Elk and pressure- Idaho Salmon B

[TravisB_VT]

Some friends and I will head to Idaho this fall for a combo Elk/Mule Deer hunt. Out of the five of us, two have elk tags. This will be my second trip to the area Salmon, ID area (second western hunt in total too!). Our hunt is from 10/13-10/19. I spent 8 days there in mid October 2019, so I have an idea of the terrain and pressure.

A couple questions, one general in nature and the other related to the possible change in pressure with the new non-resident tag limitation:

1. I found elk two days prior to the rifle opener back in 2019. One nice bull on public, the others were on private when I saw them, but public land was surrounding them and relatively "close proximity" to where they were spotted. The evening before the opener I could not locate any of the three herds I'd found the day before. Hunter traffic had increased considerably as the mule deer season was open and others were rolling in to setup elk camp the day before the opener. The thick, steep, bedding cover was nearby and on public. For those that hunt elk in other pressured spots, would you expect the elk to stay low and on private to avoid the pressure, stay put but be more nocturnal, or relocate altogether? Are mature bulls still hanging with the cows in mid October?

2. With non-resident tags being more limited in Idaho for 2021, should I expect less pressure or will were the changes not enough to noticeably impact pressure along with local residents still having plenty of tags?

3. Should I concentrate on Mule Deer and if luck has it, I take an elk if I bump into one? (I had trouble finding mule deer bucks in 2019 too, but that will be a separate post )

Thanks in advance for any advice for the novice elk hunter.

 

[brn2hnt]

Salmon tags have been capped, so those won’t change.

Unclear whether or not deer hunter numbers will change, though doubtful any change would be enough to influence elk behavior any more or less than previous years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TravisB_VT]

@brn2hnt Thank you for the quick reply. I will plan on similar pressure as 2019.

 

[mtnbiker208]

Are mature bulls still hanging with the cows in mid October?

yes, they are. I killed a 5x6 on oct 19th with a dozen cows and bugling.

 

[Gear-Reviewer]

No… *They sometimes are. I’ve seen both.

 

[Calbuck]

The biggest bulls I've seen during deer season were usually by themselves..the smaller rag horns up to maybe 260ish-280ish were with cows. Your results may vary..

 

[TravisB_VT]

Since I have never seen a bull elk during the season I will not be too fussy if the opportunity presents itself. Appreciate the insight.

 

[Elkdreamer]

I was in the area last year around Oct 20th. I was muzzy cow hunting with my bow tag. I found the elk by bugling. They would answer.

 

[TravisB_VT]

@Elkdreamer I admittedly never tried calling for elk on my 2019 hunt thinking the rut was over and they were probably call shy since the archery elk season had already passed. Lack of experience on my part. Sounds like I should pack a bugle along with my cow call this year?

 

[Elkdreamer]

@TravisB_VT I will send you a pm.

 

[TravisB_VT]

@Elkdreamer I may be too new to the site for a PM if it does not work.

 

[Deadfall]

Elk have 2 heat cycles. Not sure about salmon area these days as I have not hunted there in a decade. From other places I have hunted it seems the second cycle is starting to become the hot cycle. Which is usually the first half of October. Then trailing off by first of November.

Old bulls wil behave much like whitetail. When pressure is on they can hunker down and then be active at night.

Unlike whitetail when they are directly spooked and flee they go for miles.

If pressure is on and you have a area that elk like. Look for a nasty hole that nothing should be in. Odds are fair there will be a silent bull in there that everyone is trudging right on by

 

[TravisB_VT]

@Deadfall both you and Elkdreamer have me convinced I should try some rut tactics this fall for my mid-October hunt. Of the elk we found in 2019, once the season opened, they were all in spots others walked around. I did not hunt last year, but a friend had a tag so I sent him in to one of the spots. He called that night and said "I thought we were friends?!". He decided an elk was not worth the effort into and out of that spot! Appreciate the help and maybe I can create some good luck and see my first bull with a weapon in my hand this fall.

 

[Deadfall]

@Deadfall both you and Elkdreamer have me convinced I should try some rut tactics this fall for my mid-October hunt. Of the elk we found in 2019, once the season opened, they were all in spots others walked around. I did not hunt last year, but a friend had a tag so I sent him in to one of the spots. He called that night and said "I thought we were friends?!". He decided an elk was not worth the effort into and out of that spot! Appreciate the help and maybe I can create some good luck and see my first bull with a weapon in my hand this fall.

Second heat bulls are look for love not fight

 

[Indian Summer]

In that area the bulls other than small 5s and under will be split from the herds and in bachelor groups. And while you could still find elk relatively close to where you located them those bachelor groups will be a little further away from the access points. Look for smaller openings where most people won’t think much about but there’s just enough grass for those guys to make a living. When you do find them be careful. There could be 2….. there could be 8. Before you make a move do some glassing looking for loners off to the side. And make it count because if you get busted you probably won’t get on those bulls again. It’s a tough game but if you want better than a raghorn don’t fall into the trap of hunting where you’re seeing those nursery herds full of calves and spikes.

 

[Fullfan]

Been hunting the salmon zone before it was named that. 1983 was my first trip there. We now archery hunt there, due to so many gun hunters. Have killed bugeling bulls the first few days of but not very often. Pm me where you plan to hunt and stay. We hunt the NW part of the zone.

 

[TravisB_VT]

@Fullfan looks like I need a couple more days before I can PM another member (I am a newbie). I will share some details about our first trip when we can chat. We stay in the town of Salmon. Looking forward to a discussion.

 

[Fullfan]

Ten 4. We hunt 30 miles from salmon. Pm when u can

 

[TravisB_VT]

Will do. I believe you may be able to PM me presently, but my seven day newbie probation is over on Tuesday 7/6. Happy 4th!

 

[Johnmiller93]

I’ve hunted salmon 2014-2018 I shot a great buck in 2014 then every year after that the deer in that area seemed to take a dive we still shot bucks every year just small tho as for the elk I was lucky enough to shoot a bull every year I’ve hunted there 3 of the 4 were in the first 3 hours of opening morning after that it’s gets much harder to locate them due to pressure in the area your best bet is to be there a few days early and locate the elk you want to go after and be on them at first light opening morning