Westside Muzzy Elk Habitat Help and Rut Help

[Buckhunter28]

Hey all, as this next week begins I am full of  anticipation for muzzy elk season to start! It will be my first year hunting it, I’ve got bulls and cows located, I’m excited, and I have been relentlessly practicing my calling!

Which leads ti my question: for those that have hunted muzzy elk for Rosies before and know it better than I do, will the elk still be talking at the beginning of the season? I’m very hopeful to be able to use that communication to locate the animals but want to know if I will be doing more damage than good letting out, say a locator bugle at the crack of dawn. Thanks in advance and good luck to everyone this season!

[MADMAX]

I’ve found it’s better call a little and glass a lot

[lewy]

Depends on region, pressure, weather, etc but yes generally early October is good

[Buckhunter28]

Thanks for the replies! I’ll test the waters with it and see how/if they are responding but I’m glad to know that there’s a good chance they’ll still be talking!

[Kingofthemountain83]

I've had better luck using a cow call than a bugle during muzzy elk... Sometimes a bugle has worked to locate then shut up and sneak in... Then cow call them in... Good luck...

[PsoasHunter]

Rosie's often come in silent, so they may be coming into your calls but you won't know if till you hear the sticks cracking. I agree that cow calls are effective.

They are amazing at pinpointing your location based on your calls. I'll do a calling series, then move 20 yards off to a concealed spot wherei have a good vantage of the spot i was calling from.

[Buckhunter28]

Thank you guys, this is very valuable information and makes me feel that much more confident heading into season, and super grateful I’ve mostly practiced my estrus whine and locator bugle!! If there’s two calls I’m confident at, it’s those!
Noted to slightly move my location into cover after calling, it is really amazing how well those animals can pinpoint the PRECISE location where a sound originated from
More information in these couple posts than I feel like I found scouring the last 15 years of topics in the forums regarding this, I hope to be sharing some updates on how things go!

[Buckhunter28]

One other question to for you fellas, and I know the obvious answer to this is that I should know the answer through pre-season scouting but a new baby born in July has really limited that!

A couple of dandy sheds I picked up are what really fueled my fire to hunt for elk. I picked them up this spring in a huge old growth timber flat that is the bottom of a small valley, with some good swamps scattered within it. This flat portion of the valley falls off eventually into a steep hillside that runs down to a big grassy wetland with a stream that runs through it. The old growth stand is situated at about 1800’ elevation, the grassy wetland(to the south) around 1600’. I’ve seen elk sign in the spring in every portion of this, including the west facing hillside that runs north to south that forms one side of this valley.
The the north of this valley is a 3rd ridge that runs east to west that “caps” it, and on the backside of that steep ridge is a big clear cut that’s on private land. The south facing slope of this that is on public where I can hunt also held elk sign. I haven’t been in here since the end of May though, which leads to my question, will the elk even be in here still? It was littered with fresh sign in May. This overall area that I have explored is about 900 acres. The old growth stand(which I really like hunting in) is again at 1800’, the ridge tops that form this valley are about 2200’, and the grassy wetland at the bottom is 1600’. I feel like the old growth has everything elk would need. Food, water, cover, shelter, etc, so in my head I’ve assumed they will be there still but I would love to get some second opinions.
What does their daily routine look like in October typically, what habitat do they prefer, etc.
Thanks in advance!!

[blackymaster20]

I've called in 3 bulls in the last 3 years. All came into cow calls and only one started bugling after my cow calls. Remember everyone and there brother has been buggling for 3 weeks.

[Buckhunter28]

That’s a good reminder that they are probably pretty exhausted on hearing false leads on bugles/I imagine some pretty awful sounding bugles lol!!! I’m definitely planning on primarily cow calling/calf in distress

Do you seem to find that the bulls in October are where you find sheds in the spring?

[PsoasHunter]

Is there really anything anyone could say to make you not hunt this? Lol. Obviously you should go check it out and find out for yourself, how could you not? Sounds like a great spot.

The elk are where they are. Some migrate, some don't. Pressure in archery season moves them, or it doesn't. You won't know till you check it out. But if you've found a bunch of sign, yeah, go. Good luck!

[Buckhunter28]

There’s absolutely not a single thing someone could say to make me not go, not one lol! I just wanted to gather as much info from the elk whisperers of the world to arm myself with before heading in

I’ve heard that statement many a times in my life, “the elk/deer are where you find them”, no matter what I will definitely be giving it my all for the 7 days of the season and hope to learn a lot while doing it! It does appear to be a really good spot, and if I don’t find elk it’s a spot I know will hold blacktail without a doubt in my mind!

[Roslyn Rambler]

Raking & scraping is underappreciated. It's the first thing I do before cow calls & bugles to try to pinpoint vocal bulls.

[lewy]

Only one way to find out, get in there. Make sure you approach it with the wind in your favor even if it takes a few hours to swing around. BTW lets see these sheds!

[Buckhunter28]

I found them 120 yards apart as the crow flies!! If the other side were identical on the 5 point, with a 40” spread credit he would be a 306” bull as a 5! The 6 point would be around 324” by our measurements! The main beam in the 5 is 50” and the 6 is 52”, each horn weighs 12 pounds and some change, true public land giants!