Information About Elk

When identifying an elk, remember there name, wapiti, it is the Indian name for "white rump."

It's important that you pre-scout your hunting area. We realize that not everyone has the opportunity to pre-scout an area, because of the time and the location, such as a hunter that is not from the area or a first time hunter.

You need to learn what foods they prefer during the time of the year you will be hunting them. Their food will be different in the early part of the season than it is at the later part of the season.

One must have an understanding of the animal and it's habits during any given time of hunting season. You need to know where they will be at any given time.

If the rut is on, you will need to seek out the cows to find a bull that you may want. Find there bedding areas, and their food source and you will find elk.

When hunting for elk you will need to fool their senses. That would be their eyes, ears, and noses. Don’t let them be aware of your presence, instead, you need to be aware of their presence.

There are many ways to fool an elk…

Fool their eyes…The use of camo clothing. Use the trees to your advantage, You can hide easily from an elk with a relatively small tree. Keep your arms and legs behind the tree, just peek around the tree with one eye.

Fool their noses…Cover your scent. The use of scent eliminator can be the biggest benefit of all. Spray it on the inside and the outside of your hat and where you perspire. This will hold the bacteria from your sweat, which is what will give you away the fastest, and not release it. Use unscented soap and shampoo as well as unscented deodorant. Unscented clothing soap needs to be used as well.

Fool their ears…with a call. Use a diaphragm or use a cow call. They are easy to use and they will bring a bull to you. You can also use a bugle, but not every bull elk will come in for a challenge. There are several good ones on the market, they are easy to use, and they do work. The choice is yours. It’s a decision that only you can make. A cow call will work even if the rut is over, where a bugle will work at it's best during the rut. A cow call will also stop an elk on the move, allowing you a shot.

It is also important to be quiet

Have you ever heard a quiet elk? I haven’t. They can sound like a truck in the timber. Elk are big animals, with long legs, they can cover a lot of territory in a short period of time. When you are in their bedding areas, use caution. Slow and easy is the only way to go at this point. Not only for a chance at that bull you want, but also for safety.

They will be in the hardest to get to places, the nastiest terrain and timber. Chances are elk are in there. But, don't forget, if you get one in there, you have to get it out of there.

They will change their habits accordingly with the food source, amount of water, and hunting pressure. Big bull elk don’t get that way by being stupid. If he is pressured, he will move. Once he finds another place that he feels comfortable with he will stay there.

During the rut, a bulls neck and hump may swell to twice it's normal size. He will be very aggressive with outstretched neck, raised hackles, deep bugle, and shake his antlers violently. This will show him as being an overwhelming opponent, and not to be messed with. He will chase off any smaller bulls, usually without having to fight.

At the end of the rut, a bull will have lost about 100 pounds and will need to feed heavily to replace the lost stores of fat needed for the upcoming winter months.

A mature bull may weigh from 700 pounds to as much as 1000 pounds live weight, and that would be an exceptional animal. Bulls are bigger than cows as are cows bigger than calves. A cow elk may run from 500 - 800 pounds and calves will be anywhere from around the 100 pound range to several hundred pounds. The weight of the calf would vary depending on when they were born and the time of the year you are hunting.

Whether you are looking for just a bull, a good bull or that monster record book bull, you have to be able to tell the difference when you see him. You decide for yourself which one it is that you want, as it does not have to make the books for it to be called a trophy.

After you shoot your elk…get your camera out! (That’s what the wife says).

You track it, and when you find it, you field dress it, skin it, quarter it and bag it. Then you pack it back to camp and take it to a cold storage to hang. When your elk is on the ground, the work begins. You need to get the animal to a cooler as soon as possible.