Wallow's, How Soon...

['Ike']

After shedding their velvet have you seen them start to hit wallows?

 

[Ross]

My experience says last week of august...check the trail cam pics I posted 8/28/13 in trail cam section

 

['Ike']

Thanks Ross, pretty much what I'm hearing and reading then...Last week of August and for sure by the 1st of Sept...I'll check out the photo's and good luck this year!

 

[Shrek]

How late do elk hit wallows ? If there is warmer weather come say late October should I check out known wallows ?

 

[ElkNut1]

When do elk use Wallows the most? The last 10 days of Aug.
to 2-3 weeks into Sept. This has been our experience in several
states. After that time frame, if you give or take a few days it is
likely you will see wallow use fall dramatically. A lot of the bulls
will hit them at night after this time frame because bulls start to
get pre-occupied with rutting activities. Wallows are still in use
but more sporadically. Hot or cold weather can also be a contributing
factor in amount of use.
As a side-note, I’ve seen bulls use wallows as late as mid Oct.
When I say use, I don’t mean one was near one or merely getting
a drink from it. I mean full blown use where he gets covered in
mud! My good friend shot a bull while he was aprox 100 yards or so from an unseen wallow.
The bull was a muddy mess and came running to his cow in
distress sounds & short bugle scream - and to boot there was 8” of snow on the ground
and coming down hard! This goes to show you that wallows are
not just a hot weather item and that a cow in heat can change
everything when a bull gets heated up and ready to compete for a
hot cow’s attention.
By the same token, bulls do not use the same wallows every
year. There will be years that some wallows are good bets but
another year they will show no use at all. This can happen for a
variety of reasons… maybe a particular bull was killed off, the
elk decided to move to a different vicinity, or different bulls have
moved in and made their own wallows. Obviously lack of water,
hunting pressure, or the fact that better feed and water may be in
another area can also contribute to not having wallow activity.
This is why it is imperative to find active wallows each season.
I really love the highest water/wallow on the mountain. They
seem to be elk magnets and are away from hunting activity.

ElkNut1