Big Game Animal Profile-ELK 

Each year only about 20 percent of the elk hunters in all of the Western states are successful.  Seems rather low considering the current boom in elk populations.

In the early 1900’s the North American elk population was about 35,000. Today’s elk herd numbers are about 800,000.  So why do we have such a low hunter success rate?  The answer can be attributed to the nature of the beast. It usually lives in mountainous areas, with limited access but there are also herds in very accessible places. Despite its size elk are an elusive animal and its herding instincts make it difficult to approach.  So how do you hunt this animal? 

Calling is a popular method, but you must understand elk vocalization first.  Calling with a bugle is effective only during the rut, which normally occurs from September through early October.  This type of calling is the most common and the most misused. Unless you are determined to bag the herd bull, bugling like one could produce the opposite results. Decent satellite bulls often choose discretion over valor. Better to sound like a hotheaded youngster.     Cow calls can be effective just about anytime.  If you use calls remember to act like an elk.  I’m talking about being mobile, moving, calling and actually making some noise.  Bulls rub and knock their alters against trees. They are not quiet animals.  

So where do you find them?

Because Arizona’s Elk herds live in a semi arid environment their migration patterns are somewhat limited.  Yes, they will move down off the mountains and into the cedar, but they do not migrate over long distances like the elk herds residing in Colorado or Wyoming.  Daily travel patterns are what Arizona Hunters need to focus on.  Elk usually feed at night, starting late in the afternoon and stopping very early in the morning. This is standard elk behavior.  When disturbed elk will change their behavior by returning to their bedding area long before daylight.  Then the trick is to catch them at dawn’s early light as they move to a bedding area.     If this doesn’t work, start still hunting in the thick timber. Look for their actual bedding area.  Good luck you’ll need it!  This is the toughest hunting of all.   The Elk will be in heavy cover, where it's very difficult to sneak up on them. Remember the wind, move into it.  Take your time constantly glassing and move ever so slowly ahead.  Look for a part of an elk, a twitching ear or the horizontal line of a back.   

Ok, you’ve got your elk.  Now what?

The actual size of the animal and the amount of backbreaking work required to field dress and transport the meat is almost overwhelming.  Elk hunts require careful planning and knowledge of how to field dress and prepare an elk for transport. Carry a piece of rope. It will help keep those big legs from smacking you in the head while you work. Just think of them as a really big deer.  You field dress them the same way, you just have a bigger animal to deal with. Many elk hunters carry quarter bags.  Handy for packing out or hanging boned meat until it can be transported. At the very least, be sure to move the carcass into the shade after it is field dressed. The Arizona sun is not known for keeping meat fresh. Then it is time to find out who your real friends are.

Robert Willis

Team AZOD