Are cows easier to hunt?

[mad_angler]

I've only been elk hunting twice. So I know next to nothing... I had cow only tags both times.

But my limited experience seems to indicate that it is harder to hunt cows than bulls, especially "Any bulls"...

First year, we had a spike that was a pretty easy shot. We saw him two different days.

Second year( Oct 10), I had easy shots at 2 nice bulls. Later that evening, I had easy shots at 4 different bulls.
I did finally find a herd of about 40 animals including cows, calfs, and nice bulls.

I figure that there are isolated bulls scattered all over the countryside. Spikes, small bulls and satellite bulls are off on their own and presumably easier to find.

BUT... cows are generally in one big herd. If you find the herd, you'll find the cows. If you don't find that one herd, you wont see any cows...


So it all that nonsense? Or are cows harder to hunt?

 

[StupidLightweight]

Cows are harder to hunt if you have a cow tag. If you have a bull-only tag, cows are easier to hunt. God help anyone with an either sex tag. In that scenario, elk can be as elusive as Sasquatch.

 

[hereinaz]

You saw bulls because you had a cow tag. Get a bull tag and you will see only cows.

 

[hereinaz]

Cows are harder to hunt if you have a cow tag. If you have a bull-only tag, cows are easier to hunt. God help anyone with an either sex tag. In that scenario, elk can be as elusive as Sasquatch.

Beat me to it, lol.

 

[180ls1]

Depends on the season, unit and weapon.

If we're painting with a broad brush, they tend to be easier. Either way, it's a lot of fun and good eating, get every elk tag you can!

 

[robtattoo]

Cows are harder to hunt if you have a cow tag. If you have a bull-only tag, cows are easier to hunt. God help anyone with an either sex tag. In that scenario, elk can be as elusive as Sasquatch.

9 times.
NINE FRIGGING TIMES this has been the absolute truth for me.

 

[LCguy]

I think it depends on weapon type. It can be a heck of a lot harder getting into Muzzleloader or bow range on a herd of cows than rifle range.

 

[TedO]

Cows gravitate to the best feed in the area, so I think the answer to your question is: it depends on the unit you're hunting, the habitat in that unit, and the current weather pattern.

To elaborate a bit more, if the unit you're hunting has a lot of privately owned irrigated hay pastures that you do not have access to hunt, then harvesting a cow can be extremely difficult, especially during dry climate years. They'll be glued to those irrigated lands. If it's a wet year, the cows will be more dispersed across the landscape, and your harvest odds will be higher.

 

[Chris in TN]

Elk are herd animals and elk herds tend to have way more cows than bulls and once a bull or three has been shot the cows will still be hanging around somewhere and your question is impossible to answer in any meaningful way. It really depends.

I'd much rather have a cow tag if success is my main metric and I don't know any other details of where I'm going.

Having said that I've only been on one cow hunt. The hard part was waiting for one cow to step free of a herd. Cow herds can be like a school of fish, all balled up and unsafe to shoot until one animal steps free, and THAT is the one you'd better shoot, and quick, because if they're spooked she won't stand in the open for more than a second. They know there's safety in the herd.

 

[Sanchez]

Look at odds to draw a tag for a cow hunt. If it is easy to get the tag, it will be hard to get an animal and vice versa.

 

[Ross]

A good area has 25 bulls per 100 cows. As you tend to have 4x+ the number of cows, your opportunity is much higher. They both look for the same thing, food, water, security cover and flat benches. That being said, it is hunting

 

[ProRoad]

Yep, I had a bull and a cow tag this year. Saw none of the above. Nice weather and a full moon doesn't help.

 

[cnelk]

This is what happens when you have a bull only tag

 

[Wrench]

People often think bulls are smarter than cows. It's not common to have an old bull but old cows exist in every herd... and they have seen some shit. An old cow is your enemy because she is the smartest one in the herd.

 

[Wrench]

This is what happens when you have a bull only tag

And this is what happens during your cow season.....

 

[wapitibob]

This year, 4 hours total in a new unit, done.
Prior hunt, 15 minutes after shooting light, done.
Hunt prior to that, 1 day driving around the unit, 1 hour into the 2nd morning, done.
Next year should be about the same.

Quickly becoming my favorite hunt.

 

[5MilesBack]

It can be a heck of a lot harder getting into Muzzleloader or bow range on a herd of cows than rifle range.

I've been 30 yards from the herd while bow hunting many times. Could have shot any one of 10+ cows just about every time. But the herd bull is always on the other side of the cows, and hiding behind them or trees, or both, and won't give you a clear shot.

Kind of funny, one of my buddies had a cow ML tag 4 years ago, and another buddy had the ML bull tag in the same unit. But it was his parent's 60th anniversary that opening weekend, and being Italian.......there was no way he could miss that. As it was, they just about disowned me for not being there. My daughter had the ML cow tag as well.

So my buddy with the cow tag has a 2.5 minute video from opening morning of this 320ish bull that's screaming his head off from 20-50 yards away the entire 2.5 minutes. My buddy with the bull tag would have been there with us if he hadn't had to go to his parent's party. The next day he and I and my daughter went out. My daughter sprained her ankle the day before so decided she didn't want to carry her ML. We're about 1/2 mile from the truck and a couple bulls start bugling further up this draw. My daughter looks at me and says "get after them, I'll just wait for you here". So we took off.

The bulls end up heading the wrong way, and would have been a much longer commitment to go after them, so we went back to grab my daughter. When we get there, she shows us a video of about 30 elk walking past her 40 yards away, with a good 6x6 bull trailing them. Yep Murphy doesn't stop working even when we're in the mountains.

But in general........as long as it's archery season, when I find the bulls.......I find the cows too.

 

[mad_angler]

One more point... I was mostly talking about October rifle hunts...

I can see that cows might be easier than bulls during archery season. if You hear a bull, you pretty much know where there is at least one bull and several cows...

 

[CarterHunt]

They can be. Sure seem like when I'm glassing I turn up a lot more bulls, spikes and raghorns than cows (granted I'm looking for bulls). When I come across cows they are usually in bigger groups, putting them in fewer places on the landscape even if there are more of them. But people hunting lower country or closer to feed likely have the opposite experience.

 

[Ballcap]

In Az I feel it’s easier to hunt bulls IF you can guess the season they rut in. Sometimes it’s archery, sometimes muzzle loader. Or if you’re stubborn like me you can wait 17 years, and counting, for a trophy rifle tag and hope they are still talking when you get it. I also hope I’m not too old to hunt hard when I do get that tag.