efoutdoors,

Good advice from BuckAlley. The elk rut usually begins around the third week in September. The biggest piece of advice I can give you other than being in great physical condition, is to be prepared for the September Colorado weather. Here is can be 80 degrees at noon and by early evening it can be down to the 30's-40's. It is very common to get afternoon thunderstorms as well. The bow season and muzzleloader seasons are usually low impact depending on your unit, however being a 1000 acre ranch a lot of times elk will move to higher elevations when pressured, then retreat back down for the rut. For the 12 years that I have been bowhunting elk I have used a combination of calling and then spot and stalk hunting. I use more calling especially if there is a dominant bull in a large heard. Good luck!