Elk Stands
By T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors
A stand is
where you choose to hunt, any location where you wait for the
animals. It could be near a tree, rock, or hilltop, or it could be
a treestand, tripod or ground blind. The main purpose of a stand
is to allow you to see the animal and get a shot before it detects
you. A stand site should afford some means of protection from the
animal seeing, smelling or hearing you while letting you see it.
Your method of hunting dictates where you place your stand. If you
are rifle or muzzleloader hunting, your stand can be farther away
from where you expect game than if you are shotgun, handgun,
archery or crossbow hunting. Distance alone is enough to avoid
detection. The shorter the effective range of you and your weapon,
the more concealment from sight, the distance and elimination of
sound and of scent, and the wind direction dictate where you can
place your stand.
If you
intend to wait for the animals, or use techniques to attract them
at distances closer than 100 yards, place your stand out of the
direct line of sight of the animal, and be downwind or crosswind
from its approach. A tree stand can be placed near high use areas
but still be out of normal visual range because of height.
Although treestands are not used much for elk and mule deer
hunting, they can be very effective near feeding, watering and
crossing areas. Using a hilltop or ridge near these areas works
just as well. Height also helps to disperse scent and sound.
Ground stands can be effective as long as adequate concealment or
camouflage is used, and precautions are taken so the animal
doesn't smell you. There are numerous hunting blinds that conceal
movement, muffle sound, and because you are out of the wind, fewer
odors escape.
Because
elk travel so much, most hunting is done from the ground. The
biggest advantages of ground stand hunting are mobility and
comfort. By sitting on my Back Seat portable stool I can easily
pick up and move if the area is unproductive. I don't have to
worry about finding a comfortable place to sit, or being confined
to an unproductive location. I simply get up and move to a better
spot, taking my seat with me. This is especially helpful if there
is a wind change. While I am sitting on my Back Seat I don't
present the upright human form, and the animals don't perceive me
as a danger. I have been hunting from ground stands for years and
have had more "close encounters" with animals, and shooting
opportunities, than I have had when hunting from a tree stand.
Daily Travel Patterns
An
understanding of game behavior and travel patterns helps in
choosing a hunting or glassing site. Because elk and deer feed
primarily during low light conditions they have two primary rest
periods, late at night and during midday. Generally they leave
their daytime bedding areas, in heavy cover, late in the
afternoon, and move toward night food sources. They intermittently
feed, travel and rest during the night in open areas before
returning to their daytime bedding areas. Because the amount of
light is a security factor, elk and deer in mountainous, forested
areas (where there is shade) get up and begin to feed and move a
couple of hours before sundown. As the amount of light becomes
less they move into more open areas of low brush or sparse forest
to feed, moving toward open areas.
While I was
doing my elk research I noticed that during the September and
October rut, the bulls get extremely agitated and active about an
hour before sunset. They often rise from their beds, roar, bugle
or chuckle; thrash and rub trees and brush; and scrape and wallow.
If it is hot the bulls may wallow in a spring, wet meadow, pond or
at the edge of a stream or river. Bulls wallow during hot weather
because they put on a lot of fat prior to the rut and they need to
cool off. About sundown they move into the shadows at the edges
of openings before going into open meadows or agricultural fields,
where they feel secure and feed during darkness. If you see cow
and calf elk in a meadow, but no bulls, wait as long as you can. I
often see bull elk come out of the forest 15 to 30 minutes after
the cows come out to feed in open meadows. The bulls may not move
into the open until after the sun goes down.
In the
early morning this pattern is reversed. As the sky begins to get
lighter the elk move from the open areas back into heavier cover,
before going into their bedding areas after the sun is up. Bull
elk without cows generally head back to their beds about a
half-hour earlier in the morning than the cows, but they may stay
later in search of estrous cows during the rut. Bulls with cows
usually follow the cows as they move, and they may herd them and
push them faster if it is getting too light.
