Late August Elk rut activity and strategy

[quicknick]

Hey guys, I drew an archery elk tag for units 061 and 071. I am curious what kind of activity I can see in the last ten days or so of the month. I realize the rut probably won't really be on but maybe bulls will be breaking up and kind of keeping tabs on cows and starting a bugle a bit? Also I need to narrow down a strategy; should I try to find that one bull that is somewhat aggressive or maybe should I see if I can get bulls talking and put on a stalk or maybe even a true spot and stalk.

Any insight or advice will help. Thank you in advance.

 

[Hilltop]

In late August I think you should focus on spot and stalk or ambush. Bulls bugle year round but they will rarely come in to a call at that time of year imo. The nice thing about spot and stalk that time of year is you typically won't have a bunch of cow eyes to avoid. Big bulls will often be by themselves or in small bachelor groups. I think you have a decent shot at seeing a bull or two still in velvet- would be a pretty cool trophy. Keep us posted on your hunt- good luck.

 

[quicknick]

Thank you for the input Hilltop!

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Be aggressive.Make a little noise.Elk are not a quiet animal."Be the Dominant Elk"Might be early for the rut,but a mature bull will want a fight.

 

[Gr8bawana]

It's going to be a little too early for rutting activity. The bulls will probably still be in bachelor herds. It would be tough to call in a bull because they have no reason to react to a bugle or cow call.

 

[kidoggy]

I've found late august to be a great time to bugle them in .
in fact I would rather hunt(call) them then in the pre rut, before they gather a harem then later when they already have their cows rounded up.

biggest problem I have with august hunting is the heat. yesterday was 110

 

[quicknick]

Thank you for the responses guys, I have been worried about the heat. Hoping it won't be so bad.

It makes sense that it may be easier to call them in the pre-rut before they gather cows. Hoping I can a couple responses anyway just to have that experience.

 

[Slugz]

QN a couple comments to consider while getting your game plan together, only based on my experiences here in CO in a limited medium pressure area every September the past 7 years. Yeah I've been in the same valley 7 years straight ��
1) match what you hear that early. If they are not vocal I'm not making alot of noise. I normally pattern them and spot and stalk until things pick up about 7 Sep.
2) The herd bulls I've seen shadow the main herds of cows and calves that are still in their summer calving areas until the same time 1st week of Sep, 7 Sep timeframe.

When I review my log book all animals bulls and cows we shot were silent and we got in front of them with good wind and they fed to us.

Just my 2 sense and wjat works for us.

 

[ScottR]

Stalk and ambush, think of it like hunting mule deer at that point.

 

[quicknick]

Good deal, thank you for the tips!

 

[quicknick]

Some luck i have. The sugarloaf fire shut me down big time. Camp almost got burned over once and we moved camp 3 times trying to stay away from the fire. It was a very frustrating week of trying to hunt in tremendous smoke all the while making sure i was hunting in areas i could get out of quick if necessary. The fire burned 80,000 acres yesterday alone and when i was able to get in touch with fire service they told me the whole area had evacuation orders and they were going through kicking people out; plus they werent even sure where the fire was because it was moving so fast and the smoke was so bad that they couldnt fly the fire. I also heard from an another hunter that they closed 061 to hunting and would fine anyone they found in there which i didnt learn until two days after the closure. It seemed like everywhere we went the fire was hot on our heels. Made the call today to get out of dodge while we could and we still had to make a huge detour through jarbidge to get to elko due to fire activity and road closures. The highlight of the trip was getting to full draw on a small bull at 35 yards but he needed three more steps to give a clear shot...he didnt take them.

It makes me sick to my stomach to have to leave but with the high fire activity and high winds plus the closures i feel like it was the right move. I guess we will see, hind sight is always 20/20.

Good luck to everyone else.

 

[Slugz]

Sorry to hear that. These last few years fire seasons have been tough.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Boy that really sucks. Especially as long as it takes to draw an elk tag.

From KTNV News 2 Reno

Because the wildfire is rapidly growing, the US Forest Service is expanding closures in the area. The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest has closed 754,448 acres on the Mountain City-Riby Mountains-Jarbidge Ranger District. This closure went into effect Sunday and are closed for public safety. All campgrounds, roads, trailheads, and trails are closed west of Forest Road 753 (Oneil Basin area), north of U.S. I-80, and east of Elko County Road 785/NV SR 226.

Campgrounds closed include Jack Creek, Big Bend, Wildhorse Crossing, Pine Creek, and Sawmill Campgrounds. This affects the Nevada Department of Wildlife's hunting areas 061, 062, 071, 072.

The Forest Service says anyone who is found guilty of violating this closure order could receive a maximum fine of $5,000 or six months in jail, or both.

 

[Velvet muley]

Man, that really sucks!! I wonder if NDOW will do something like an extension on the season to make up for the closure? You would think they would do something to make it right for these guys that have waited a Lifetime to draw some of these tags.

 

[quicknick]

Got a call from NDOW today stating that there is nothing that could be done and its just bad luck. He did say people could email the Nevada wildlife commission to get changes made to the Nevada Administrative Code which governs and controlls wildlife tag allocation and seasons. They would have to adopt a change to the Administrative Code. I will go ahead and shoot off some emails.

 

[nv-hunter]

I hope it works out for you, if not maybe at least you could get chances made so others dont get screwed in the future.

I'll send an email in support of some type of change . At least if a closer stops hunting in over half of an area for more then half of the season then waiting periods for that years hunters in that unit have waiting periods waived.

 

[quicknick]

Agreed! I doubt they will be able to make a retroactive action for the people this year. I sent a letter to all of the members of the Wildlife Commission urging them to explore modifications to the Administrative Code for future hunters affected by such occurrences.