coues krazy Report post Posted September 1, 2011 I have noticed the last few years is the lack of cows, at least in the areas I have been hunting/scouting. I think we kill to many to balance the heard. I still see cows but its almost like the bull to cow ratio is out of wack big time, in this age of oportunity this is backwards thinking on the part of G&F. the last time I checked you need cows to produce young elk, but you don't need lots of bulls just the right amount. I see lots of bulls almost half in half. with that being said, I sometimes think that if there were more cows the rut would be better. what else would drive males crazy than a lot of females that needed to mate. If I was at a place that had only males I would not be to excited either. just my .2 I have to respectfully disagree. The more bulls in the herd, the more competition for the cows available imo. It sure makes it more fun to hunt when a herd bull has to continually fight off satellite bulls. The bugeling gets intense. Gain jmo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ultramag Report post Posted September 1, 2011 I have noticed the last few years is the lack of cows, at least in the areas I have been hunting/scouting. I think we kill to many to balance the heard. I still see cows but its almost like the bull to cow ratio is out of wack big time, in this age of oportunity this is backwards thinking on the part of G&F. the last time I checked you need cows to produce young elk, but you don't need lots of bulls just the right amount. I see lots of bulls almost half in half. with that being said, I sometimes think that if there were more cows the rut would be better. what else would drive males crazy than a lot of females that needed to mate. If I was at a place that had only males I would not be to excited either. just my .2 I have to respectfully disagree. The more bulls in the herd, the more competition for the cows available imo. It sure makes it more fun to hunt when a herd bull has to continually fight off satellite bulls. The bugeling gets intense. Gain jmo I agree with that as well..Its just where I have been the last few years I have seen more bulls than cows. and that should not be the case.....just saying....It might just be my luck though.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZBAR Report post Posted September 1, 2011 The rut will happen when it happens! You just have to be smart & adjust according to the situation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alpinebullwinkle Report post Posted September 1, 2011 I have noticed the last few years is the lack of cows, at least in the areas I have been hunting/scouting. I think we kill to many to balance the heard. I still see cows but its almost like the bull to cow ratio is out of wack big time, in this age of oportunity this is backwards thinking on the part of G&F. the last time I checked you need cows to produce young elk, but you don't need lots of bulls just the right amount. I see lots of bulls almost half in half. with that being said, I sometimes think that if there were more cows the rut would be better. what else would drive males crazy than a lot of females that needed to mate. If I was at a place that had only males I would not be to excited either. just my .2 I have hunted or helped family members and other friends on almost every September archery elk hunt since 1999. What I have noticed in unit #27 is the hunting experience is about 50% the quality of what it was in 1999. IMHO our elk herd peaked about that year. After that the wolves have really taken a toll on unit #27 elk (both cows and big bulls). AGF have acknowledged that the wolves might have cost us 30-40% of the former tag count for the unit. Also I believe AGF has issued too many cow elk hunting permits. Herd sizes are definitely down and AGF has also acknowledged that possibly too many cow permits have been issued and the herd size is now less than targeted (unless you are talking to a rancher). I have complained about August cow hunts as many times I see two week old calves (from the second heat in October) that lose their mothers in the hunt. I'm for doing away with the wolves and August cow hunts in unit #27. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azhuntnut Report post Posted September 1, 2011 I have hunted the early hunt, or helped on one every year for the last 10 years. The bulls have always been bugling during this time, and sometimes better than others. I really think it has alot to do with pressure in the area, or even calling technique. I took a little video last year a couple days before the hunt started. I was able to get these bulls going with just a few cow calls and they kept it going from there. I was there from the 7th until the 22nd, and they never stopped bugling during that time. Leave the Hootchie Momma's back at camp and your success will go up when calling for bulls. David Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
