Skip to main content

How to Hunt Elk When Under Hunting Pressure

When elk flee the high country, they head to some unlikely places.

How to Hunt Elk When Under Hunting Pressure
Good fringe elk areas are typically lower-elevation spots adjacent to high-country strongholds that bulls vacate when hunting pressure rises. (Shutterstock)

I only caught a glimpse of tan as it melted into the tangle of brush that lined the small waterway. I was sure it was an elk but had no idea if it was a cow or a bull. I motioned for my hunting partner to come over. Quietly, he shifted his position on the canyon caprock and steadied his bino on the elk’s last known whereabouts as I let out some loud, sexy cow talk from my reed-style call.

“Bull,” I heard him say seconds later. As I lifted my own bino, I spied not one, not two, but three bulls, all of which were marching across the sage-sprinkled flat, their gaze focused on our location.

From our vantage point, there was no easy way to descend the treacherous canyon, and with the bulls rapidly closing in, time was running out. I determined the closest point they would likely reach, and ranged it: 476 yards.

After getting my buddy prone with his rifle propped on my pack, I turned the CDS dial on my Leupold scope to 475 yards, then stopped the first bull with a cow call. My amigo put the bullet from the 7 mm PRC right through the lead bull’s lungs. Not knowing what happened, the other two bulls retreated but stopped to look back.

That gave Bill and me time to switch, and my first shot from the Browning X-Bolt Speed LR was perfect. Bill and I had tagged two fringe-country bulls in a matter of seconds.

Over the past few elk seasons, whether hunting with a rifle or a bow, I’ve switched my focus to fringe elk areas. What is a fringe elk area you ask?

When we think of productive elk habitat, most of us envision steep mountains with heavily timbered, north-facing slopes, deep drainages carved by trickling mountain streams and lush mountain meadows. If you define this as “elk country,” you’re not wrong. Elk thrive in the Rockies. They adore deep, dark timber, hidden mountain meadows, long pine-dotted ridges and nasty drainages. However, because most elk hunters share that same vision of elk habitat, many promising areas, even those off the beaten path, get crowded. Fringe areas don’t offer “typical” elk habitat, but due to hunting pressure and simply because elk are incredible travelers, pockets of elk spring up in these unlikely locations.

gaf-shooter-readyu
Fringe country shots can be long. Put in a lot of practice ahead of your hunt and be prepared to capitalize from a rock-solid shooting position. (Jace Bauserman)

To locate them, I first do online research and find units and areas that harbor excellent elk numbers. Next, I locate what I’ve defined above as “typical” elk habitat. Then, I look for lower-elevation areas that offer more open ground. These areas usually contain a mixture of cedars, piñon, sagebrush, cottonwoods, stock tanks and cattle ponds. I’ve found that once elk discover these lower-elevation areas where the ground is more open and pasture grass abounds, they are reluctant to leave.

Elk were initially a plains animal until European hunters drove herds into the Rockies. Settlers hunted elk to feed their families and because they feared these large ungulates would compete with their livestock for pasture ground. When elk move into fringe elk country and find copious amounts of pasture grass, dense pockets of cedar and pine and water, they feel at home.

Over the past three summers, I’ve made it my mission to locate these fringe areas using a combination of map work, weather observation and boots-on-the-ground scouting, and the results have paid off in spades.

After locating likely fringe-area habitats on my HuntStand scouting app, I do a weather deep dive. I want to know how much spring and summer rainfall the area I’m looking to hunt has received. Elk are big animals that must drink a lot. Bulls and cows love to walk and wade in ponds, and bulls roll and wallow in muddy water during the rut. While cattle stock tanks on public land provide water, elk prefer ponds, so my meteorology study is based on finding areas with enough rainfall to fill ponds.

Next, I perform boots-on-the-ground scouting in areas with the most spring and summer rain. I pin ponds—artificial and natural—on my app and investigate them. The more secluded the pond, the better the chances of elk using it. The more limited the water, the easier the elk hunting will be.

