CO archery elk

[Dsmiley49]

I'm living here and drew an either sex tag. I've been doing some scouting and seeing alot of cattle up high as well as down low right now. How do they affect elk movement when we get closer to the rut?

 

[weekender7]

Cattle don't have much affect on them but you could encounter cowboys rounding up cattle come September. As long as the area is not over grazed, and there is still grass for the elk, you should be OK.

 

[ramsdude47]

Everyone will tell you the cattle don’t matter, but every inch of 41 that I have walked that had signs of cattle had no signs of elk.

 

[bsshaver]

^ What he said. Find the grass and you’ll find the elk. They do not like the competition, especially earlier in the season. Just my experience.


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[bsshaver]

….and over the past 5-6 years overgrazing has been an issue where i hunt.


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[hobbes]

I don't like hunting around cattle but if there are elk there, I'll deal with it. I've been in elk with cattle nearby. I've also not found elk where cattle were but as stated above I think it was because the grass was not plentiful.

Sheep, on the other hand, are a plague. Whether it's the dogs or the vaqueros keeping them, the elk seem to vanish.

 

[cnelk]

Call the forest service office for that grazing allotment. Ask when the cattle need to be off.
Also ask the drift direction. Most places the FS will make the ranchers alternate years on which way they graze. Find out what area they started and where they end up

 

[dg96]

I try to avoid cattle if possible but sometimes the elk are just in the same area. I have stalked in on a heard of elk with cattle around and didn’t have to worry about being silent, so that could be one advantage.
Some of the cattle are more spooky than the elk though. I bumped a group of cows that blew out an entire hillside.

 

[Next Ridge]

Will depend on the area and cattle density also. I’ve had elk in the same area but there wasn’t that many cattle, probably a couple dozen that couldn’t be caught up yet. Some areas I hunt the two just wouldn’t be in the same features so they coexist ok

 

[Jaquomo]

There is a density threshold where elk will either tolerate or avoid cattle. This is especially true where there are limited water sources. IME, elk don't like waterholes that are "cowed-up". Lots of flies, nasty water with cow poop in it. But I've also experienced elk feeding right along with cattle if there aren't too many cows.

That said, when cattle are moved off, elk usually return fairly soon. The problem is when they are supposed to have them off by Sept 1, and they are still there late in the month. A few years ago I was hunting the WY Range when this happened. Hunters reported them to USFS but nothing happened. So one guy scattered a whole box of roofing nails at the entrance to the ranch driveway. Didn't make them move the cattle though.

 

[Lone Duck]

Lots of good info.

 

[Dsmiley49]

Thanks everyone! The 3 units combined give me a lot of ground to cover while scouting. I'll keep at it and use these observations to my advantage.

In my understanding, I should be focused on deep dark timber and less on the quakeys?

 

[Phaseolus]

Thanks everyone! The 3 units combined give me a lot of ground to cover while scouting. I'll keep at it and use these observations to my advantage.

In my understanding, I should be focused on deep dark timber and less on the quakeys?

Quakies and oakbrush adjacent to dark timber. Live in Palisade, hunting the same units.

 

[Gman12]

Where I hunt the elk and cattle live together and interact every day. I have never seen elk act negatively towards cattle. I have seen beef calves attempt to play with elk calves near water. I did see a 5 pt bull threaten a beef cow with his antlers one time. Most times the cattle can pick you out easier than the elk.

 

[Tahoma]

Cows in my experience are usually pretty passive. Sheep on the other hand are impossible to hunt through, they will bust you and light an entire drainage up screaming and running around.