10 Best Elk Hunting Tips

Do you hunt elk? Do you want to learn how to take more elk home? In this article, we share elk hunting tips to help you be more successful when hunting elk.

1. Trail Cameras

Set up trail cameras to collect information on the behaviors of elks. Trail cameras collect information 24 hours a day and this amount of information can be very valuable about the elks in the area you hunt. You might learn where are their travel routes, bedding areas, feeding areas, etc.

2. Scouting For Elk

Don't scout for elk like you scout for deer. Elks don't behave like whitetail deer and the scouting methods used for deer won't work for elks. Instead, find out where they go when spooked by the presence of elk hunters.

3. Spot & Stalk

The spot and stalk strategy is popular for hunting elks and can be used all season. Get to a high position and use binoculars or spotting scopes to find elks. Glass over the terrain early in the morning and late in the day above the timberline or in shadowy clearings below the treeline. When you spot a bull you want, then apply the spot and stalk strategy.

4. Transition Zones

Hunt transition zones between feeding, water, and bedding areas. As you move to track elk, always try to keep the wind in your favor. You may have to move from side to side as elk try to keep the wind in their favor. If you want to learn more elk hunting tips, then click this link.

5. Water Holes

Be on the lookout for water holes and wallows. Elk takes in water many times during the day. Hunting water holes and wallows can prove to be very rewarding. Treestands and ground blinds work well near water holes and wallow.

6. Elk & Bad Weather

Elk have the ability to know when bad weather is coming and they prepare for it by eating heavily. You can use this to your advantage by monitoring the weather and finding out when there will be bad weather. Schedule your hunting just a few days before a bad storm and you just might be rewarded for your planning.

7. Elk Behavior

Elk tend to isolate themselves from cows in late October to recover from the rut and to also gain weight before winter sets in. You can use this knowledge to hunt elks. Hunt for bulls in remote and rugged areas where the chance of bulls encountering humans is very slim. Additionally, focus on canyons and other pockets with a bare-facing slope or windswept ridge top.

8. When Elk Spots You

When the elk stops chewing and stares at your position, don't instinctively stop everything that you are doing and become motionless. Instead, slowly lower yourself to the ground. Stay in that position as long as it takes, then crawl into a new position before raising your head. it will still be monitoring that spot even if it is not spooked.

9. Multiple Shots

If you hit a bull and he is still standing, hit him again with another shot. You don't want to track him over a couple of miles in open country. Don't be hesitant to hit him with multiple shots if that is what is needed to finally take him down and avoid tracking him for a few hours into the dark.

10. Elk & Hot Weather

Elk will shelter in forests and evergreens with a few branches during hot weather. The forest canopy provides cover from the sunlight.

Conclusion

Hunting elk can be very challenging and physically demanding. In this article, we share elk hunting tips to help you hunt more elk during the hunting season. If you want to learn more about hunting elks, then click here.