Everything changes after Labor Day. They're scattered far and wide all summer. When the rut starts around Labor Day, they start to bunch up and when the rut ends, the cows will bunch into even bigger herds. The bulls will often disappear. They'll be there, not too far away, probably in small bunches, but they stay hidden. It can be really frustrating to see 100 elk and not an antler in the crowd.
Scouting in the summer doesn't help much to figure out where they are unless you're hunting a pre-rut season. It sure helps for learning the country, though.
However, there are no rules to what an elk will do. This is all generalization because an elk will do what it damn well wants to.
