Morning Strategy

[GunsAreFun]

It’s January. We’re bored. Let’s talk elk…

We have spent 10-12 days hunting an area during archery season (both early and late September) that has a very long (literally 5+ miles) private alfalfa field in a valley with a public road paralleling the field and public land in the hills/mountains on both sides. Access to the public land is available on both sides of the valley at either end of the private field and then one side has a public access right in the middle as well. So depending on where we are headed, it may be a few hundred yard walk or 2-3 miles to get to the elk.

The elk can be spotted in the field or on their way to/from the field virtually every morning/evening, usually from the road. However, the herd takes very unpredictable paths to and from the field. For example, one evening we might see them coming down from the west side through a draw and the next night they come down on the same side but through a draw 1-2 miles away. Or they may completely switch sides and we see them come down from the west but then head up to the east in the morning. Despite their exposure, we have seen very little pressure in this area.

We’ve tried to find their bedding area or areas on the east side unsuccessfully…finding very little sign despite knowing they use the area. Of note, this side is one giant mountain ~14,000 acre mountain side with tons of north facing ridges that would take weeks to fully explore. It is 6 miles and 5000’ elevation in a straight line distance from valley to peak. The west side’s potential bedding area is about a third of the size, we did find one heavily used bedding area only a half mile from the field edge.

They get decently vocal in the evenings when transitioning down to the fields, where we can get a bugle response to various types of calls. They aren’t very vocal in the morning, and virtually silent during the day. The herds/groups have been as large as 70+ down to 10-15 usually with only one branch antlered 5x6ish bull, maybe a small 4x4-5x5, and then a spike or two or three.

Basically we locate them from the road in the morning and try to find their bedding. If we are empty handed by the end of the day, we try to find a spot where we can hear or see them coming and try and intercept them. Letting out some soft calls occasionally. Brought a Predator decoy in 2025 in case we needed to go right at them with daylight fading.

We’ve killed a couple with these strategies but no bulls. Closest we got on a bull in this particular area was when we accidentally split the herd on their way down, and the bull was unhappy with that but we ran out of daylight at 70 yards.

I do think we need to cover a bit more ground during the day. The area isn’t super conducive to glassing. There’s a few hundred yards of transition area above the fields. Beyond that, you can’t see anything.
So, any different strategies you’d try?

 

[il_cop]

I would recommend trying to be on them in the morning, on the public, boots on the ground and shadow them as wind allows as they move to bed. Wait for them to bed for the day then light them up with calls. Very difficult (in my experience) to kill or call elk on the move. Especially so based on your description of this area, they know they're exposed. When that lead cow says it's time to go, they're going. Once they're bedded and comfortable you have the best chance of pulling a bull off his cows.

Stay with them as they move to bed. As closely as the wind allows. You don't have to be on top of them, you may be out of sight if them, they're loud, you can keep track...you just need to be within a couple hundred yards of the area they're bedding in.

May place the wrong bet a few times and be in the wrong spot at the wrong time in the morning, but eventually you'll be in the right spot.

My two cents.

 

[mad_angler]

I know nothing but want to play...

I would watch them in the morning from the road or some other good vantage point. I would watch them leave the field and try to watch them as far as possible in the timber. You might be able to catch glimpse of them as they work up to bedding.

Either way, you should have some guess where they are bedding. Then, wait for the thermals to switch to going hard uphill. Try to get above them and slowly work down to them. Use calls to try to get them to tell you where they are.

Or... once you know/think you know where they might be bedded, wait until evening and for the thermals to start going downhill. Then try to get between their bedding area and the green field.

 

[GunsAreFun]

I would recommend trying to be on them in the morning, on the public, boots on the ground and shadow them as wind allows as they move to bed. Wait for them to bed for the day then light them up with calls. Very difficult (in my experience) to kill or call elk on the move. Especially so based on your description of this area, they know they're exposed. When that lead cow says it's time to go, they're going. Once they're bedded and comfortable you have the best chance of pulling a bull off his cows.

Stay with them as they move to bed. As closely as the wind allows. You don't have to be on top of them, you may be out of sight if them, they're loud, you can keep track...you just need to be within a couple hundred yards of the area they're bedding in.

May place the wrong bet a few timeand be in the wrong spot at the wrong time in the morning, but eventually you'll be in the right spot.

Agreed that on killing them on the move is difficult, though we’ve had some success with less mature animals. It isn’t our preferred strategy but really just a making use of the last part of the evening when we don’t have eyes or ears on them.

The part I struggle with about making the bet by being on the mountain is that it’s like picking a number on the roulette table. There is just to many possibilities.

If I’m sitting one of the finger ridges, we can maybe glass 15-20% of the field and open hillsides and over half that will be on the other side, which is up to a two hour side by side ride and hike to get there. And that’s if we even see them. From the road, I think we found them every morning.

I’m acknowledging that I’m here looking for a better idea lol. I am just wondering if betting on a certain spot is too high risk, high reward for the amount of time we have (~8-9 full days). If I had the whole month, it may be a different story.

 

[Laramie]

Very good chance you are dealing with more than one smaller herd where some aren't there every day- that may be why it seems so sporadic.

Where are they watering? May be easiest to intercept them there after they leave the field in the mornings or in the afternoon before they come down to feed.

Elk can be random but they do have preferred routes they take. Figure one of those out and hang a tree stand or build a blind. You might have to sit it several days in a row but eventually it could pay off.

 

[Ross]

If there are that many elk, there is a very large bedding area with Mucho sign. In the off season FIND this area. Then you can determine where is best to ambush them.

 

[GunsAreFun]

Very good chance you are dealing with more than one smaller herd where some aren't there every day- that may be why it seems so sporadic.

Where are they watering? May be easiest to intercept them there after they leave the field in the mornings or in the afternoon before they come down to feed.

Elk can be random but they do have preferred routes they take. Figure one of those out and hang a tree stand or build a blind. You might have to sit it several days in a row but eventually it could pay off.

There is a stream in the hay field so they are surely drinking at night while feeding. They aren’t drinking from that during the day though. We’ve found a few water sources up in the mountains, but none had significant signs of use so we may have not found THE watering hole yet…but there is also probably enough water sources that it won’t help much narrowing them down.

Speaking of preferences, looking at my waypoints, there are about 9 entry/exit routes where we’ve seen elk more than once or one time but it was a large group and not a random lone animal.

 

[Indian Summer]

I don’t care for hunting near private land. Elk there know the game. You have enough public land for there to be elk that don’t care about that private land. I would go hunt those elk instead.

If you’re determined to hunt there and the elk are visible during daylight I might try deer tactics. Tree stands. I’d be between the private land and the hills super early just to listen.