How do you guys successfully hunt wallows

[Jqualls]

I have a pretty active wallow with elk coming in about everyday but specifically one big bull coming in. He has been there 3 days in the last week. I have never sat on a wallow for any considerable time and I am pretty inpatient, but I am thinking about hunting the wallow the next week or so.

You guys that are successful how have you done it. I dont have any tree stand equipment. I have sat on this wallow for a break in the past and had some cows come in and bear. Overall the wind can be fairly decent on it.

I just put a camera on it a month ago and I built a makeshift blind with limbs a month ago as I was planning on taking my daughter in there to hopefully see some game the first day or so of season but didnt know it would be such an active area.

These are my thoughts on trying to hunt it.
1. Use elk nuts tactic and set up a little off the wallow calling to try and entice a bull to come in.
2. Sit the wallow using the ground blind
3. Use more agressive techniques calling and splashing at the wallow to try and get a bull to come in.

What have you guys used to be successful on a wallow.

 

[Dakota Dude]

I hunt wallows 80% of my time. If you have found an active one (and it sounds like you have), the strategy is to sit and wait during the hours that they are there. I hang tree stands. I do not call at all. When you call and an elk comes into a spot like that, they are looking for whatever is making the noise and puts them on alert. If you sit still, in a location they already want to be, it is the perfect scenario. It can just be boring and time consuming.

As for location, find somewhere that will be out of the elk's natural line of sight, and think about the wind. It does not have to be anything special, or a ground blind. Even when I take my kids, I usually just find the most comfortable spot to sit for a long time, whether thats on the ground or up on a log.

 

[BBob]

Sit ground blind or tree stand whichever is more applicable to that particular wallow. I do not call. I sit and wait. Same applies to a water source like a cattle tank which also may be considered a large wallow or may have a wallow adjacent to it. A good bull may very well be aware and very wary and therefore tough to draw on and kill. It can be another skillset to learn

 

[Lowedown]

set up a treestand or a climber. If the bull comes in consistently around a certain time of day then hunt nearby til an hour before that, then climb up in the stand an hour before possible game time.

 

[butcherboy]

If you sit a wallow for a particular bull then be prepared to sit it all day. A bull will come in whenever they feel like it. If you make a blind or a ground
Blind be sure and set
It up so the wind doesn’t carry your scent to the most likely places and elk will enter. I prefer a treestand. If you don’t care about shooting a bull or cow then you can sit it whenever you feel like it. If you look really close in the second pic you will see the tan back of a dead elk laying up on the hillside above the wallow

 

[3Esski]

I like to be active when hunting but I usually try and end up near a wallow when I lunch or take a mid day break. Never really had any luck doing it that way but it seems like a good idea if I am going to be taking a break for awhile or things aren't really productive, sitting by a wallow is better than just a random rock somewhere.

 

[Jqualls]

I will be a bit more specific. It would be just for this one bull. He comes in as early as 8:30 to as late as 5. I occasionally sit wallows for the reason 3Esski points out but never for more then and hour or so. Other then this one bull I would prefer to be more active. I sat on this wallow last year for a lunch break and had game come in both times just not how I prefer to hunt. That being said I have a week before a good friend comes to town to hunt with me and I might hunt this thing as much as I can hoping at a shot at the big bull.

Thanks for some of the first hand knowledge of those who have used wallows succesfully.

 

[elkliver]

PM me the coordinates and I will do some E-scouting and give suggestions on the best way to hunt it

 

[wapitibob]

If I had a bull coming to a wallow the last thing I would do is call.

 

[1jeds]

Growing up hunting whitetails in Georgia was great practice for the first time I hunted an elk wallow. Just sit and wait, pay attention to the wind. I killed the elk in my profile picture over a wallow, while I was laying behind a bush reading my Kindle.

 

[WCB]

I will be a bit more specific. It would be just for this one bull. He comes in as early as 8:30 to as late as 5. I occasionally sit wallows for the reason 3Esski points out but never for more then and hour or so. Other then this one bull I would prefer to be more active. I sat on this wallow last year for a lunch break and had game come in both times just not how I prefer to hunt. That being said I have a week before a good friend comes to town to hunt with me and I might hunt this thing as much as I can hoping at a shot at the big bull.