Recommended


During my scouting forays, I look for recent and past elk activity. Often, elk don’t summer in these fringe areas, so keep that in mind. Some of my best fringe elk spots never show a fresh track or a single dropping during the summer.

You’re looking for old tracks; previously used wallows; dried, crumbly droppings; and scarred cedars and cacti. This type of evidence shows that elk invade the area after receiving severe high-country hunting pressure or as part of their natural rut migration. As the season nears, I start chasing rain regardless of my weapon choice. You can accomplish this in many ways. First, if your fringe elk areas are close enough to home, you can jump in the truck and be a storm chaser. Second, you can pay for a premium weather app and use its radar to track the path and intensity of a storm.

Rain events in fringe areas are massive. Last fall and the fall before, after two heavy rains, elk showed up in these areas within days of the rains. Why? I’m convinced elk smell water, and just as cattle ranchers move herds to fresh green, elk do the same. Become a late-summer/early-fall storm chaser and you’ll kill more fringe-area elk.

gaf-hunter-glassing
Good fringe elk areas are typically lower-elevation spots adjacent to high-country strongholds that bulls vacate when hunting pressure rises. (Jace Bauserman)

GLASS ’EM UP

Due to the openness of fringe terrain, optics are your best friend. You won’t be glassing across a basin or two when hunting fringe country. Often, you’ll be glassing broken terrain sprinkled with cover for as far as the eye can see, which is usually a long way.

For this reason, I bring the best glass I can afford, along with a top-tier tripod that allows me to switch between my bino and spotting scope quickly. I gain a vantage point, which is usually a tiny hill or plateau, plop my butt in a comfy, portable seat, attach my bino to my tripod and start dissecting the country. Use your bino (I recommend 10- or 12-power models) to find elk or what you believe to be an elk, then swap in the spotter to confirm. Most fringe-country bulls I’ve harvested with rifle and bow were first spied with optics. You can make a solid plan once you have elk in your glass.

CALL LOUDLY

In many fringe areas where I hunt, bulls rut into the end of October. However, I don’t blind-call much. Instead, I always try to stay silent and use the terrain and cover to slip in close. A ninja-like approach is the best way to kill a bull, especially an old, mature bull. However, many times I’ve run out of stalking real estate and had call a target bull into range.

gaf-visible-bulls
Locating water, often in the form of springs or ponds, and abundant green vegetation is a good first step to finding fringe-country bulls. (Jace Bauserman)

Often, satellite bulls looking for love or those circling a herd will come from insane distances, as was the case with the bulls in this article’s opening anecdote.

I’m usually a diaphragm elk caller. However, when hunting the open West, I often need to get loud to cut through the wind and across vast distances, so I make sure I have a reed-style call around my neck to get super loud when necessary. I learned this technique from elk-calling legend Wayne Carlton, so you can trust it.

REPARE TO SHOOT FARTHER

In no way am I promoting unethical hunting, but because fringe country is more open, you can expect a longer shot, whether using your rifle or bow. My average shot distance on fringe-country elk with a bow is 47 yards. My average rifle shot distance is 376 yards, with my longest shot being 523 yards.

The possibility of longer shots means increased practice time prior to the hunt. Shoot a rifle cartridge and bullet capable of dropping a bull at a long distance, and top your gun with a dial-to-distance scope. My go-to is Leupold’s VX-5 HD.

gaf0-jace-trophy-shot
This was the third, and largest, of the author’s three fringe-country bulls taken during the 2023 season. (Jace Bauserman)

When bowhunting, my August practice sessions are never closer than 80 yards and I’ll often extend my shot distance to 120 yards or more. I will not shoot a bull past 65 yards, but if I’m grooving at longer distances on the range, my confidence is high when I need to punch lungs at 50 or 60 yards.

 
TOP LOADS FOR FRINGE-COUNTRY ELK

Three PRC rounds that deliver knock-down power at long range.

I harvested three fringe-country bulls with three different PRC calibers last season. These are the loads I used.

