Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting I Drew A Tag

Hello, if I could introduce myself. I'm a veteran deer and moose hunter who would rather hunt than eat, looking to start a dialogue some veteran elk huntes. I have drawn a tag for Cypress Hills Elk here in Alberta, Canada. This tag is a 7-8 year wait where I live with 40-50 hunters a year given the chance to take either sex. Basically, I have won the lottery. I know very little about elk except they are rugged, and skittish. I have never been a " leave it to chance " hunter and would like to have a word or two with experts regarding my hunt. It is in a park setting which is an outcropping of Boreal forest left in the middle of the badlands in southern Alberta after glacial retreats. This small park is bordered by farmlands and naturals prairie grass. Question is, go in after them, ambush, decoy, or wait till they come out to graze. Scent, or no scent. We have just got pounded by a huge snow drop so that may make things a bit easier. Tracking and field raiding by the elk.
I have taken 12 or so moose in my time at hunting and have no issue with calling, doggin, them. But elk is another story, I know very little about them, and I would love to put one in the freezer. They have been hunted for 2 - 4 day periods now and must be very skittish, but they are in there. Animals are taken on the last week every year in the park....but what is the best way for a rookie, hunting alone to put one down...Any help would be appreciated, Thanks, Kim Bowser

Talk to the conservation officer for the area to have some idea where to start looking. It is well past the Elk rut so you are going to be hunting them more like deer, try to locate bedding/feeding areas and be there when the Elk are headed in to do either one. Once you have an idea where that might be, glass to find the Elk. Spot and stalk if you can or if you can establish a travel pattern, be in position beforehand much like deer hunting. Good luck.

Go now.
It is important to see what is happening now rather than other times of the year.
See where they are successfull and where not.
See if you can find where elk are traveling to feed in the agricultural fields.
Talk to hunters in camps. Often times they are never more willing to talk than when they have an animal tagged.

I've noticed that visiting an area during a hunting season doesn't always reveal where to hunt but many times it reveals areas that are a waste of time or places that you absolutely don't want to hunt.

Bowser,

Sent you a PM with some elk lore.

Very good advice.....

Bowser:

I sent you an article regarding elk hunting in Colorado. Much of it should be relevant to elk hunting just aboiut everywhere that elk live. Ignore the parts that are specific to Colorado. Good Luck.

KC

Thanks for all the replies, it's getting close and I'm just putting in time now. To say I can't wait is an understatement.

Your elk shouldn't be very "skittish" this time of year, especially with the limited pressure they have seen. Once the cold and snow set in, elk look to food more than security. They also typically become very vocal. You should have little trouble finding them. The real challenge will be finding the mature bulls. This time of year, they prefer to hang in small groups, well away from the larger cow herds.

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Bowser,

What has become of your elk hunt? Have you seen any? What about those big deer?