BuckAlley

Heading to Colorado for archery Elk the 3rd wk of season. This was orginally suppose to been a muzzleloader hunt, but I wasn't fortunate enough to draw a tag, so back with the bow. No biggy. However I also see this is the same wk as a full moon. How much have you more experienced archery elk hunters seen a full moon effect Elk? Am I looking at a tougher hunt if the skies are clear all wk, and a bright full moon is glowing??

sclwald

I am not an experienced Archery hunter as this is my first year but I have hunted elk with a rifle for 20 years. The full moon will effect your hunt. They will feed throughout the night and stay in the timber more.

Colorado Luckydog

The will tend to feed more in the night, and you may have to go after them in their bedroom.

With a little luck on your part, the rut will be on and you should be fine.

Where are you going to be hunting? Good Luck!

elknut1

Here's some Full Moon info I wrote oin the past!


This is one of the biggest questions many out of State & in State bowhunters have these days, that is, should I pick my hunting days during a Full Moon or just before or after or avoid this time frame completely? Hunting the full moon phases can be very productive when you approach it with the right attitude & knowledge of an elks activity at this time! Even in non peak rut times bulls & cows alike can become very vocal & nocturnal come Aug.--Sept. --Take advantage of these times, hunt elk in a manner you can take advantage of.
If you think about it, when elk are vocal at night they're in their feeding/watering/wallowing & nightime bedding areas. Calling after dark can be productive! When you find vocal elk in areas at night be rest assured they'll be there come morning & if not severely harassed, they'll be right back there the following evenings. It's a desired feeding/breeding area & it's tough to push them out of these types of areas. Hunt smart & you'll be able to hunt them a good while! Always hunt with favorable wind!

You can hunt them come morning knowing full well they are there! At times we get to these spots an hour or so before light & sit & listen, elk are generally vocal at this time & you can really narrow down right where they are, moving in towards them with good wind & getting good positioning will give you an edge come daylight. It's up to us as hunters to use the best possible methods to either ambush them or lure them in with calling that fits the encounter! At this time I personally like taking care of business while they're still in their feeding areas. You have about one hour generally to get in there & get it done before they head off to their daytime bedding areas, after that time you'll find yourself "dogging" the herd! If it doesn't pan out then, do your best to keep tabs on their movement as they head to bedding areas, many times bulls will bugle their way to them with the lead cow leading the way & avoiding possible confrontations with other vocal bulls. Finding those bedding areas is a great key to our success. If not real sure where they are or where the elk bedded, we then stake out the higher peaks within reason & sit & listen, many times for a couple of hours, elk love getting up midday/afternoon for light feeding & watering if it's hot especially & we like being within earshot. At this time bulls will sound off including the herd bull, this will not only give away his immediate position but also his aprox bedding area as bulls will bugle right from or very near from their beds at this time! Make mental notes of bedding areas, they use the same ones yearly. Be willing to use Location sounds early afternoon if need be to get them sounding off. Hunting near bedding areas is another subject! (grin)

Too, knowing they'll be back to these same feeding areas come evening, now you can get into that area in the afternoon while they're bedded elsewhere & find those trails they're using to enter that nightime area. It's a great place to set a treestand/ground blind or just "setup" in a good area near their trails. You may want to setup further up the draw or ridge or whatever you need to do to intercept them on their way to this pre-determined spot! Get in there scout it out & do what's best for the area. We do things like this everyear. Remember, "hunt smart" take advantage of these very vocal nights!! Keep a positive attitude! Consider pop-up blinds & a decoy as well.

Here's some photos of bulls we took last year, 1 on the day of Peak Full Moon, 1 on 3 days prior to full moon & 1 -2 days after the full moon. We used similar tactics as I just described, so yes, they do work! (grin) Go here to the website if you'd like & you can see all 3 bulls taken. www.elknut.com

ElkNut1

SILVERTIP-CO

I hunted full moon first 4 seasons I lived here. Between coyotes singing and cougarsscreaming and bigfoots howling there wasnt no elk seen heardsmelt or felt. Now we NEVER hunt full moon now. Always hunt on the decrease. New moon or waning full. Good luck in COlo.

BuckAlley

Well, thanks for the info. Guess I got both good & bad here. Elknut, I hope Ifind what you say to be true!! I'm heading to the White River National Forest, Flat tops. I hunted the same area Sept. 06' during the last wk. of archery. I'd easily had a nice bull if had a ML in my hands. But Ienjoy the bow alot more, and I actually came only a few ft from a clear shot at a nice 6x6. But I had to pass, that close moment made the whole hunt!! I'm so pumped about getting back out there.

elknut1

Be willing to adapt to the conditions handed you! At the time of the Full Moon, do your utmost to take advantage in locating those bedding/feeding areas. Both ambushing & calling can be highly succesful. Keep a positive attitude & get out there well befote light!

ElkNut1

sclwald

Elknut1,

Very respectable writeup you did. I would have to agree hunting full moons is more difficult but not out of the question. You just need togive thatextra effort to findcatch up to them.

gselkhunter

The key to full moon hunting is when does it rise? If the full moon rise is during the day light hours it doesn't have the same impact. You might want to check your lunar chart.
Sept. 20 from 9am-1pm.
Gselkhunter

jjwillie

The only difference that I have noticed in the years I've hunted elk, are that they aren't in the clearings for very long after first light. Becuase they've had some "light" all night to feed,I think they spend less time mingling in parks and clearings in the mornings. When there's not a full moon, you may have til 10am in an unpressured area, I've noticed that once first light comes (during full moon), you'd better be close already or be able to get to em in less than an hour.