ELK ESSENTIALS
From fitness to scouting to calling, everything you need to know to outsmart a wary bugler
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It pays to search for elk resting in their remote hideaways#5 Get off the beaten path
Elk are generally secretive and live most of their lives in remote locations. They will feed in open agricultural fields, but often that’s only early and late in the day, or under the cover of darkness once hunting pressure increases. Otherwise, they’ll travel long distances from roads and wide-open fields to their bedding areas among trees, where they can safely rest away from people. They’ll often be on their feet for a few hours after sunrise, and again before sunset.
While sitting over a feeding field can be productive, it often provides only a short window of opportunity. For all-day opportunities, hike a few kilometres into the forest or pastureland. That gives you a chance to find elk in their hidden-away sanctuaries, where they’re typically more relaxed.
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#6 Find a water source
Elk often bed close to a water source, which they’ll visit early and late each day. During hot weather, they may head to the water at various times throughout the day. While elk will drink and wade in lakes and large sloughs, they most often visit out-of-the-way freshwater ponds and springs, which are my favourite places to look for buglers. The telltale sign that elk are using a watering hole will be a series of trails leading to and from it, along with tracks in the surrounding mud.
When hunting near water, it’s wise to assume elk aren’t far off. To avoid spooking them, I always approach a watering area with the wind in my face, even if it means circling a long way around.