Hi, I drew the multi season elk tag this year and will be taking next week off, normally I hunt archery season. Looking at the forecast I’m seeing plenty of rain coming.
What are tactics people have used on here to be successful in western Washington during rainy conditions during modern rifle? Besides not hunting in Washington 🤣. I imagine getting to a clear cut or anywhere with feed before sunrise and right before sunset is optimal, but what about the remainder of the day? My assumption is unless cows are going through a second estrus, hiking through timber and making noise may likely bump elk out of there, which eliminates calling.
Any advice/tips would be appreciated. Good luck to those getting out there!
Unlike deer, it seems like elk tend to hunker down in the rainy/stormy weather.
When I was younger, we really liked hunting in the pouring rain. Rain covers your sound and your scent. And it seemed like we had a lot more elk encounters because of that. You can end up right on top of them without them knowing you're coming. Sometimes, that works out. Sometimes it results in just seeing elk running every which-way.
More recently I have had better success on sunny days because the elk seem to be moving around and feeding more. I'm sure I know more about elk behavior and move more slowly than I used to. So probably don't need rain to cover my mistakes like I might have once upon a time.
Clearcuts can be ok and not a bad place to find a little legal branch bull with a herd. But by this time of year, for the most part, the mature bulls are not with the herds and instead they are hiding in the deep, dark and nasty stuff. So if you are looking for a bull, that's where I would go.
Calling isn't necessarily a go-to, but occasionally you can get lucky with them. It's not a big part of my tactics but I do carry my cow call with me. I'll use it here and there if I think I'm close or I'm about to turn and start going in another direction. I have shot one bull because of it.
I tend to hunt timber all of modern- you're in the game all day if you're roaming in areas where you know they live. Just move slow and keep the wind in your face. Lots of pressure in modern, so I don't love the rat-race of clearcuts and if you're just still hunting timber, there's a reasonable chance that pressure from other hunters will move the elk to you.
Wear good gear! I hunt a lot and the only two days I can remember coming out of the woods early because conditions forced me out were during modern rifle elk in Western Washington- 35° and pouring down rain. Good luck!
