Typical Day for Late Season Bull

[JohnGradyCole]

Hi 

 

I'll be backpack hunting in a wilderness area for a late season bull hunt in the coming weeks.  This is my second late season bull hunt and my first one was a tough and I didn't see any elk (but had a great time!).  

I'm somewhat new to hunting and most of my hunting has been for whitetail down near Tucson, so I fee like during my previous bull elk hunt, I was treating my approach a little too much like coues hunting. 

 

So - my question is - What does a typical day of pursuing late season bulls look like?  For example, if a glass an area in the early morning and don't see anything (or don't see sign), should I quickly move on and go to the next spot? Should I revisit that spot in the evening or rule it out entirely?  Is there any downtime during the day like on a coues hunt? Or should I just plan on continuing moving throughout the day and checking out as much heck holes as I can find? Do I run a greater risk of bumping elk if I'm hiking from area to area during midday?

 

Thanks! I just want to be the most productive as I can during the hunt and have the best chance for success. 

[roninflag]

what unit?

[GJMauro12]

We glass mornings and sit in the evenings. 

[Flatlander]

My typical day on a late bull hunt starts with glassing feeding areas and travel corridors in the AM, usually from distance. I am not necessarily in position to take a shot but more aligning myself for a mid morning pursuit of bedded elk.

After opening day I expect elk to be out of the open areas and headed to bed by sun up.  If I locate bulls I watch them until they bed and plan a pursuit. Either attempting to shoot them in their beds or ambush them at last light when they begin to move back towards feeding areas. If I am ambushing I set up on the same travel corridors I saw the museum the AM.

If I haven’t located anything then once the sun is up I switch to glassing bedding areas and thick cover. Elk will move around some, and they’re big so they can be located at any time of the day. Sometimes they even water midday.

In the evening I am setting up on areas where I expect to see elk emerge from their beds. Evening time is a challenging time to kill a bull, because recovery is a problem. Even in November leaving a bull overnight can lead to spoilage. So be aware of what you are signing up to when you pull that trigger.

Good luck amigo! Be sure to report back and take lots of pics.

[JohnGradyCole]

26 minutes ago, Flatlander said:

My typical day on a late bull hunt starts with glassing feeding areas and travel corridors in the AM, usually from distance. I am not necessarily in position to take a shot but more aligning myself for a mid morning pursuit of bedded elk.

After opening day I expect elk to be out of the open areas and headed to bed by sun up.  If I locate bulls I watch them until they bed and plan a pursuit. Either attempting to shoot them in their beds or ambush them at last light when they begin to move back towards feeding areas. If I am ambushing I set up on the same travel corridors I saw the museum the AM.

If I haven’t located anything then once the sun is up I switch to glassing bedding areas and thick cover. Elk will move around some, and they’re big so they can be located at any time of the day. Sometimes they even water midday.

In the evening I am setting up on areas where I expect to see elk emerge from their beds. Evening time is a challenging time to kill a bull, because recovery is a problem. Even in November leaving a bull overnight can lead to spoilage. So be aware of what you are signing up to when you pull that trigger.

Good luck amigo! Be sure to report back and take lots of pics.

Awesome, great advice. Much appreciated. 

[JohnGradyCole]

35 minutes ago, roninflag said:

what unit?

6b

[roninflag]

Flatlander said it

[azbirdhunter88]

You’ll see plenty of elk there 

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

If you use onx I can send you pins for 2 bulls locations as of 2 weeks ago. 

[JohnGradyCole]

On 11/17/2018 at 7:03 PM, MULEPACKHUNTER said:

If you use onx I can send you pins for 2 bulls locations as of 2 weeks ago. 

Wow really?  I do use Onx. Would be sweet and really nice of you to share if you're still willing!  This will be my first bull harvested, and only my second ever elk, so I'm really just looking for any bull. 

[AZbowhntr]

I have had a couple late season rifle tags and treat them pretty much like I hunt coues deer.  Set up and glass feeding areas at first light.  The good thing about elk is they stick out like a sore thumb.  I have seen elk at several miles away while glassing.  Depending on where they head to bed we will either work in close or come up with a plan for the afternoon and catch them when they leave the bedding areas.  I have shot both of my bulls in the evening and like Flatlander said you have to be carefull with spoilage.  I lost some meat once because of it.