Rather than chase elk all over the mountain, figure out where they go during the daylight hours and be lying in wait when they arrive. (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)
September 23, 2024
By Mark Kayser
I hate a standoffish bull, but that’s exactly what my son and I faced one archery elk season. We ran into it as it made its way up the mountain from a meandering meadow creek bottom a mile below. Not sure if the bull was a satellite or with a herd, all we knew was that it set the parking brake and responsively bugled without moving.
Cow chirps, raking and a variety of bull sounds would not budge the stubborn elk. After 15 minutes I whispered to Cole to follow me. I issued two mews, then we started jogging down the slope, kicking rocks and snapping branches to sound as if a rut chase was in progress. Two hundred yards later we split. My son set up on the edge of an opening and I backed farther into the trees.
After a few seconds, the then-silent bull walked into the opening within 10 yards of Cole. The bull saw him draw and began to dash away, but I cow called again to stop it, giving my son a window to launch a quartering-away shot. The arrow buried deep, and before long we began work on breaking down the mature 6x6 public-land bull.
This hunt produced several epiphanies, but where we started the hunt ranked first among them. Instead of following the elk from the meadow up the mountain, we staked out high above the meadow to wait for the elk to arrive from below. If the elk routinely leave you in the dust as you’re trying to follow them up the mountain, use reverse psychology and start at the top to meet elk where they want to be.
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TOP-DOWN APPROACH This strategy may not hold water in prairie landscapes or on private-land hunts where elk do not feel the intense pressure of public-land hunters, but it does have merit in most pressured elk hunting environments. Elk that do not have access to large refuge areas, such as a private ranch, will seek rugged, high-elevation, road-free areas for sanctuary.
Most roads meander through valleys and bottom country to accommodate construction. When steepness, cliffs and deadfall block ease of construction, your hunt area gains points. Add more points with a good supply of feed. In the example above, the elk were feeding low on a broad creek bottom and traveling high at daybreak to escape public hunters accessing the meadow from a nearby ATV trail.
Singles or a small band of elk may be able to nip through a forest to acquire their daily dose of grass, but herds need acres of it to fill up. Although elk do browse like deer and moose, they are primarily grazers. Think of them as cattle to focus your search for grazing opportunities. Adult elk are big, weighing anywhere from 400 to more than 800 pounds. Depending on the size of a mature elk, it requires 22 pounds of grass or more daily. Once elk fill up, oftentimes under the cover of darkness, they escape these grassy oases before the public arrives. They may water in the lowlands or hit springs on their journey up the mountain to help them digest their food over the course of daylight hours.
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Once you find fresh sign in the high country, set a trail camera to monitor how and when the elk use the area. (Photo by author) Bowhunting elk in general Montana units helped cement my top-down theory. Seeing elk in a faraway opening led me to the top of a mountain with elk sign everywhere. I quickly deduced that the elk fed in a lower meadow near a public road and then scrambled up the mountain more than 1,500 feet for north-face sanctuary. I used my HuntStand app to map out a route from the opposite side of the mountain to ascend and be waiting above them when they arrived. By climbing the steep opposite side in the dark, I avoided bumping the elk, lagging behind them and/or possibly being the third wheel among other public-land hunters starting low.
That mountain gave up two bulls on consecutive bow hunts. A land swap opened ATV access to my original hotspot, creating more hunting pressure, but the elk simply countered by moving to an even steeper mountain across the valley. I arrowed a third bull on that slope, again by skirting the herd and ascending above them to wait.
My strategy gained even more relevance on the third bull. Waiting in the darkness for the elk to move up from the lush bottom, I felt they had stalled in a boggy area, possibly to wallow and water, so I dropped 200 feet as shooting light broke. Just as I was about to slip into the side of the herd, hunter bugles from an ATV trail below started intensifying. The elk sensed a ruse, and real bugles indicated the herd was on the move. The other hunters must have pushed too hard because several cows and calves nearly ran me over in an attempt to summit. No worries. Two days later, while waiting above, I arrowed a plump satellite bull working the roadless summit rim looking for girlfriends.
TOP-DOWN BENEFITS The principal benefits of this strategy include being where the elk are going. After decades of hunting, calling and decoying all types of game, especially crafty elk, deer, coyotes and wild turkeys, I have arrived at a simple assumption. Your odds increase if you place yourself where the animals want to be instead of tracking from behind or attempting to call them back to a place they just left. Archery elk hunters routinely get in behind a herd and struggle to make a bull reverse course.
Thermals descending a slope are a primary concern when hunting above elk. Keep a wind checker handy and use it often to monitor air currents. (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock) Another benefit includes the opportunity of a surprise ambush. Elk moving to a known sanctuary area feel confident. You may be able to place yourself in a saddle or pinch point where the elk must pass within shooting range. Still-hunting through known mountain bedding areas has also provided me with several bulls over the years. And your calls will not seem out of place if they’re emanating from a perceived safe zone. Elk expect to hear other elk in a known sanctuary. Lastly, if the elk do not pass by or come to your calls, they may bed nearby, giving you an excellent starting point for an afternoon hunt. Elk commonly get anxious late in the afternoon, typically noted by that first irritated bull bugle as cows begin rising and moving about. Rutting activity or elk visiting a high mountain spring could be your opening for an encounter prior to the herd dropping back down to feed.