Thanks for some of the first hand knowledge of those who have used wallows succesfully.

Just sit and wait...I would also prefer to have a bull come charging in screaming and shoot him at 20 yards in the perfect meadow. But you found a possible chink in that bulls armor. Take advantage of it. If he is coming in on his own there is zero need to call or let him know anything is around. I have seen it backfire with very patternable deer. Guy has buck coming out same trail really regular where 3-4 days he should get a shot. Instead of being patient they call or make a mock scrape, sets up a decoy or some other dumb idea and buck walks in all alert and spooks out.

Get there early and sit all day...done it many times on water holes for deer. The fact that he is sort of random on time makes it more interesting as it could happen at any time.

Also, pay attention to if he is coming in for 2-3 days then gone for 2-3 then back etc. You may notice a small pattern to his timing but if you have the time sneak in and sit. If you haven't hunted out of a tree stand a bunch just use your natural blind or tuck into a dark out of the way spot and you'll be good.

 

[Geewhiz]

Everyone prefers to run and gun when hunting elk. It’s more fun and you tend to get a lot of action. The last few years I have been hunting a wallow that produces. I have always had a hard time sitting on wallows but if there are elk that frequent it then it tends to be worth it. This particular wallow is in fairly open country and in an effort to not be seen going in or out, when I sit there I tend fully commit and sit from before daylight to after dark to avoid being seen. It’s painfully tough to sit in the same spot for 12-14 hours but It’s worth it when you kill a nice bull off of it. This wallow is oriented below where they tend to bed and the wind is usually favorable to sit there. I just make a brush blind and wait. I think I took like 7 naps when I sat there the other day. lol

 

[Beendare]

Check the wind currents...some wallows are unhuntable. Those swirling mountain wind currents kill you.

I know a lot of guys with cams on wallows getting pics and then when they hunt it- nothing. I've hunted wallows where all I hear is hoof prints stampeding away.

 

[Gman12]

I hunted wallows every afternoon last week on our hunt and had elk hitting the water each day. Sometimes the wind will be blowing one direction in the afternoon but will always switch to blow down canyon once the sun gets lower in the sky. I have to pay close attention to the wind and will move once the thermals kick in later in the day. I saw multiple bulls but not the one I was looking for but had lots of action. Afternoons seem to be much more consistent than mornings where I hunt. I try to set up about 30 yards away and have decent cover or cut branches/sage to make a natural blind. I don't think a tree stand is necessary and could be a hindrance if the wind switches around late in the afternoon because then you would be stuck and not be able to move. Do not call at all. Oftentimes, cows will come running to water and tow the herd bull with them right into the wallow.

 

[Jqualls]

Thanks for the replies. Tried to sit on it yesterday but with some small thunderstorms and rain it made the wind pretty difficult. I think on days when a storm doesnt fight with thermals I can get a more consistent wind pattern.

 

[Scoot]

Check the wind currents...some wallows are unhuntable. Those swirling mountain wind currents kill you.

I know a lot of guys with cams on wallows getting pics and then when they hunt it- nothing. I've hunted wallows where all I hear is hoof prints stampeding away.

This! If the wind is swirly or bad, get outta there.

 

[Jqualls]

Just sit and wait...I would also prefer to have a bull come charging in screaming and shoot him at 20 yards in the perfect meadow. But you found a possible chink in that bulls armor. Take advantage of it. If he is coming in on his own there is zero need to call or let him know anything is around. I have seen it backfire with very patternable deer. Guy has buck coming out same trail really regular where 3-4 days he should get a shot. Instead of being patient they call or make a mock scrape, sets up a decoy or some other dumb idea and buck walks in all alert and spooks out.

Get there early and sit all day...done it many times on water holes for deer. The fact that he is sort of random on time makes it more interesting as it could happen at any time.

Also, pay attention to if he is coming in for 2-3 days then gone for 2-3 then back etc. You may notice a small pattern to his timing but if you have the time sneak in and sit. If you haven't hunted out of a tree stand a bunch just use your natural blind or tuck into a dark out of the way spot and you'll be good.

