come into their estrus cycle; this means "hot cows" which can launch serious competitive encounters with the boys. It is oftentimes during the third week that I see some of the big honkers come in and kick the former herd bulls to the curb; the former herd bulls now become satellites on the prowl for either their former group, or, a new group to tend. The fourth week in September brings activity similar to the third week but not at quite at the same level. All this said, whatever week you and your hunting partner(s) can collectively work out to head into the elk woods is a good week to go!; just tailor your tactics to what is occurring during that part of the archery elk season. The full moon phase (really, you have bright nights several days up to and several days after full moon unless it’s cloudy) doesn’t impact much IMO. They’ll be singing at night and early in the morning as they move from feed to bed giving away their position and here’s a pearl for you folks…. “many” more elk are killed very close to their bedding area than in any other place in the elk woods each year.
Quote from: WapitiTalk1 on June 28, 2018, 01:55:50 PMI certainly understand hunters wanting to maximize their valuable time off from work and days spent in the elk woods with stick and string. What's the answer? It depends as each phase of the elk rut offers various and unique opportunities. It seems lone bull encounters are more prevalent in early September as the boys are cruising for the girls (herding up activity). Testosterone levels have risen in the bulls and they gravitate towards the gals (suddenly, those ladies don't seem all that bad and just perhaps, they are worth hanging out with). A few cows may come into their estrus cycle (early) during this period. This can certainly be a very exciting time to be out with your buddy, attempting to call in bulls. As the second week rolls around, herding activity is really somewhat settling down as the "initial" herd bulls have established their groups, love sick juvenile bulls are engaged in covert cow stealing operations from established herds, and challenging/advertising bugles ring throughout the drainages. Again, a few more cows are coming into their estrus cycle (and as we all know, the rut is all about the ladies). The third week is when the majority of the cows come into their estrus cycle; this means "hot cows" which can launch serious competitive encounters with the boys. It is oftentimes during the third week that I see some of the big honkers come in and kick the former herd bulls to the curb; the former herd bulls now become satellites on the prowl for either their former group, or, a new group to tend. The fourth week in September brings activity similar to the third week but not at quite at the same level. All this said, whatever week you and your hunting partner(s) can collectively work out to head into the elk woods is a good week to go!; just tailor your tactics to what is occurring during that part of the archery elk season. The full moon phase (really, you have bright nights several days up to and several days after full moon unless it’s cloudy) doesn’t impact much IMO. They’ll be singing at night and early in the morning as they move from feed to bed giving away their position and here’s a pearl for you folks…. “many” more elk are killed very close to their bedding area than in any other place in the elk woods each year. Appreciate the response and I agree. The nice thing is that my dad is retired, I have a flexible schedule so I can basically take off whatever chunk I want and I believe my buddy can too. There are so many variables that are out of our control when planning with the biggest being the weather. Ideally, some cooler weather and cloud cover around the full moon would be best but a guy will just never know. I am leaning towards heading out late in the second week of September and hunting that weekend and all the third week.
Funny you mention "weather" Vande; we got 8-10" of snow dumped on us, over the course of a few days, in ID last year around the third week in SEP. Really was both a blessing and a curse both....
So what you're saying is... The more you hunt, the higher your chances of seeing animals... Interesting...
I think the vast majority of the time the people talk about lack of success during a full moon is because they're back at camp by 10 in the morning. Elk are still elk and it's not like they sleep from sunup to sundown and then come out of a coma to rut. My plan of attack is always to hunt away from people so getting away from roads and trails and hunting the times that other people don't go and just keeping stepping all day. That usually equates to not going the same week as everyone else which is always the third week in September. I'd rather hunt the first week of September when the woods are fairly empty and those bulls don't have cows yet for the most part and are establishing the pecking order between each other. That's when I've had the most luck getting elk to come in. That being said, I think September 25th to October 5th is the best. If I could pic one slot to hunt elk that would be it.
Update: Our decision was made easier as one of the guy's actually can't go until the 20th or later so it looks like it will be the last week of september and into early october.
Quote from: vandeman17 on June 29, 2018, 08:39:45 AMUpdate: Our decision was made easier as one of the guy's actually can't go until the 20th or later so it looks like it will be the last week of september and into early october.Funny how things work out sometimes. I think the timing is going to be perfect. Good luck and don't burn yourself out on the morning hunt. Hunt it a bit, slow down and take a break from 10-12 and then get after it a bit from 1230 -2, then a little break if your not hearing anything.
