Cow Elk Hunting

[BOEHuntingEdition]

Any tips on finding cow elk in the post rut? Hunting Wy in unit 37. What to look for and how to e scout? I know bulls will be jn the steepest deepest nastiest stuff post rut and have read that cow elk will be in the transition range and lower elevation and most likely private land.

Primarily will be hunting region Y for deer but if successful early will be trying for a cow elk.

Thanks

 

[bsnedeker]

Priorities for cows don't change much throughout the year...they want to be near food. As the weather gets colder that means they will be at lower elevations and yes, spend much of their time on private land. I would focus on hunting the boundaries near private land with more difficult access to weed out some hunting pressure.

 

[wytx]

How late are you talking, early to mid October or into Nov.?

 

[BOEHuntingEdition]

Mid October

 

[lifeisgoodsteve]

I can't speak for that unit, but in another unit if it was cold enough late Oct. and in Dec. we would search the south facing slopes during the day where the snow had some melting to expose grasses, plus provided some warmth. We'd see them bedded there during the day or grazing. This was all in the lower elevations, public land, after the primary snow storms in Sept/Oct.

That was a real benefit of the cold, at least in our unit, that we saw elk either active of bedded in the open during the day.

In late Oct. there seemed to be more bulls intermixed with the cows and by Dec. it seemed to be almost all cows and a few very small bulls in a bigger herd we saw.

Loved the hunt and loved the meat. Enjoy!

 

[SonnyDay]

Heading up to northern CO in early-mid December for some cow hunting. All the early/rut/post-rut bull hunting talk is north slope, shade, deep and dark.

if it was cold enough late Oct. and in Dec. we would search the south facing slopes during the day where the snow had some melting to expose grasses, plus provided some warmth. We'd see them bedded there during the day or grazing.

I was wondering about the need to just get warm and find forage come December.

Current "A" location is between 6,500'-8,000' elevation. Much depends on the weather before then, of course. @lifeisgoodsteve (if you don't mind my asking) were you at a comparable elevation when you saw them sunning on the south slopes?

Thanks.

 

[wytx]

Mid October the elk may very well still be talking, bring a calf call.

 

[HNTR918]

Benches with aspens and grass. Small timber pockets close by. South & East facing slopes.

 

[lifeisgoodsteve]

Current "A" location is between 6,500'-8,000' elevation. Much depends on the weather before then, of course. @lifeisgoodsteve (if you don't mind my asking) were you at a comparable elevation when you saw them sunning on the south slopes?

This was WY, but in Late Oct and early Dec. when I saw them out during the day on open south facing hilltops or ridges, it was about 6500-7500ft elevation.

Interestingly, even in the third week of sept. archery cow hunt we did at 10k ft.(went in on horseback) after a mild stormy night of 20's (pre-wind chill) and about 4-10 inches of snow, we couldn't find the elk until we were surprised to see 4 small groups spread out on a vast, open and steep south facing mountainside.

Please take everything I say with a grain of salt though, as I just know from a few experiences in one year. I'm no expert and have just a tiny bit of experience.

 

[SonnyDay]

Appreciate the info. And don’t worry, I won’t blame you if the elk at that elevation aren’t falling over themselves to get in front of my rifle...

 

[theddguide]

Do you have horses or private access to public? If not, plan on hiking a long ways to lower areas near private where most cows will most likely be.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[cnelk]

Read the WGF Job Report for Area 37. Lots of good info there.

 

[SonnyDay]

Do you have horses or private access to public? If not, plan on hiking a long ways to lower areas near private where most cows will most likely be.

I have private access to public... but generally we're planning to hike or ski in a ways to scout the areas down low near other private tracts. I expect we're still going to get our workout in...

 

[Josh Lubben]

Get in the foothills when it’s cold and snowy and find a big herd.