Where are the Elk

[Poser]

Took these last night. Exactly 12,000 feet.

 

[Dos Perros]

Elk will always be were the food is..no matter what time of year it is. Thats a basic necessity for life.. I asked what "range" or stage they where at.
I know finding a bull now means absolutely nothing for hunting season. I'm just simply trying figure out what stage they are currently in... sanctuary or summer. And what's the difference.

I don’t think it’s that binary, and I think it’s very area and even year specific.

I also think people selling something tend to over simplify things. Take that for what it’s worth.

 

[Jim Carr]

Depending on the area a high percentage of the bulls you find now will be in the same general area come September. Anytime you find bulls this time of the year it is valuable information .Its true elk cover lots of ground however there is a lot of ground that doesnt hold elk and having a location they were at during the summer is a great starting point to locating them during the season.

 

[HuntInWild88]

Awesome thanks for some great info guys. This specific area doesn't have a Sept season. It has a rifle season beginning of November then an archery season after that.. kinda crazy. Obviously during the rut they will be where the cows are.. the cows will be where the food is. But right now they were mixed in pretty well. The bulls were only 500-1000 feet above the cows in this specific drainage.

 

[Next Ridge]

what "range" are elk currently in? Are they on their summer ranger or still in their "sanctuary" as Randy calls it.. was out hiking yesterday and located several bulls around 7400ft. How long will they stay in that drainage and when do you expect them to return? View attachment 190650not the best photo.

I hunt an area that ranges from 11,000 to 8,600. I see elk at both altitudes the same day on cameras during summer. At least in our area it seems some elk go high in the summer and some just stay low close to private. Elk summer patterns are often based on “averages and trends”. A lot depends on the specific herd, rainfall, private/public, etc

 

[Indian Summer]

Is in my freezer an acceptable answer?

 

[Mosby]

They are where the food is.

I was once told by an ol timer that they are sometimes where the water is too.

 

[Sled]

I wasn't scouting.. just hiking and happen to see bulls...do you people actually read the original post? I never said.. "if I find them 4 months before season will they still be there during season". I'm fairly new to elk...not hunting... I'm simply trying to learn the habits of elk at various times of the year..
Of course pressure during the season is going to change everything. Find elk in a slot the day before season come back two days later and they will be in a completely different drainage or in someone's freezer.

Posts like yours are why people are reluctant to share. If you know everything then why ask the question. If someone reads the question, they realize you don't know very much about elk behavior.
Now that I've pissed you off, I'll attempt to answer you question. People tend to think of elk as inhabiting a magical elevation. The fact is that in general, elk are where they want to be. Yes, they need a few things available to them in order to survive but you already know that. What might surprise you is that they are at all elevations that you're going to hunt. I see them at 11k in the same day that I see them at 4,400. The trick is that it's not the same elk. So, to say that the elk you saw was at it's summer range or just moving through would best be answered by the person observing the elk first hand. If you are paying close attention and they are still there next week, then they are likely residents at that elevation, barring a significant change in habitat.

 

[bsnedeker]

Elk will always be were the food is..no matter what time of year it is. Thats a basic necessity for life.. I asked what "range" or stage they where at.
I know finding a bull now means absolutely nothing for hunting season. I'm just simply trying figure out what stage they are currently in... sanctuary or summer. And what's the difference.

That isn't even remotely true. During rifle season post-rut most bulls number one priority is finding sanctuary. Obviously they need to eat, but that is secondary to surviving rifle season.

 

[trophyhill]

Elk will be everywhere from the lowest to the highest elevations of their ranges. In other words, elk are everywhere!

 

[Laramie]

The simple answer is the cows are where they are comfortable with their calves. To some cows, that is lower elevation, to others it is 12k'. I think most elk, including the bulls, will be a little higher elevation right now and will be all the way up within the next two weeks. That doesn't mean you won't find some that hold at low elevation though and it can greatly vary be herd and location.

If you are using the information for scouting, it may be challenging. I recommend people spend the majority of their time scouting the land and not looking for elk tracks with hooves in them. Learn the land, and you will have answers during the season. Tacks with hooves in them become much more reliable information by August if you are planning to hunt September.