TOP-DOWN CONCERNS Undoubtedly, all strategies have flaws. With this one you will battle thermals that characteristically cascade down a mountain in morning coolness. A gusty pressure front could change that, but on calm mornings your scent from above could flood the downslope. My powder wind checker gets a workout most mornings. Elk rarely run straight up a mountain, so you need to monitor their ascent with elk vocalizations, check the wind and keep adjusting to stay on one side of the herd or the other. You can plant yourself, but be prepared to correct if the herd moves straight below you.
You also burn the same number of calories as you would when starting from the bottom and following elk on their upward journey. Sometimes you may find a side vehicle trail giving you altitude but still requiring you to hike horizontally along a slope to reach a roadless refuge. Use those whenever possible, as you burn exponentially more calories ascending as opposed to traversing a route on more level terrain. Too many days of straight-up assaults leads to faster mental and physical burnout.
Finally, you need to get up early to beat elk to their hideouts. My average ascent to get above elk requires about two hours of hiking. That equates to an alarm going off between 3 and 4 a.m. depending on if I am camped near the elk or need to travel on my ATV for a period of time. I am a morning person, so getting an early start, beating others to trailheads and navigating miles to be ahead of elk is second nature. If you are not a morning person, this strategy may not be for you.
The author (left) called this bull into bow range for his son after getting above it as it made its way up the mountain following a night of feeding in a creek bottom. (Photo by author) One of my favorite solo hunts started two hours before shooting light with a 1,650-foot ascent. Waiting in the predawn at the summit, I could hear elk bugling on their move from below. Several times I adjusted side to side on the summit to avoid being detected due to descending thermals. Finally, the herd hit a bench below and I still-hunted toward the herd noise, including the sound of antlers clashing. Suddenly, the herd patriarch appeared from behind an outcropping and swayed his head as he passed at 10 yards.
I was caught in the open, and he recognized my camouflaged form as danger and bolted. I mewed as I drew my arrow and he skidded to a halt at 30 yards for another look. The arrow was already burying deep, and seconds later I watched him tip over through the dense forest. Starting from above cost me sleep that would’ve come in handy for butchering and packing out the animal by myself, but as they say, you can sleep when you’re dead.
(Photo by author) SAFE PASSAGE Take these precautions when hiking uphill in the dark.
Hiking and summiting in the pre-dawn requires planning, not impulsive nature. Moonlit nights offer some aid, but be prepared for cloud cover, waning moons and total darkness under a canopy of timber. In addition to sturdy hiking boots, I generally utilize a single hiking staff for balance. Next, equip yourself with navigational tools. My HuntStand app works as my main navigational device, with offline maps of the area to help me hit landscape marks under darkness. I back that up with a paper map and my Garmin inReach Mini 2. Finally, bring two light sources with spare batteries. I carry a Surefire EDCL1-T flashlight with a hat clip. I also utilize a now discontinued ALPS headlamp, but Petzl also makes a quality product.
EARLY-SEASON GEAR Efficiency is the name of the game for a rugged elk hunt.
ARCHERY (Photo courtesy of Prime Archery) My Prime Revex 2 weighs just 4.5 pounds without accessories yet shoots smoothly with built-in stability. I am a believer in single-pin sights and use the HAA Sights Tetra RYZ with both an adjustable single pin and a secondary stationary pin. Setting the pin at 30 yards covers most elk shots from point blank to 40 yards. After that, thinking is required. The Axis 5mm carbon arrow by Easton stabilizes a 100-grain G5 Original Montec broadhead. It provides deadly results on tough game like elk.
OPTICS (Photo courtesy of Sig Sauer) I resist the urge to use a rangefinding binocular for archery elk hunts simply because a quick rangefinder zap is less noticeable. For a bino, I prefer the 10x42 SIG Sauer ZULU . Ten power gives me ample magnification to look across canyons. Ranging duties fall to a SIG Sauer KILO2800 rangefinder.
FOOTWEAR (Photo courtesy of Kenetrek) (Photo courtesy of Kenetrek)
Boots mean everything, and having two pairs allows one to dry out in camp as you wear the second, though this is not doable on a backpack hunt. Early season finds me using both the Kenetrek Corrie II Hiker and the Kenetrek Mountain Extreme non-insulated.
APPAREL (Photo courtesy of Sitka) For the past two seasons I have worn Sitka apparel, including the latest Intercept collection that includes weaves of polyester and Merino wool in Optifade Subalpine Camouflage. It blends perfectly and wears like iron.
PACK (Photo courtesy of Alps Outdoorz) Finally, the ALPS OutdoorZ Elite customizable backpack carries all my gear and, when successful, an elk. Start with the frame and attach either the 1800 or 3800 pack to it. My Elite is holding up strong and proudly bloodstained from four public-land bulls.
This article was featured in the September 2024 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe .
