RE: Early Idaho Elk
I love hunting wallows, especially early on!!! Yes, pick active wallows or waterholes, both can be very effective, if you're lucky you'll find both together, that's a spot to put your time in on!!
I like the first 3 hours after light & 2 hours before dark, this is peak activity time for me. Ifit's a full moon week with little cloud cover, then I also sit it 11:00-3:00 in the afternoon, elk will move around a lot midday at this time when it's especially hotter weather!
When at wallows/waterholes I use selective sounds once again. Too, I should mention that make sure you are using wallows that are fairly high on the mountain for good morning & evening use. Ones that aren't real far from bedding areas. The lowest ones on the mountains are only used at night or first drop ofdaylight as they head to bedding areas, the more hunting pressure around and the less use they recieve, this another reason I like the ones higher up, elk are more at ease!
When at a wallow I don't bugle out in a challenging manner like I'm trying to find out who the owner is, I don't want bulls to get leary. Instead, I give twodifferent cow calls & calf talk, nothing super long or loud, I'm just a small herd milling around, I then inject a smallish rolling low keyed gutteral growl ending with light rapid chuckles, this is the bull talking to his little group. I may take it up a notch vocallyjust to reach out where other elk should be in earshot.In the morning, I then get a big stick &give some light splashing in the wallow, this adds realisim!!! I don't go overboard as it's generally cooler at this time and elk don't usually go to wallowing around if the temperatures are on the cool side.
If it's the evening hunt, I splash with the stick with much more enthusiasim & aggressivness as elk like to cool down after a hot day & do a little playing around as well, Many timesa real bullwill bugle after hearing the splashing, when this happens I don't challenge him. I instead give some nervous type chuckles and whines in telling the cows to let's move on, I then have the two cows welcome the real bull over, their owner doesn't like that and he ushers them off away from the real bull, I call as I'm leaving the wallow once againg snapping branches andtalking to the cows as we're leaving. After about 60-70 yards of this I then return & sit silently waiting for the real bull to show, and he will, be quiet & patient, you want him to think you all left!! A ground blind or treestand will work!!
If I get no response at the wallow, I do the same thing!! Ilike giving elk a reason to come to that wallow that day, it gives them adirection when they get up from their beds!!! They will want to come and smaell the area to see who these other elk were! I don't keep callingif I feel I was heard, I want them to come in un-cautious, not looking for other elk!!----------ElkNut1
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