Herd hunting tactics (archery)

[solarshooter]

Just got back from a weekend of late season archery hunting. Found the herd on public the first morning, spent the next 1.5 days making repeated attempts to close to archery range and spooking the herd at about 100yds. A friend shot one because we found the herd before light the second morning while they were on the move, and he was able to creep into range without them really noticing him. Only other shot opportunities our group had were when the herd was moving and happened to walk within range, but these happened very fast and no shots were able to be taken. My assessment is that with so many eyes, and a herd that positions themselves in somewhat open terrain, it is essentially impossible to sneak within bow range. Best opportunity seems to be when they are on the move, so maybe some kind of coordinated push to flush them towards a shooter would be the best method? Curious what insights anyone may have for this particular hunting scenario. Thanks!

 

[180ls1]

It depends. Everyone's favorite answer lol.

You can try what you mentioned and if that does not work. Wait for the thermals/winds to stabilize and try calling and/or sneaking in.

 

[Gerbdog]

If you can find a good ambush spot you think they will move through that's a great move. I have done the flush and kill technique before, my first elk when i was young in NM was killed with a muzzle loader using this technique, they were bedded in an area that we couldnt sneak into so i went up high where we thought they'd go, my brother started moving from the bottom and they flushed right past me. A muzzle loader is different than a bow though, just make sure you can make a good shot with that bow, i personally dont have high confidence with my skill i'd make a great shot on a moving elk, and great shots are required with archery equipment vs elk. Big tough animals.

 

[Wrench]

You either ambush at the bedding or feeding location or you sneak on the bedding location a couple of hours after they bed. You need most of them to be dozing and you must target the outliers. Slow and cautious wins this race. If you can get inside 50....there's a good probability that they will get up to ruminate after an hour or two.

Pray to sweet baby jesus that the wind hold up.

 

[solarshooter]

They generally seem less alert when they're on the move too, more interested in feeding, harder to spot movement, and more noise cover. So that really does seem like the way to do it.

Another confounding factor that made stalking in close really tough was about 4" of extremely crunchy frozen snow on the ground.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Agree with playing the wind and setting yourself up for ambush. For short range hunting I almost always locate the herd and then predict where they are going to be, I don't chase them where they currently are.

Watch them for a while, pay attention to the wind and thermals, and then make a move for where you think they will be. Very light and sporadic cow calls work for me when getting in closer to try and blend in. Stay low, use trees and vegetation as cover, their legs moving through the brush give them away. Move WAY slower than you think you need to, don't rush a bad shot with bow and arrow. Sometimes not spooking them by taking a shot and live to hunt the herd tomorrow is the best answer.

 

[Legend]

Have you tried bugling at them? I hear some people are really good at calling elk.

Keep practicing your ninja skills. This is the way.

 

[solarshooter]

I didn't try bugling on this trip. I wasn't hearing many bugles and my logic was that it was late enough season they wouldn't be that effective. Also my bugles aren't that good...

I did cow call once they had seen me, and that worked to freeze them for a few moments at least, but they still wouldn't let me inside 80yds without trotting off.

 

[P Carter]

They're better prey than we are predators, when it comes to hunting with a bow. It's really tough to ambush spooked elk. You could try a "drive," but sounds like your group was succesful and found the right tactic - just difficult to execute.

 

[nphunter]

Best bet is to get close in the dark or just belly crawl. Elk will put up with a lot of noise, sometimes they can see you and will still hold tight if you freeze for long enough and if they wind you 90% of the time they will be gone. Sometimes in big herds you can get away with a little more unless the lead cow busts you. I've bumped satellite bulls or outlying cows without busting the whole herd. Best bet for late season is ambushing them, especially with multiple people, get a side wind and be ready. Most of the time elk walk with their nose in the wind so learn the thermals and get to a place where you are just off to the side but still slightly upwind. If your down wind from them they are most likely going to be walking away from you. Another option is a decoy and move in super slow right in plain view, I would do this as a last resort but it does and has worked for us, I've even just put my bow above my head like a set of antlers and walked right at elk and have gotten within range more than once at dusk, I'll make soft calls when walking at them.

We often sit ridgetops on feeding areas above bedded elk, if they are on a finger ridge or draw we go one small draw over to keep our wind right and wait for the wind to switch. As soon as it switches we get as close as possible to them while keeping the wind in our favor, may times we've had them feed out within bow range without being seen.

 

[hibernation]

so maybe some kind of coordinated push to flush them towards a shooter would be the best method?

I don't really see this working for archery, especially late season. Once the lead cow is on some kind of alert, they either seem to herd up in a ball to figure out what's going on, or she just walks off into cover and everyone follows. Usually back the way they came. I just can't picture a scenario where they go the direction you want, and if they do, I can't picture getting a good shot opportunity with a bow.

I've hunted some late archery cow tags in western Oregon, it can be a really tough hunt. Once you find them, I think your best bet is either patterning them and setting up an ambush for later, or just being really patient with your stalk. Not exactly stalking in for a shot, more like hanging out with them for a few hours until they make a mistake. If they're feeding, they don't tend to travel too far so you may have to just shadow them until they settle into their midday bedding area. Then lurk around the downwind edge and wait for one to mill around within bow range.

You might get lucky and have enough time to intercept them while they're feeding, but that's a lot of factors to all line up perfectly. In my experience, it's tough getting alongside them to find a good shot angle while they're feeding back toward cover. Coastal reprod isn't easy to slip through either.