Killing the lead cow?

[MAVinWA]

funny was how the 2 fellas came back to my camp area 2 days later, and saw what a full mature 3 year old cow elk looks like hanging in quarters. I spoke no words, they commented: "that's a good one".
The look on their faces....

 

[kevlar88]

It is very frowned upon here in Germany to shoot the lead bache (bache= female pig). These old females are known to be the smartest and know where to lead the others. They know what fields to feed in, what oaks will be dropping acorns, or when the walnuts are ripe. They know where the worms will be when the rain brings them to the surface and what wallows will have water or be dry.

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Food for thought- I have several hunting spots that, in the absence of hunting pressure, the herd will stay in the same spot forever and browse the food down to the nubs. This occurs year after year, to the point that they will actually begin browsing on knapweed rather than moving on in search of fresh food. Meanwhile, the next drainage over hasn't been touched by elk in years and has surplus feed. Why? My guess is that the lead cow keeps going back to the same spot that she knows, year after year. Perhaps if you shoot the lead cow out of the group, the group will have to a fresh start as far as home range and will venture in to new areas, giving the old spot a rest and utilizing a new area that hasn't been browsed in years. I'm no biologist, and this is just a wild guess, but it seems like this would be a healthy re-start for the herd every few years.

Ridge Ghost, very good point and that is one way to look at it. On the flip side maybe someone already shot the lead cow. Now the rest don't know to go over the ridge to the next valley to feed on the fresh untouched browse because they have no knowledgeable lead cow to bring them there. So, they sit there and eat all of the browse down to the dirt. We see this happen with pigs here, if a lead bache is accidentally shot the others will not go far and return to the same field night after night until it is all but destroyed.

I'm no biologist either, and yes, I know I'm comparing elk to pigs but I can't help but think that there's some overlap between these two and other herd species. If it makes the connection a little easier the red stag here are treated the same, they do not shoot the lead cow.

 

[LostArra]

I was fortunate to kill two cows last fall with my bow, one dry and one wet. There was no way to tell if either was a "lead cow" and it was never a shoot or don't shoot consideration in either situation. There was a noticeable difference in body fat on the two cows but the meat quality is excellent and seems to be identical.

I killed a cow about 5 years ago and submitted teeth to Wyo GF. She was 11 1/2 years old. Meat was good and the herd didn't seem to come unhinged. I really can't believe anyone would eat a tag rather than risk shooting a "lead cow".

And if the day comes I can't haul an adult elk quarter I will definitely shoot a calf. Same goes for the last day of the hunt. I trust the biologists. If GF dept is issuing Cow/Calf tags then I'll shoot cows or calves. I would prefer more meat on an adult but a tag has no meat.

 

[Bookhead]

If im hunting cows there is usually a group of us and taking out the lead cow is the best way for the rest of the hunters to get a decent shot. It doesnt change anything it just takes a minute for them to decide who the new leader is

 

[tontivirus]

Interesting topic. Thanks for sharing.

 

[idelkslayer]

I doubt that it matters whether you kill a lead cow or not. While she may be the one that decides which area to travel to next, other cows in the group surely know where the other feeding and migration areas are and are fully capable of navigating the landscape.

When a lead cow is killed, momentary confusion may ensue as the remaining elk are deciding who to follow but in the long run they know where to go.

 

[Short Track]

My guide never gave me an Elk sociality lesson. I hunted with the outfitter for many years. Always the same guide. One year, I shot a cow with 2 calves. He said the cow was dry, the calves will survive fine through winter.. End of conversation.

Another year, I shot a mid herd cow. He asked me why I didn't wait for the Bull. I said, "what Bull?"
He then tells me there is always a "Big Bull pushing the herd of cows". I was like, ok, why didn't you tell me that 5 years ago !!

Never got a bull, and never went back to the outfitter.

 

[BFR]

I doubt that it matters whether you kill a lead cow or not. While she may be the one that decides which area to travel to next, other cows in the group surely know where the other feeding and migration areas are and are fully capable of navigating the landscape.

When a lead cow is killed, momentary confusion may ensue as the remaining elk are deciding who to follow but in the long run they know where to go.

This has been my experience too.

 

[Moserkr]

Depends if the area has wolves to me. Dont shoot the lead cow if the herds are struggling with predators. If its a healthy area with lots of elk and little predators, take the lead as it wont matter. Good topic. Im a younger elk hunter and dont think thats hard to comprehend.

 

[Vids]

I doubt that it matters whether you kill a lead cow or not. While she may be the one that decides which area to travel to next, other cows in the group surely know where the other feeding and migration areas are and are fully capable of navigating the landscape.

When a lead cow is killed, momentary confusion may ensue as the remaining elk are deciding who to follow but in the long run they know where to go.

This is my train of thought as well. If there is a 15 year old cow in the herd, there are likely several 10-14 year old cows present that know just as much. Of course it depends on the size of the herd. The larger the herd, all the more experienced cows around. Personally, I think it's a great tactic when you are meat hunting with several hunters present.

 

[commandoNate]

I'm not too proud to hunt cows. They have filled my freezer 3 years in a row now since I can't seem to get a bull with my bow. I have found that it's difficult to pinpoint the lead cow until the shot goes off or they are otherwise alerted to your presence. I've shot a cow and dumped her in her tracks just to have the rest of the herd look around and act like it was no big deal. I would assume that was the lead cow and since she was still right there (albeit laying down) they didn't see the need to run into the next county. Other times I've shot a cow and had them scatter. I would assume that in this case the lead cow was not down and was alerting the herd that there was danger and they needed to run.

Hunting ranch land is different than the mountainous terrain where I hunt. Many times we are engaging the elk in timber or small clearings where only a part of the herd may be visible. If you have the luxury of watching them for a while as they work over a field or a mountainside you can pinpoint which one seems to be calling the shots. But not always with 100% certainty.

 

[RS3579]

Good info here. Thanks