Folks,
This will be my first year hunting. I will most likely draw the following two tags, both for rifle...
-Mule deer buck, Season 2 (mid-late October), Unit 11 (Northwest CO)
-Cow elk, Season 4 (mid November), Unit 61 (Southwest CO)
(also a pronghorn tag)
I'm doing quite a lot of research and practicing (reading, hiking, backpacking, finding animals, shooting my rifle - which is also new to me). One thing I'd like to hear about are differences, if any, in how you hunt for elk vs. mule deer. How do they differ in terms of where to hunt (elevation, vegetation type, topography, water), how to hunt (glassing, covering ground, still-hunting), when to hunt (morning, noon, evening. e.g. is one species more likely to be active in afternoon than the other?), and any other relevant differences. Or do you use pretty much the same tactics for both?
I recall reading somewhere that elk tend to be more mobile (in November, at least?) than mule deer, so, for example, even fresh elk sign doesn't necessarily mean they are close by. In contrast, mule deer are more likely to stick to certain areas (until hunting pressure pushes them out?), so fresh sign means a deer is probably nearby. Presumably that would mean that you might need to hike around more to find elk. But I have no idea if that's true.
I also get the impression that elk (especially cows) hang out in bigger groups than mule deer, which I think means (1) they are less dispersed, so any given draw, say, is less likely to contain an elk than a mule deer, but (2) if there are elk in view, they won't be hard to see (because 20 elk are easier to see than 5 mule deer). Again, correct me if I'm wrong.
Thanks for any and all info.
This will be my first year hunting. I will most likely draw the following two tags, both for rifle...
-Mule deer buck, Season 2 (mid-late October), Unit 11 (Northwest CO)
-Cow elk, Season 4 (mid November), Unit 61 (Southwest CO)
(also a pronghorn tag)
I'm doing quite a lot of research and practicing (reading, hiking, backpacking, finding animals, shooting my rifle - which is also new to me). One thing I'd like to hear about are differences, if any, in how you hunt for elk vs. mule deer. How do they differ in terms of where to hunt (elevation, vegetation type, topography, water), how to hunt (glassing, covering ground, still-hunting), when to hunt (morning, noon, evening. e.g. is one species more likely to be active in afternoon than the other?), and any other relevant differences. Or do you use pretty much the same tactics for both?
I recall reading somewhere that elk tend to be more mobile (in November, at least?) than mule deer, so, for example, even fresh elk sign doesn't necessarily mean they are close by. In contrast, mule deer are more likely to stick to certain areas (until hunting pressure pushes them out?), so fresh sign means a deer is probably nearby. Presumably that would mean that you might need to hike around more to find elk. But I have no idea if that's true.
I also get the impression that elk (especially cows) hang out in bigger groups than mule deer, which I think means (1) they are less dispersed, so any given draw, say, is less likely to contain an elk than a mule deer, but (2) if there are elk in view, they won't be hard to see (because 20 elk are easier to see than 5 mule deer). Again, correct me if I'm wrong.
Thanks for any and all info.
