Bulls Located, Westside Advice/Tactic Tips

[Buckhunter28]

Hey all, I’ll open with I’m NOT looking for spots, GMUs, anything like that; I have an area I blacktail hunt pretty religiously and have always seen elk sign in but never any elk, in person or on my cameras, but that has now changed. In early July I had 3 different 6 point bulls show up, just one time, and that was that.
With the amount of sign I’ve seen in there I know they frequent the area enough to leave their mark.
I’m looking for advice, tips, tactics from you fellers that have Rosie hunting figured out. I’ve never elk hunted much/harvested an elk but have been wanting to get into it.
The terrain where I got them on camera is a relatively flat plateau, and about 20-30 year old timber that was thinned a couple years back, real open and not super ferny. It’s bordered by some denser ground cover timber patches(big ferns and brushy), a few marshes, and a small creek drainage that runs eventually to private land not too far away and in the direction that the bulls came from on my camera. Also in that direction and filling the drainage is what would be the “edge” of the plateau and it gets pretty steep. They were headed “uphill” (again, relatively flat), and only passed through the one time.
What season would you guys select to hunt them, where would you set up more cameras, and tactics, tips, advice? Any help at all is appreciate! Picture of the biggest of the bulls for attention and some hype!

[Boss .300 winmag]

Elk are where you find them.😉

[WapitiTalk1]

BH28, thank u for the great pics, sone dandy bulls. Typical bachelor bull off season behavior.  U need to target the “cow” location in the general area right now thru August, that’s where the bulls will be come September.

[Buckhunter28]

Thanks Wapiti and Boss for the replies! Finding the cows has now become priority and figuring out where these guys are spending the rest of their time. Do Rosie’s have a massive span they travel/live within day to day like Rocky Mt Elk do, or do they have a tighter area they use since their feed/water/bedding areas aren’t as spread out?

[blackveltbowhunter]

Are you getting consistent pictures? It sounds like they are passing thru your location and not using it for feed or bed, I would start by trying to locate a more "core" area. The marshy area  would be a start for some feed and the thicker brush or benches for bed. See if you can establish some sort of consistent use.

In my experience Rosie's are not glued to a small area like say a blacktail buck, but do typically frequent the same area consistently until something forces them to move. Usually pressure, or logging changes on timber property seem to he a couple that will move them aways. Herd growth as well, tho that hasn't been an issue in 20 years.

If hunting the rut, bulls are territorial and will often stick to a single drainage, the country is thick and absorbs sound. Rosie's and rockies are both elk, the difference is the terrain they spend all their time in creates different habits for each species, at least that what I think.

What kind of pressure do you expect? Do you have experience with archery equipment or muzzy? If you find some cows that you are pretty certain will remain unmolested, OR  get a solid  pattern on the bulls, you could get lucky but otherwise I would probably put my eggs in trying to narrow down the recovery zone of the bulls during gun season since you said you have sign during the blacktail season you might already be close. It doesnt take much to hide a solo bull elk.

[Buckhunter28]

Thank for the detailed info and tips blackvelt!

I’m not getting consistent pictures, just a pass through once or twice a month is all, they’re definitely not frequenting the trail my camera is on and that’s my next focus point, as you said finding the “core” area and finding some cows.

I have a bow and muzzy but am pretty novice and my work schedule is going to force me to hunt modern season sadly, otherwise I’d be getting privy again with my bow and calls, I used to call bulls in on Hancock between muzzy and rifle season for photography; do you think if there’s a late rut the first weekend of modern some cow calls could elicit any response? My only reason for asking is we experienced that on a rifle tag my dad had a few years ago on Hancock. My eggs are definitely going to be in that basket, and I have some experience with modern elk from a rifle draw tag my dad had 2 years ago, we located bulls and I’ll use that knowledge of the terrain they were using at that time and their habits, but again I’m a novice to elk.

This year will probably be more learning than anything, of their habits and area they reside most in and finding recovery zones, it’ll be 99% luck if I harvest one!
I anticipate minimal to no pressure, the area is walk in only and not actively logged, I’ve never gotten pictures of another human in the area and never seen a boot track or tire marks at the gate.
Thank you all again and please keep it coming, I’m in it for the long game with this area and if I harvest a bull in the next 5 years I’ll be over the moon! I’m all for long wet walks in nasty brush with my rifle!

[Martinhunter]

I would definitely hunt archery first choice or muzzy as my 2nd choice. In September those bulls will be where the cows are as others have said. At least now you know there's bulls in the general area, now focus on finding the cows. Once you find the cows, you can bet they'll still be very close to where you find them come September as Rosy's don't move very far. Good luck!