How do you spend your time between morning/night hunts?

[roosiebull]

there's no way I would leave bedded elk to go back to camp and hang out until evening. Although the tactics may change for mid-day, you still stand 100% better chance of killing an elk than you do napping in camp.

if conditions aren't right, you also have a 100% better chance of blowing them out sometimes walking away from a bull is the best way to kill it.

if there is a 5% chance of killing an elk, i'm not doing it, I will make a plan to kill it when odds are more in favor, whether that's in an hour or 7hrs.

if there is another option that is less risky, then perfect, but sometimes there just isn't.

later in the season, late morning/early afternoon is a really good time to kill a bull, but early in the season, in the heat of the day, often times it's best to just hold back.

 

[NC Hunter]

No way I would sit in camp. Glass or hike to the next glassing spot. Maybe if you know where a bull bedded down and you are going to come back after him in the evening but I would want to keep my eyes on him.

 

[Terrapin]

It’s supposed to be fun. Sometimes I will hunt all day as hard as I can... and I’ve shot many elk between 10-2. I get them fired up when they are laying in their dust wallows.

Then some days I’ll hunt for a couple hours at dawn then sleep all day and then hunt a couple hours at dusk. One year my hunting buddies mom had just passed away the week before season after a long illness. We’d hunt for a couple hours, then after morning snack, he’d fall sound asleep in the sunshine until it started to get dark. Poor guy was just too worn out to hunt. I read books on my phone (best battery life).

Some days I’ll sleep in until about 8:00, have a nice breakfast of bacon, eggs and percolator coffee. Then wander out and start hunting... killed elk that way too. Sometimes a couple hundred yards from the truck.

There is no one size fits all. Sometimes elk hunting is about more than just killing an elk... sometimes it’s just about sitting in the sun watching squirrels.


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[cnelk]

It’s supposed to be fun....

There is no one size fits all. Sometimes elk hunting is about more than just killing an elk... sometimes it’s just about sitting in the sun watching squirrels.

BOOOYAAAA!!! - Right on man

 

[Catahoula]

I generally only hunt archery and can stay the whole season if needed. With that said, I still try to stay afield all day so I can listen to the sounds of life, let alone elk. But, I have had past days where I’ve gone back to camp to regroup. Nice to have options.

 

[Roksliding]

I usually sit the water source near where I heard or saw elk last. but that’s boring.

Last year I tried Elknuts “Slow Play” I would mark the last bugle I heard, give him a bit, then move in and “paint the picture“........ and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t work more often then not!!! And it’s a lot more fun than swatting at flies for hours on end.

 

[11boo]

I’ve killed half of my elk mid day. That should tell you what I do.

 

[5MilesBack]

A lot of it depends on where I'm hunting. In some areas, it's a quick in and out if things don't work out. Some of my areas hunt better in the mornings, and some hunt better in the evenings. So it's no big deal to hike in for a morning hunt and hit it, and if things don't work out be back at camp for a quick change and on the river fly fishing by 10am. Back to camp for lunch, and then into one of the evening spots a few hours later. These are spots that I don't want to blow the elk out of. I know there are big bulls there and I'd like to keep them there for future opportunities that season.

2-3 miles into these spots isn't that big of deal. If there's one thing I do well, it's being able to cover ground in a hurry. I'd much rather cover a bunch of ground back and forth, than slow it way down the rest of the day or even God forbid.......sit out there bored to death.

But areas I've never hunted are more like prospecting. I'll hike all day looking for bulls that want to play. In those cases I'm looking to cover as much ground as possible in a day. Those days are best suited for solo hunting.

 

[Terrapin]

5Mile touched on another point. There a certain areas that I don’t mind tromping all over and bumping elk all day... I usually only hunt those spots a couple days per year and I don’t mind burning them. Other spots are small and delicate. When the elk are in there, I can sneak in with the thermals and peek around and try and get into elk everyday. Bump them hard once and that spot is done for the year.


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[5MilesBack]

Bump them hard once and that spot is done for the year.

Yep. The bull in my avatar I hunted on a Monday morning and even got to 30 yards below him and his cows in the timber. I kept the winds right and just couldn't get a shot at him.....of course his cows were closer to me and he was behind his cows. Several cows could see me but they had no idea what I was, but they still got uneasy and they all moved off even at a trot. I went back in to that same area that Thursday morning and got his bugle response immediately. I eventually made my way in and ended up shooting him less than 50 yards from where they were that Monday. If I had really pressed on Monday, I probably would have blown them out of there for good.

 

[mavinwa2]

I usually hunt all day, various techniques depending on conditions
But IF I go back to my back country or wall tent camp, happens occasionally, always a few chores to do. Not just sit around, doing nothing.
Plan or prep eve meal, set up wood ready to go in fire pit, check gear & camp, quick hot lunch can recharge spirits too.
Then after eve hunt over, hike back to camp, less prep & earlier to bed.

 

[NebraskaHunt]

Hunting. You have to continue to put yourself in a position to be successful. Glass, move slow, and stay vigilant.

 

[DAOutfitters208]

I'm a newer elk hunter and was wondering what I could do during the midday that would be most beneficial for killing an elk. The group that got me into hunting spends their midday hanging out back at camp. I tried still hunting through the woods but was not sure if the elk are just bedded down/will hear me and run off anyway. Any advice would be appreciated. We hunt the idaho panhandle.

Are they successful?

Its about having fun and enjoying your time in the woods. If hunting all day is fun for you, do it. If coming back to camp to relax for a bit and enjoy each others company is fun, do it. It will just be memories at the end of the day, so what kind do you want?

 

[wyosam]

Some of the quicker hunts I do very close to home, I might just go home and work around the house or hang out with the family. Otherwise I unusually do a mid-day hunt between morning and evening. Usually a nap or two in there as well.


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[WCB]

I can't stand being back at camp. I will take a nap in the field or just lounge around under a tree out there but if I'm coming back to the same area later that day I'm more than likely not hiking out to hike back in. And unless your camp is in the middle of animals your chance of killing one from camp creeps very close to zero.

I would recommend maybe hitting a different area and still hunting or checking out some dark timber, sitting on a water hole etc. There are just so many scenarios its hard to say.

First Elk kill I was a part of was a debate to go back to camp or hang out under some trees in 90 degree heat. We could see camp maybe 1/2 mile across the drainage and everyone was already back. After a couple hours we had to move to another bunch of trees to get out of the sun. 10 steps from our spot here is a bull standing in the shade of a tree 40 yards from us. Needles to say the other guys had the mules to us before we got 1/2 done quartering the elk.

 

[TX_Diver]

I have limited experience but I prefer to be out there still. Sometimes I'll go back to camp depending on distance/type of hunt, or re-locate to another spot, but otherwise I'll hang out and eat/glass, etc.

The only bull I've killed was shot at noon. Was a guided hunt but we slowly called him in over about 1.5 hours while eating lunch.

Cow hunts I'll go back to camp a little more often and take it easier

 

[High_Desert_Obsession]

Personally, for us depends how far we go in. Generally we are out sun up to sun down. I like sitting water or wallow mid day. Usually in the heat ive had bulls pull away from their cows and come in for a drink between 12-3 is my best time.