The camera was only there a month but he has been coming in more frequently as September has progressed. He was there at least 4 times and 3 different days over the last week. Thanks

 

[YellowLab_Archie]

I’m curious about this, maybe I need to do research and read some articles but maybe you guys could help. Sounds like it’s not typical for a bull to use a wallow into the evening? More of a morning/afternoon thing? I’ve found a few wallows in the area I’m hunting with rubs and I’m just not sure the number of elk in this area. I spent the past week hiking 6+ miles every morning and a couple evenings I just sat on a different meadow to change my strategy. I’m on-call for work this next week but then I’m going back up for the last-ish week of CO archery elk. (I have to get back to work the last couple days, but hopefully a week will give me an opportunity to make it happen) I’m trying to build a game plan, as I think I may be by myself this time and wanted to avoid the 6 mile hikes of taking my bow for a walk in the woods (woods were rather quiet and only bumped 1 bull, maybe some cows a few times). The area I’m at in northern CO has a lot of dead fall and can be exhausting and frustrating to hunt. My questions are:

• If there are multiple wallows around, what would encourage him to come back to this one I had in mind?
• Is wallowing more of an earlier season behavior? If he has cows with him is he gonna bring his cows with him to re-mud up?
• It’s sounding like the wallow is a territorial thing?
• I just can’t figure out the number of elk in this area if my friend and I were chasing the same heard of elk around and circling each other or is it just luck of the draw and “ghosts of the woods”?

This area has a lot of drainages that look really good with wallows, a few rubs here and there, and fresh beds. My strategy of walking my bow around the woods and listening for bugles has only got me within 80 yards a few times over the past 7 years and I’m thinking it’s time to try something new and use some patience. I liked the idea of reading a book and building a ground blind on a nice wallow I found, it just takes a bit of work to get to it.

 

[BBob]

Sounds like it’s not typical for a bull to use a wallow into the evening?

Not at all. I’ve killed mature bulls at dusk on a wallow or a tank with a wallow.

 

[Beendare]

To expand on my comment above- it's hit or miss. Case study this year;

I scouted a new to me unit with a buddy this year. He hunts it every year and primarily sits wallows and water sources. We placed 5 cameras in 2 major drainages. We put 2 cameras on water sources he hunts almost every year and 3 more in spots we identified elk using in another drainage that I was thinking about hunting.

His 2 spots; Bulls regularly hitting those 2 either every day...or every other day. Then when he went in and sat the one spot- nothing in 4 days of hunting. Why were they coming in fairly regularly and then nothing- swirling winds of course.
In his other spot, his BIL sat it for 3 days and then finally the perfect wind scenario of a bull coming in from above with right before dark- and by that I mean the last 15 minutes- a 5 point came in and he shot it. Worth noting, that blind was 50y from the wallow in a spot selected to minimize wind effects. Any closer and it probably wouldn't have worked. FWIW, he kills a bull about every 3 years in his spots- essentially he needs the perfect storm of wind to do it.

I hunted 2 of the spots. The one we put in a tree stand to mitigate wind effects and had elk using it about every other day- but only 3 branch antlered bulls, mostly at night and there were only 3 pics in daylight over a month of pics. Lots of spikes for some reason and then bore out on my hunt as I passed over 10 spikes.
Lesson; the sign around the wallow looked like they were using it like crazy....but it was mostly at night. I sat it 2 days as it was easier to get to and nothing.

The second spot had branch antler bulls regularly using it at night and in the early am/pm. Wind was bad at this spot and I knew it. The first sit I had 3 different groups of elk I heard thundering off am and pm. Blind was 30y directly uphill. I sat it again and didn't see squat....it seems once they small you there it will take more than a couple days for them to start using it again as there are little seeps in a lot of places if you start poking around and you can bet the animals know where those are.

I did set up a makeshift blind on one of those unlikely seeps a little ways from that last spot. I could only sit it for a couple hours when the wind was beneficial before it got shifty. It worked, shot a dink 5 point.

Takeaway; Not all sign is during daylight hours when you can actually hunt them and..... If the wind is shifty, don't waste your time.