Federal premium Terminal Ascent 6.5 PRC (130 grains)

gaf-federal-premium-65
(Photo courtesy of Federal Premium)

Not only does this match-grade bonded bullet scream from the barrel at 3,000 fps, but its .532 ballistic coefficient is a win and the Slipstream polymer tip ensures low-velocity expansion at long ranges. While the 6.5 PRC might be a touch small for elk, it is deadly accurate, and if you keep the range within 400 yards and shoot a quality bullet, this cartridge will work just fine.

Federal premium ELD-X 7 MM PRC (175 grains)

gaf-eld-x-7mm-prc
(Photo courtesy of Federal Premium)

If I could trigger only one elk round for the rest of my days, it would be this bullet in this cartridge. The 7 mm PRC is superb, and I’ve had great success with this bullet, which has a .689 ballistic coefficient and a polymer tip that resists in-flight deformation and initiates expansion upon impact.

Hornady Precision Hunter ELD-X .300 PRC (212 grains)

gaf-hornady-ammo-box
(Photo courtesy of Hornady)

I took my third bull of 2023, which was my biggest, with this round. It shot well during practice, and the heavy 212-grain bullet, with a HeatShield tip that drives backward into the nose to initiate expansion, dropped the 300-inch Colorado bull in his tracks.


  • This article was featured in the October 2024 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.



GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Recommended Articles

Recent Videos

Finesse tactics continue to have impact on new bass gear. Of course, not everything in bass fishing is driven by finesse...
Gear

Dryshod Evalusion Hunt Boots Keep Whitetail Hunters on Top of Their Game

Finesse tactics continue to have impact on new bass gear. Of course, not everything in bass fishing is driven by finesse...
Gear

Lew's Custom Pro Gen 3

Finesse tactics continue to have impact on new bass gear. Of course, not everything in bass fishing is driven by finesse...
Other

Light up the Salt

Finesse tactics continue to have impact on new bass gear. Of course, not everything in bass fishing is driven by finesse...
Fishing

Caring for the Catch

Finesse tactics continue to have impact on new bass gear. Of course, not everything in bass fishing is driven by finesse...
Fishing

Snook on the Hook

Finesse tactics continue to have impact on new bass gear. Of course, not everything in bass fishing is driven by finesse...
Guns

TriStar Cobra III Field Pump Super Compact .410

Finesse tactics continue to have impact on new bass gear. Of course, not everything in bass fishing is driven by finesse...
Gear

Federal Premium Freight Train Copper Sabot Slug

Finesse tactics continue to have impact on new bass gear. Of course, not everything in bass fishing is driven by finesse...
Fishing

Saltwater Setup

Finesse tactics continue to have impact on new bass gear. Of course, not everything in bass fishing is driven by finesse...
Fishing

Jacks to the Max

Finesse tactics continue to have impact on new bass gear. Of course, not everything in bass fishing is driven by finesse...
Gear

Beilue's Best from ICAST 2024: Baits & Tackle

Finesse tactics continue to have impact on new bass gear. Of course, not everything in bass fishing is driven by finesse...
Gear

Beilue's Best from ICAST 2024: Rods

Finesse tactics continue to have impact on new bass gear. Of course, not everything in bass fishing is driven by finesse...
Gear

Beilue's Best from ICAST 2024: Reels

Game & Fish Magazine Covers Print and Tablet Versions

GET THE MAGAZINE Subscribe & Save

Digital Now Included!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Give a Gift   |   Subscriber Services

PREVIEW THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Buy Digital Single Issues

Magazine App Logo

Don't miss an issue.
Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Get the Game & Fish App apple store google play store

Other Magazines

See All Other Magazines

Special Interest Magazines

See All Special Interest Magazines

GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Get the top Game & Fish stories delivered right to your inbox every week.

Phone Icon

Get Digital Access.

All Game & Fish subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets.

To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine.

Get Digital Access

Not a Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Enjoying What You're Reading?

Get a Full Year
of Guns & Ammo
& Digital Access.

Offer only for new subscribers.

Subscribe Now

Never Miss a Thing.

Get the Newsletter

Get the top Game & Fish stories delivered right to your inbox every week.

By signing up, I acknowledge that my email address is valid, and have read and accept the Terms of Use