Spotting and Stalking Elk
Elk hunting is getting more and more popular among us over the past decades.
This traditional hobby has not faced its end as the ever growing numbers of
beginner hunters are still growing over the years. With a good game of elk
hunting and prizes of nutritious elk meat that claims to be healthier and
better than other red meat, one would easily be hushed to join in the hunting
pack to experience hunting for elk nowadays.
With the growing numbers of hunters giving pressure to the elks, elks are being
smarter than before. Calling the elks using an elk whistle or bugle may work as
before, but not as effective as it was these days. This is how the elks are
getting smarter and smarter, which appears to be whistle shy and does not give
response to whistles whenever the hunter sounds it.
What used to be an easier way had turned out to be a harder way of calling the
elks to the hunter. Instead, experienced hunters now go after the elks instead
of calling them over. This is called spotting and stalking the elk. It involves
the hunter to gather information on where the elk will spend their time at
looking for food, and their bedding area is. Having known of these few
information, it is then a good chance to strike.
Collecting clues on about where an elk hides is not as easy as it sees. A
hunter needs to be patient enough to gather sufficient information about the
whereabouts of a herd or a large bull. Often positioning himself still for
hours, a hunter will camp at a certain place along the trail to determine that
the trail is actually a valid elk trail that a large bull uses to travel
between his feeding ground and his bedding ground.
Strategic places like a water hole where elks drink water is a good place to
position a hunter. A hunter may set up behind the trees to gain a perfect view
of the herd or their desired target easily as most of the elks are busy
drinking from the water hole.
Setting up around an elk’s bedding area is also an alternative to successfully hunt an elk, but this way
is a cause of a little controversy, as hunters find it unethical to strike on
the elks as they were lying down sleeping or resting. This may be seen as an
easier way to hunt them but to be honest it is not that easy. Elks tend to have
more sensitive hearing and smelling while they are back resting in their cozy
home.
A good way of hunting elks is the use of tree stands. Setting up these tree
houses over the top of a feeding ground usually bags more kills than ever. This
can be explained because elks are not accustomed to look up when they are
eating, so tagging them from above is far easier than lifting a bow or rifle on
the ground. Another tip is that, tree stands offer better moving spaces as
compared to the ground, where one can move around easily, and spot further than
being on the ground.
There are so many ways of following the targeted bull or cow of your choice,
one important here is that, whichever way you choose, patience is the most
important thing you must have to be able to tag your trophy hunt.