At sunrise
elk can often be found feeding in open or semi-open area, where
you should already be waiting for them, especially if you know
they were using the area the night before. In the late morning and
early afternoon hours elk move primarily in heavy cover or
forested areas, where you can stalk or still-hunt. In the late
afternoon elk move from forest to open areas, and your stand
should be placed along the travel lanes in cover near (but not too
close to) bedding areas. At sundown your stand can be along the
travel corridors leading to the edge of the forest, or in aspen
groves or other "staging areas" near open feeding sites.
T.R.’s Tips:
Elk Stand Sites
Evening
Stands
Elk often
move late in the afternoon, giving you plenty of time to get to
transition zones and staging areas before they arrive, but I have
taken bulls, moving in open meadows during and after the rut, as
early as 3:00 in the afternoon on a perfectly clear day. Remember
that just because the shadows have crept across the valley doesn't
mean it is sundown. High mountains cast early shadows, but sundown
and legal shooting hours, may be a half to three-quarters of an
hour later. Wait until the actual sundown to see the bulls and get
a shot. Stay until you can't see any longer if you want to see if
elk are using the area that night, and possibly the next morning.
Late in
the afternoon, when the elk are just getting out of their beds in
heavy cover, setup along travel lanes leading from the bedding
areas to daytime food sources; small openings in the forest, high
meadows, or creek edges near heavy cover. Before sundown hunt the
transition zones near open meadows. Staging areas, which are often
downwind and near open food sources, are excellent hunting sites
at sundown, especially for bulls.
At sundown
the elk feed primarily in the open and your stand should be along
trails leading to the meadows. Bulls move later than cows and
often come into the transition zones after sundown, remaining in
cover until twilight when they feel secure. If you don't see bulls
in open feeding areas move farther back along their travel routes
in heavy cover and forested areas.
Morning
Stands
In the
early morning, when the elk may be still feeding in the open,
don't hunt from stands near open night food sources, unless you
are sure there are no elk near your stand or you can approach it
undetected. Because of the darkness you won't know if there are
elk nearby until it's too late, and if you spook one elk it will
alert all the others in the area. When you do hunt open meadows in
the morning, try to get there well before daylight so that if you
do spook elk the area has time to settle down before more elk
arrive. You can also hunt transition zones, heavy cover where elk
feed on the way back to bedding areas. Be at your stand before the
elk and ambush them on their return.
Before the
rut bulls often return to cover well before daylight. Hunt the
travel corridors back to the bedding areas early in the morning,
getting there before the bulls. Once the rut begins the bulls may
return to the bedding areas later because they are looking for
cows. Early in the morning you may catch bulls near herding areas,
or in travel corridors leading back to the bedding area. Hunt
known bull bedding areas until late morning, I have seen bulls as
late as 11:00 in the morning. Because high mountains keep valleys
dark long after sunrise, be sure to check legal shooting hour
times and arrive at your hunting site at least an hour before
sunrise. Your stand should be cleaned of debris and limbs that may
brush against clothing or get in the way of shooting.
If you are
interested in more elk hunting tips, or more elk biology and
behavior, click on Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and
T.R.'s Hunting Tips at www.TRMichels.com. If you have
questions about elk log on to the T.R.'s Tips message
board. To find out when the elk rut peaks in your area click on
Peak Elk Bugling Dates.
This article is
an excerpt from the Elk Addict's Manual ($19.95 + $5.00 S&H), by
T.R. Michels, available in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor
Products catalog.
T.R.
Michels is a nationally recognized game researcher/wildlife
behaviorist, outdoor writer and speaker. He is the author of the
Whitetail, Elk, Duck & Goose, and Turkey Addict's
Manuals. His latest products are the 2003 Revised Edition of
the Whitetail Addict's Manual, the 2003 Revised Edition of
the Elk Addict's Manual; and the 2003 Revised Edition of
the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual. For a catalog of books
and other hunting products contact: T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain
Outdoors, PO Box 284, Wanamingo, MN 55983, USA. Phone:
507-824-3296, E-mail:
TRMichels@yahoo.com,
Web Site:
www.TRMichels.com
