Have you killed an elk in the rain?

[Finch]

Did a search for this but didn't come up with anything. Say you only have a week to hunt elk and there is a big rain system moving through. I'm talking a steady rainy day and not a passing shower. How do you approach this? I was watching a 'Live Q&A' with Corey Jacobsen and he mentioned about elk hunkering down and being a lot harder to kill in the rain.

Are you guys staying behind at camp or out prowling around trying to find an elk?

I would love to hear experiences about those who have killed an elk in the rain. Probably a bit risky depending on how hard it's raining and the possibility of losing the blood trail if the shot is marginal.

 

[Jellymon1]

Don’t have much of a choice here. Always raining and I see plenty of elk moving in the rain. In fact I see them sometimes move more in the rain. My biggest bull, a 300” Roosevelt, was shot in the pouring rain. But Roosevelts in western Washington might be a little different.
I would still hunt. Can’t kill em from the couch.

 

[johnw]

I would hunt and have killed elk in a mild rain. The rain turned to snow as soon as the sun went down, so it made the processing & pack out harder. Had there been a need to follow a blood trail, it would have been tough - fortunately he expired within 50 yards. I would certainly do it again in similar conditions, but not in a total wash out. I did notice that when it was raining, most guys stayed in camp.

 

[trophyhill]

my first elk was taken in the rain just before dark. thankfully i made a great shot and watched her fall. tracking in the rain would suck. you may be tracking footprints instead of a bloodtrail. and if multiple elk are in the area, good luck being on the right track if you have to track only tracks.

 

[cnelk]

Rain - No. Snow - Yes.

Not sure about other states, but it RARELY rains in the mornings in Colorado.
It will rain during the night, and in the afternoon, you are almost guaranteed a morning hunt.

But... back in 2007 [I think] - it rained for 2 days straight opening archery weekend.
I mean flat ass poured, non stop.
We didnt hunt at all those 2 days.

 

[HankNM]

Here in NM you can get bad late monsoon ,early winter storms. I hunted the Gila unit for 5 days and it almost never stopped. Thunder,lightning,downpours. I never even got my rain gear dry. Never filled the tag, but came real close one morning it didn't pour,up a canyon. Got pinned by a cow with the bull behind a tree...40 yards away.I could have touched the cow with my mz.
No one was in the campgrounds after the second day either. Elk bedded under the trees all day long.

 

[HntnFsh]

Elk live outside. The rain affects them literally zero. They eat, sleep, feed, travel and do whatever elk do in the rain. I like the rain because it helps cover my scent and noise.

 

[Felix40]

I see way more elk during rain showers. When the temp drops I see them all over the road and Ill see them by the house a LOT earlier than usual. It’s been my experience that the hunting gets better. I don’t think my hunting partner has ever killed one when it was not raining.

 

[TheCougar]

We had our best day of MT hunting last year in a steady freezing drizzle. I wasn’t shooter, but my two buddies Shot at bulls - one missed and one was a bad hit. It wasn’t until after I saw fat and hair on his arrow that I realized tracking the bull was almost impossible. Are elk active in the rain - heck yeah. Would I shoot one? Yes, if I had a close range perfect broadside shot that I was confident would kill the elk without a prolonged tracking job. It’s ultimately up to the shooter to take an ethical shot, so you make the call. This is what I have decided after thinking about how rain will wash away anything but the most stubborn tracks and sign for tracking.

 

[eightyeight mag]

Elk hunting is always better in the rain in my experience.
Rain masks smells and sounds. Makes stalking that much easier.

 

[PNWGATOR]

It can rain every day of an archery elk hunt in North Idaho and the brush will stay wet well after any rain. It’s miserable. You must be able to hunt in the rain and yes, we’ve killed elk in the rain.

 

[Corey Paulsen (teamkabob)]

Here in NM you can get bad late monsoon ,early winter storms. I hunted the Gila unit for 5 days and it almost never stopped. Thunder,lightning,downpours. I never even got my rain gear dry. Never filled the tag, but came real close one morning it didn't pour,up a canyon. Got pinned by a cow with the bull behind a tree...40 yards away.I could have touched the cow with my mz.
No one was in the campgrounds after the second day either. Elk bedded under the trees all day long.

Your not kidding! My first NM hunt it poured non stop and the BLM roads were muddy fun. Almost had to chain the truck up

 

[bat-cave]

I haven't actually killed an Elk in the rain, but have had a couple of the best elk hunting days in my life chasing them in the rain! ~2 years ago I was out in a complete downpour (not typical in CO) in the wee hours. The Elk were going nuts with multiple bulls with cows sounding off all around me. At several times I had Elk at < 30 yards from me and I could only see them when the lighting would flash! Freaky and crazy fun at the same time! I also ended up stumbling across a dead head of a 6x6. I strapped it onto my pack and was working my way down late morning as things quieted down and I was borderline hypothermic. The trail was like a small stream with so much water channeling down it and it was super slippery. At one point I was looking down as I stepped over a big downed log and herd the dreaded rumble of elk hooves running. I looked up to see a 6x6 standing broadside at ~20 yards just staring at me. I scrambled to get an arrow nocked and come to full draw as he turned and bolted into the thick timber. I realized that with the dead head on my back, he was throughly confused ... hence the stare down. Amazing experience.

 

[5MilesBack]

I shot a bull in the pouring rain in 2013 one evening, and in 2016 I woke up at 0400 one late September morning because the rain was pounding my wall tent. I rolled over and went back to sleep. I woke up after it was light out and it was still raining but not as hard. I got out of my sleeping bag and made my coffee, then drove to the spot I wanted to hunt that morning knowing I was late. I chugged my coffee then jogged the mile and a half back there, then shot the bull in my avatar in the rain.

 

[Indian Summer]

I might use that as my 1 day to get a little extra sleep but I never miss a day of hunting. I hate rain gear. I’ll get to one of my go to glassing spots and set up my silnylon tarp with my trekking poles and use my Helinox chair and watch a bunch of country all day from under my shelter. If I see a bull worth shooting I don’t mind using the rain gear for a stalk but if I don’t I stay put.

 

[Ucsdryder]

I guess you could, but why would you want to? Hunting in the rain sucks. Pretty soon the grass is wet and you’re soaked from the boots up and the hat down. Or put on your rain suit and start climbing hills. Then you’re sweating from your underwear out. No thanks.

 

[BRTreedogs]

Still hunting thru bedding is your bet.
They are going to be less active.
But they don't dissappear off the earth. And they have to eat.
Calling id expert to be unsuccessful.
Your gonna have to see them before they see you.

The odds are lower but what's your other choic.
Definitely won't kill one if your not out there.

 

[ElkNut1]

Actually, we've taken quite a few in the rain. Not down pours but a steady regular all day rain! Here's one here, we both have full rain gear on & you can see the wet mane on the bull!

ElkNut

 

[IdahoElk]

How do you guys follow a blood trail in the rain? Sometimes following a blood trail in the best of conditions is hard enough, I can’t imagine doing it in the rain.

 

[CAElkhunter]

Light to medium rain yes. Down pour or heavy snow no. In my opinion Elk move in rain but not in heavy wind storm down pour rain. They bed down during that.