|
Elk Country...These are the good old days
ElkCamp.com is America’s #1 online resource for elk hunters.
If your passion is similar to my passion...elk hunting, then you have come to the right place.
Our Focus: Since 1996 ElkCamp.com has had a single focus, to educate and serve elk hunters. Beginning in March 2007 we decided to redirect our efforts back to our roots. As such we have rebranded ElkCamp.com to ElkCamp.com - Answers For Elk Hunters focusing on providing our readers with real “meat & potato” answers to their elk hunting questions. We make every effort to thoroughly research the answers and information that we share here at ElkCamp.com. It is not just the opinion or experience of one or a select few. We are the online leaders in the “how to” business of elk hunting. We have come a long way in this effort from a very humble beginning. Today ElkCamp.com is one of the premier elk hunting websites on the Internet. In 2006 ElkCamp.com hosted more than 9 Million visits. If you are looking for a one-stop shop for elk hunting information, this is it.
Our Business: We are committed to making your next elk hunting adventure a success. At ElkCamp.com, our highest priorities are informed readers, satisfied clients, and successful elk hunters. You are important to us and you can expect us to go the extra mile. If you would like to speak with us about planning a future elk hunt in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, or Canada, or if you would like more information about one of our outfitters or one of our private ranches for elk hunting, please E-mail us.
Our Desire: As always ElkCamp.com remains a place to hang out, build friendships, and share your own knowledge with others about this great adventure known as elk hunting. ElkCamp.com is about giving back some of the knowledge with which we have been blessed. Thanks for the opportunity.
Feel free to browse our Web site for more information about elk hunting and elk country. If you have any questions or would like to contact us, please e-mail us at elkmaster@elkcamp.com.
See you around the campfire,
........................................................................................................................................
Answers For Elk Hunters
Q.(NEW)What’s the latest on enforcement on the illegal use of motorized vehicles on federal land in Colorado?
A. On March 20, 2008, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed into law, Colorado House Bill 1069 which empowers CDOW officers to enforce motor vehicle regulations on federal lands in Colorado. Previously this job was done by a limited number of NFS officers. Click here for more details.
Q.(NEW)Jay, I usually hunt early September in order to have a better opportunity to get into bulls before they cow up. The problem is I seem to have trouble finding them, help?
A. During the dog days of early September, the high daytime temps will usually keep the elk hold up on the dark timber to avoid the heat and the flies. They typically begin heading back to these bedding areas before sunrise. If you don’t want to hunt them in the dark stuff, you have to find out where they are going into it and be in place as they come back up the mountain. Otherwise, you have to go into the dark timber for the elk. On those hot days elk can stay in the timber from before sun up until after sunset.
Q.(NEW)Jay, how do I tell the differences between bull and cow elk droppings when I’m hunting or scouting? How fresh do droppings need to be to indicate that elk are in an area?
A. The Taste...just kidding. Usually cow droppings are tapered on both ends, whereas bull droppings usually have a dimpled-in look to one end. Also, and this is a general rule, if you are seeing droppings scattered rather than clumped, that can be an indicator of elk under stress. Fresh droppings are usually soft and green if the elk are grazing. If they have switched to browse, they may be soft and brown. If the droppings are black, the elk are very likely gone.
Q.(NEW)Jay, what do you think about using scent management clothing products for elk?
A. If you have a fresh set they work great. If your gear is saturated with odor as can be the case after a few days of hard hunting, then it will not provide you with the same level of protection that it did when it was fresh. A sponge will only absorb so much. Just because you are wearing scent management clothing or using some sort of cover scent, don’t let your guard down and forget that you must always know where the wind is and use it to your advantage. There is no substitute for hunting smart.
Q. Do bull elk bugle as a challenge to other bulls?
A. Actually bugling is a form of male advertisement. When a bull elk bugles he is communicating to all the cow elk within hearing range that he is available and he is “the guy” that they are looking for. He is also verbally staking his claim to his harem and the territory. In the elk mating ritual, it is the cow who chooses with which bull she will mate, thus the bull is continually reinforcing his importance and dominance within the herd.
Q. Is there a rule of thumb about when elk will begin to move down the mountain due to adverse weather?
A. Elk are opportunistic in their feeding and they live by what has been termed, The Law of Least Effort. By this I mean they will not work any harder to acquire good nutrition than they have to. They they will go just about anywhere in their search for highly nutritional forage sometimes moving as much as ten miles in a single day. Once the winter snows at higher elevations, where elk have lived during the summer, begin to make getting to the feed more trouble than the elk believe it is worth, the elk will begin to move down the mountain in search of easier to obtain high quality nutrition. I have found that a good rule of thumb is that when the snows begin to come up to an elk’s belly, they will begin looking for forage in areas with less snow. For an average cow elk, this may be around 18 inches. For a bull, 24-30 inches of snow will usually push them to lower elevations.
For more information on elk, elk hunting, and elk country check out the rest of our website. You can also find a tremendous wealth of information in our books, Elk Hunting 101, Elk Hunting 201, and Elk Hunting 301 and many of the other books on this great outdoor adventure featured here on our site. If you cannot find the answer to your question here on our site or in one of these resources, ask our loyal Hunter’s Forum members or E-mail me at: elkmaster@elkcamp.com.
(NEW) An Elk Hunt of A Lifetime
 My story may be more humorous than exciting. Except for three plus years in the Air Force I have lived my 61 years in the state of Oklahoma. I have killed my share of 120-130 class whitetails but had always dreamed of getting to go on an elk hunt, and maybe if I was really lucky be able to get one. You may not be aware but in Oklahoma we only have a draw for elk hunts in the Wichita Mountains NWR and every year for the past 15 years I have applied. For those past 15 years I have been one of those 35,000 or so that haven’t been lucky enough to be drawn (only 28 bull tags this year).
In 2005 my wife asked me if I would like to have a guided elk hunt for my 60th birthday. Well, you can imagine how long I had to think about that before a resounding yes came out of my mouth. Through a friend who lives in New Mexico, I connected with a guide that had access to over 10,000 acres of private land. I spent most of 2007 exercising as much as I could to be prepared for my guided hunt in New Mexico. On September 19 I connected with my guide and started my hunt the following morning.
The first day we stalked and called in five different bulls within reasonable shooting range. Of course with my lack of knowledge and experience I figured that all of them were shooters. My guide however kept telling “not big enough”. So on day two I didn’t ask I just looked at him and he would shake his head no. Over our lunch break I told him that I would have shot any of those we had seen and he laughed and said “trust me, when we see the right one you will know it.”
Late that afternoon we stalked our way through two canyons hearing some bugling, but my guide could not get any bulls to come to his cow call. We decided to work our way up onto a ridge that overlooked a nice 40-acre meadow and discovered a bull with 40 cows. This time when I looked at my guide he just grinned and nodded. My shot was less than 150 yards and the bull fell less than 10 yards from where he was hit. I spent the next 20 minutes pinching myself to make certain I was really fulfilling a long time dream and not just dreaming. We spent the rest of the evening getting him out of the meadow and back to the skinning shed while listening to the bugles of the other bulls in the valley. I can say without hesitation this was the most exciting hunting experience of my life. Maybe some day I can do that again but the memories of this one will last a long time. - Dennis Farmer
|
