Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting CO Muzzleloader Moon Phase

After three unsuccessful draws, we drew ML tags this year. However, looks like the 9/14-21 moon will be plenty bright. I'm thinking some of you out there have some good tips for success in this scenario and wouldn't mind sharing them.

Elk and deer treat darkness like cover and will move and feed farther from bedding and loafing cover when the moon is dark. On bright moonlit nights, they move and feed just about the same amount of time, but tend to remain in or close to escape cover. You need to hunt them in the cover where they loaf and bed during the day. They will be back in it as soon as it starts to get light.

If you can find water sources in areas that are wooded or brushy, those are also good places to hunt. All of this is based on a lot of radio tracking data in addition to personal observations...

Good luck! Hunting elk during a full moon can be frustrating.

I only hunt in timber. I love full moons.

Mauser_Hunter- Do you mostly still hunt through dark timber or sit and wait? I have heard that some guys will chase bugles all night and attempt to be in range by shooting light.

I just still hunt. I can't sit for more than 5 min. It drives me nuts.

I have found it is pretty much as Mudhen described. Most elk will be back in their bedding areas by day break in bright moons.

It's ok to get up around midnight and do a few two note bugles, as a locator, but you sure don't want to do full 3 note/grunt challenge or a lot of excessive bugling.

When rut is just about starting, bulls will some 2 note bugles, mostly at night,locating other bulls in the area. They are not interested in challenges, but they do get to know every other bull in close proximity by their sounds. These guys that get up and bugle like crazy just let the bulls know either another bull has entered the area or it is a hunter. They are pretty good at telling the differences between each.

During muzzle loader season, at least in CO, they are not in peak rut and chances are they will move away from you. Even if they don't, do you seriously want a bull to come into you way before shooting light, bust you, and then leave the country.

The amount of hunting pressure seems to correlate on how vocal bulls are. Some guys say they hear a lot in muzzle loader season. If I hear any where I hunt, it is usually just at first light. Each bull might bugle once and then shut up.

I might sit a half hour at day break and the head into the timber and still hunt. For a few hours, the elk will be snoozing and maybe not as alert, then about noon or so, they will getup, move around a little and bed back down. That is when you don't want to be putting a sneak on them as chances are they will bust you. (I use that time to nap)
You have to remember though if you are still hunting in their bed room and they bust you, they will more than likely leave the country if they smell you. If they just hear you, it is not as bad, even see you, you can sometimes not get busted, but once they smell you. It 's all over with.

YMMV

Funny you should say that Vince. When they get up during the day to stretch is usually when I shoot one. I can never shoot one while it's bedded down. Just rubs me the wrong way.

I agree. If you run elk out of their beds, they won't be back for weeks.

So, don't miss, and make sure the wind is in your favor.

As a still hunter. My goal is to find the bedding areas. Otherwise i'm just taking a slow motion walk in the timber.

me being old and out of shape, you may think I am crazy, but I do not leave camp till around 11am. always spooked game in the dark going in and the elk have already made further back in. I pack a lunch and hunt slowly up the mountain and relax and wait for the elk to get moving right before last light. them come to you method works. rather come out in the dark at night and get good full nights sleep, instead of up before light and after evening light. can not hunt anymore on 2 or 3 hours sleep for week. also being a flat lander does not help, and the 22 hour drive is hard to get over.

Definitely hunt into the wind working through the woods. I quite often smell the bulls before I see them. That's when I really slow down and use the binos to peer through the timber. Hunting during the full moon during archery proved more challenging. I certainly don't have them figured out.

Hunt into the wind and anytime the season's open. Research I've seen found elk more active at night during with a full moon, but they were also more active in the daytime too.