Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Finding Mature Bulls on Public Land

Hello everyone. I hope you all are doing well.

My buddies and I are going on our 4th annual elk hunt this November. We’ll be going to the same place we have gone the first three years, diy public land. The first year we went with a very inexpensive guide and the last two we have gone DIY. Each of the last two years I have killed a bull, younger ones. The first was a 3x3 and last year was a nicer, but not huge 5x5. Each hunt has been a thrill and we were all happy to have elk meat, but now I’m thinking about the next step in my elk hunting career.

The two bulls I have killed were with herds and they were the only legal bulls in their herd. Each time, I found heavy and fresh elk sign coming into meadows, where I would wait to ambush the elk. This is a good tactic, I think, for connecting with a bull and I am sure we will employ this method this fall.

How should I go about finding mature bulls? It seems like at this time of year, the herds are moving to their winter grounds and the bulls we find around the herds are immature. Are the big guys nearby, but just more solitary? Or are they in a totally different area altogether? The elk I have killed in the fields have both been at dusk on top of hills/mountain with canyons bisecting the hill tops. The canyons/drainages are heavily wooded with conifers and there is lots of deadfall. I’m inclined to think the big boys are in there, but just keeping to themselves and generally laying low during the day, just like a post rut whitetail buck. Would still hunting these drainages during the day be a good tactic? If so, am I more likely to find elk down in the creek bottom, or somewhere between the bottom and the top of the hill?

Thanks for sticking around this long. Looking forward to listening to the collective wisdom of the fire.

Happy hunting!
-Jeff

It is not uncommon for the larger herd bulls to separate from the cows post rut. The mature bulls who have spent a lot of energy fighting and breeding are likely to want to put on weight for the winter. So that can often mean, they go to a spot with food, cover and water all in one location. So yes that can mean, a nasty canyon.

somewhere between the bottom and the top of the hill

I would tell you to keep hunting. I have killed dozens of elk and only one bull in the 370 class. I hunt elk because I like to kill elk, getting a big bull is a bonus, but so much focus has been made on killing big bulls, it really isn’t realistic to think you can hunt an elk or area and kill a big bull.

In Montana, you will probably see a success rate of killing elk at around 17%. That means out of 100 hunters, 17 will get an elk. That doesn’t mean bulls, that is elk, either sex.

Out of that 17%, I would guess around 80% are the same hunters, year after year. That leaves about 20% of 17% or 3.4% of hunters will get lucky and kill an elk.

Out of that lucky 3.4%, very few are going to be big bulls. You can’t read Eastman’s Journal and other magazines and think that there are as many success stories as they print, against all the unsuccessful stories you never hear about.

Not every bull elk is capable of growing 330 and larger mass of antlers, regardless of how old he may get. I would consider you luckier than most with the success you’ve had and just tell you to keep hunting. You may want to research where the larger elk are killed and hunt those areas, because there are plenty of areas that just won’t produce big bulls.

Good luck and keep hunting…

Good points Shrap!
I agree.

HS 58

Thanks Shrap and everyone else for the input. I too am more than happy to kill any elk. I love the whole experience and it’s something my friends and I talk about and look forward to the whole year. My intent isn’t to kill a big bull every year, but learn more about an animal that I only get to share space with one week out of the year.

I’ve been hunting the Bitterroots and am aware of the low success rates. In my limited experience it seems that many, if not most hunters just don’t get far away enough from the high pressure areas. Either way, I’m proud of the fact that I’ve been able to locate and kill two bulls over the last two years. I consider it an accomplishment, but my buddies have yet to score which is really starting to grind my gears. I’m hoping to use the tactic i mentioned to put them on bulls while I still hunt down lower.

The only big bulls I’ve ever ran across during Colorado’s third season have always been either solitary or a pair of bulls. They’ve generally been in some brush filled, steep sided hellhole.

I’ve been lucky enough to kill one personally and been in on the pack job on a couple more.

Knowing my odds I go in content to shoot any raghorn that meets the legal criteria. It’s a happy accident if the opportunity for a big one is presented.

Like mentioned above, big bulls typically won’t be with the herd after the rut. They will be solitary or possibly in small bachelor groups. Usually in places the herd won’t be. Deeper canyons. Rougher terrain. Maybe even in sage flats bedding in small pockets of trees. Often nocturnal in habits too.

Get as far away from readily accessed travel corridors as possible.

In this state (Oregon) most of the monster bulls are taken during the rut, which is our archery season. Bulls are announcing their presence then, are active, and on the move all day. I hunted that same trophy ground where those bulls are found during our rifle season, and running down a good bull becomes a needle in a haystack deal as one is looking for kegged up, silent, and inactive animals.

My Wy rifle experiences suggest the very first and last hours of the day provide the best spot and stalk opportunities. Once the sun is on the ground, the elk are hiding. There, I've watched them literally move across the landscape just within the shady side of the morning sun/shade ecotone.

Okay, next question. How steep is too steep when it comes to post rut, mature bull habitat? Obviously elk have no trouble traversing rough topography, but is there a limit?

They have no issues in terrain I would rope up in. Typically though, they bed on small level shady benches.

No.....

That can be as small as a couch..

So with that in mind, do any of you still hunt these steep slopes looking for bulls? Or is glassing the better plan? Would I expect them to be bedded on the north side of a slope?

I have seen pressured elk, and in the Bitterroot specifically, up above the mountain goats and in rougher terrain. They go to wherever they need to feel safe and have the food that they need to recover from the rut. That normally isn’t where the cows are come November.

The density of elk on public in those open hunt areas such as the Bitterroot just aren’t high enough for me to still hunt looking for them, though if you stumbled across an area they seem to like, I am sure it would be a good spot year after year. I’d just continue to glass north slopes as best you can despite how thick they can be. That is where many of the bulls are during the November rifle season there.

There are occasional big bulls killed near Sula but for the most part, the genetics and/or food just isn’t there, let alone with the hunting pressure they get. A 5x5 is a respectable bull in that country. For whatever reason, I have seen bigger bulls come out of the Sapphires than I have the Bitterroots.

Personally I’d continue doing what you’re doing and sooner or later you’ll stumble into a big one.

If by "still hunting" one means slowly traversing terrain looking for elk, then no. One cannot silently sneak about where he must grab onto trees or shrubs to stay on the slopes. Mostly back off from mountain sides and glass. Early and late we venture into avalanche chutes where elk go to forage on herbaceous vegetation.

On sunny days they mostly timber up. Immediately after heavy snows, however, one can find bulls bedded on open high elevation slopes. Cows will usually be lower down.

Thanks for the input, Devil! You among others have helped me with a few questions on this forum the last couple of years. Your help is much appreciated.

Thank you everyone for your input. Keep it coming!

They are where you find them, sometimes quite steep country…

👍
Good luck….I can’t believe you’ve drawn 3 years in a row….I finally drew just the deer combo this year with 3 bonus points. I haven’t been able to hunt my old stomping grounds since 2020.

I am with a bunch of guys from my first tour in FL right now getting loaded all day/every day, but am headed back home to the Bitterroot next week. Too early to seriously scout I think but I’ll hike and ride around some 2-3 year old burns and get a game plan for this fall.