Elk in the lower P&J country

[MuleyFever]

So I imagine elk need to eat quite a bit. I will be in AZ hunting some of the Pinion/Juniper country. With the limited feed can I expect the elk to be up often during the day to browse? Is glassing all day a good strategy? Are there ways to identify what foods they will be most attracted to in this terrain?

 

[NVCHUKAR]

I don't know about Arizona but during hunting season in Nevada the bulls are pretty much nocturnal. Can really only catch them early am and last light moving around. Most units in Nevada are strictly PJ. It doesn't hurt to glass but I would plan on resting during the day for the evening hunt.

 

[MuleyFever]

I dont know if it matters for behavior but this is the late hunt so the first week in December.

 

[Beendare]

There is a bunch of feed in that PJ country....thats why elk like it. The problem is; its everywhere.

If I was hunting that I would get up high on my big binos. i've seen elk in that late season not move too much when they find a good spot to hole up. It seems to me, after the rut bulls are just trying to put on weight for the winter and are much less social.

 

[MuleyFever]

Yeah, I have read that the elk this time of the year will find a spot and stay there, not moving much. My question is more with the tactics to find that spot and see the elk. If I can get up and glass is it smart to sit all day and look for them to get up and eat. Thats why I was wondering if they graze a lot or if they can bed most of the day. Deer tend to get up and eat often during the day so glassing in the afternoons can turn them up. I am wondering if this works for elk in this country. Or should I just keep moving trying to peak into every hole I can find?

When you say there is a bunch of feed what are they eating?

 

[Gr8bawana]

I have found the opposite in Nevada's P&J forests. There is no feed there the ground is almost completely bare other than some occasional sagebrush and they are only using it as bedding and cover. It's very hard to glass even from a hight point because you might get a quick glimpse of an elk and then it will disappear. It's not hard to find the trails the elk are using to go back and forth to feed and water and that is where I would concentrate you efforts. Like was already said first and last light will be your best opportunity. It's almost impossible to get elk from their bedding areas, all you will do is bust them out of the country.