I have to say the best two elk I have eaten were the lead cows I shot. I heard somewhere that lead cows are ususaly barren...they can't have calves. Because of this they are larger than herd cows as all their energy goes to them, not a calf once a year. They also have a lot fewer hormones raging during the breeding (hunting) season, which contributes to the flavor of the meat. They were fork tender and not the slightest gamey flavor to them. If you have a crack at one...take it!
Ya the most experience I had with one, all the other elk in a group of about 8 were interested in the one bugle we made and started coming in, two little calves were the first to come bouncing in so my buddy took one, but up higher on the hill was a cow that was nearly as big as the 6x7 she was standing next to and didnt really seem interested in anything than where the kids were going....
of course rifle wouldve been a done deal!
On a more serious note and I'm notsure if this was already covered but you could get between their feeding and bedding area, and set up an ambush on the lead cow.
Seems like when theyre getting pushed around they change it up about every 36 hrs....anyone else notice that? night, morning, night, ...gone 3 miles away.
