Elk strategy when not rutting?

[Mightyhunter]

I had a early season bow tag this year and ended up getting a decent bull, but I was wondering what everyone's strategy is when elk are not in full rut?

 

[hibernation]

Cruise until I find some that are, otherwise hunt them more like deer. Glass open country for spot and stalk, or track them in the woods and either still-hunt or ambush. Depends how late in the season, and rifle vs bow.

 

[spike camp]

Ive never paid attention to the rut.
Glass-glass-glass
Works nearly every time.

 

[Slick8]

Get high with quality glass, a nice pad for your rear end and a large cup of patience.

You can cover a lot of country from a good vantage point with quality glass.

 

[BigAntlerGetter]

My clients hate it a lot because they see so much social media of being able to bugle and locate 15 elk 100 yards from the truck. Unusually our first day on a guided hunt is sitting in the glass until we can locate and pinpoint them in a spot where we can get in on them. To many guys rely on bugles to archery hunt. You see it all the time “there wasn’t a single elk in the 10 miles I hiked today cause they weren’t bugling” most them guys walked through areas and pushed them out with out even knowing they were there and burned their entire area for a few days. Even when they are bugling I want to figure out where they’re going and what they’re doing before trying to bum rush them or start screaming challenge bugles. Plus a lot of guys can’t decipher the different bugles bulls use and just scream challenge or locator bugles hoping it will work.

Another thing I see is “had a conversation with a bull but could never catch up” no that bull was simply keeping tabs on you as another bull and just leaving the area. He bugled back to you so you would respond and he kept you at that safe distance. Elk hunting is changing and a lot of the social media stuff doesn’t show the bad just the good making it seem like elk hunting is so easy. Plus a lot of high end influencers dub in more bugles and stuff to show more excitement.


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[Indian Summer]

Switch to rifle tactics. Find vantage points and be there super early and stay till dark glassing.

When all else fails, hunt them like white tail deer. You wouldn’t be the first guy to kill an elk from a tree stand.

 

[hibernation]

My clients hate it a lot because they see so much social media of being able to bugle and locate 15 elk 100 yards from the truck. Unusually our first day on a guided hunt is sitting in the glass until we can locate and pinpoint them in a spot where we can get in on them. To many guys rely on bugles to archery hunt. You see it all the time “there wasn’t a single elk in the 10 miles I hiked today cause they weren’t bugling” most them guys walked through areas and pushed them out with out even knowing they were there and burned their entire area for a few days.

I'm definitely guilty of this, but it's tough in areas that just aren't conducive to glassing. I hunt pretty steep, thick timber, you get real limited places to glass. Usually just small openings on a hillside and only a small section from any one spot. So during archery season, I definitely rely on bugles as my first strategy. After that, it just turns into working the timber slowly, getting on herds the old-fashioned way and either stalking or sitting.

Even when they are bugling I want to figure out where they’re going and what they’re doing before trying to bum rush them or start screaming challenge bugles. Plus a lot of guys can’t decipher the different bugles bulls use and just scream challenge or locator bugles hoping it will work.

Another thing I see is “had a conversation with a bull but could never catch up” no that bull was simply keeping tabs on you as another bull and just leaving the area. He bugled back to you so you would respond and he kept you at that safe distance.

This is great stuff. I started having much better success once I learned this, a lot of the time when you catch a bull bugling in the morning, he's got zero interest and is just sounding off while he follows his cows to bed. I used to waste a lot of time trying to set up and call these bulls instead of quietly dogging them. Same goes for bugling too aggressively, too early, and too often.

Elk hunting is changing and a lot of the social media stuff doesn’t show the bad just the good making it seem like elk hunting is so easy. Plus a lot of high end influencers dub in more bugles and stuff to show more excitement.

Yeah, a lot of people new to elk hunting get really misled by watching too much hunting media. What you see on hunting shows is what films well, not necessarily what's more effective. And what sells more products and services.

No one wants to watch a guy sitting over a wallow or elk trail, or still-hunting timber, or stalking a feeding herd, they want the screaming match and excitement. It's harder to film and there's not much to sell there either, hard to have constant podcasts and videos about "be quieter and pay better attention".