Early Elk - Bow Hunting

Don’t resist the chance to bowhunt elk before the rut – it’s not as challenging as you might think.
By Jason Stafford

The author's dad took his

first-ever archery elk during

 a mid-August hunting trip to Wyoming

As darkness turned into dawn, my dad and buddy Ron could see 11 velvet-clad bulls feeding on an open hillside. The elk were above several fingers of dark timber.  It was late August and two days into Wyoming’s early archery elk season. 

They had no problem finding bulls feeding out in the open during various scouting trips and for each day of the season so far. The animals were around, it was just a matter of playing cat and mouse in the woods and setting up a shot. So far that hadn’t happened, though. Dad was the shooter on this hunt, and he was hoping for a pretty slam-dunk shot on what would be his first-ever archery bull. 

As the scorching sun began to warm the hillside, three bulls broke away from the big group and headed for a patch of trees that Ron was very familiar with. It was the moment to strike, but they had to move fast in order to intercept the bulls before they got into timber too dense and noisy for quiet stalking.

The jungle-like timber was in a deep canyon along with a small spring pond. They moved in and set up near this pond and a small clearing.

Moments later, the bulls fed out in front of them, just inside dad’s effective range. Once Ron checked the distance with his Nikon rangefinder, old pop came to full draw and let ‘er rip. The arrow flew true, and the nice velvet-antlered bull was down for good.

Most guys who bowhunt elk prefer to call or chase them when they are bugling, rutting, and chasing cows around. They enjoy the excitement and thrill of hearing thunderous bull elk talk echoing through the trees and canyons.

There’s no doubt mid-to-late September elk hunting can be exhilarating and productive, especially for those that love to call. But I’ve found bow hunting elk earlier on to be such as effective if not more so. During the rut, bulls become rivals and separate in order to sort out their dominance and to search for cows in estrous. This makes them harder to follow at times, I believe, which can add frustration to the hunt.

Whereas, during the early season, elk follow a consistent pattern, the same one they followed during the late-summer and the weeks leading up to opening day. This means if you’ve located elk during your scouting trips, then you can find them in the same place again.    

August and early September can surely bring warmer temperatures, but sometimes this can actually make animals more concentrated near water sources. This can make for more hunting action.

Also, in most western states, such as New Mexico, earlier hunts are much easier to draw. This could make them even more attractive if you know how to approach this kind of hunting. 

In this article I would like to offer a few tips for harvesting early-season elk. Each one has been proven to work well for me and my close hunting buddies. 

Pattern & Ambush
Like early whitetails, early elk are easy to pattern. Their daily rituals are straightforward -- they bed in heavy cover during the heat of the day, and then they move to feed, usually along open hillsides.

In the evenings, when they first start moving, they often prefer to water. They also like to water just prior to bedding in the morning.

Understanding these basic patterns will allow you to take an effective ambush somewhere along their travel routes – to and from feed or water. It’s that simple.

Another great thing about early elk is that they are still in summer bachelor groups. During August bowhunts, mature bulls are commonly seen in groups of three to ten, all feeding together. They are easier to locate this way, and more bulls in one spot means a high chance for shooting opportunity.

Be Patient & Aggressive
Depending on the terrain, early elk are ideal for employing spot and stalk. If you can glass them, then you should be able to move on them. The key is glassing them up early enough in the day so you can catch them in a vulnerable spot.

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7 Accuracy Myths

Bow & Arrow

Through much analysis and testing, this bow hunter knows the truth behind these common bow-hunting fallacies.

Every now and then I come across a new promotional ad that claims how superior one bow hunting product is to another. Of course, being an insider of sorts, I take every one of these “catchy” pitches with a grain of salt.

Over my years as an archery technical guru, I've learned that many things just aren't true—especially smoky sales slogans. Much of my knowledge was gained by actual field experience and religious scientific testing, which seems to disprove many of these theories.

When it comes to bow-hunting gear, here are seven things that I just don't buy.

Myth #1
Mechanical Out-shoot Fixed Heads
This claim is based solely on blade surface area. Although certainly an important component behind broad-head aerodynamics, blade surface is not the only factor that determines how well a broadhead will shoot. 

For example, consistency, in terms of how precise the head is made from one to the next, is crucial as well. I define “consistency” as broad-heads that weigh within one grain or two of each other, no exceptions.

In my experience, most of today’s fixed heads are made more precise because they are machined from a smaller, shorter section of steel, and they utilize fewer moving components. This makes them easy to manufacturer and to keep tolerances extremely tight.

Another constituent is faulty blade capture on many of today's mechanical. Centrifugal force (fast spinning of the arrow) causes many expanding blades and o-rings to flop around at high speed (which you can’t see), causing added vibration and surface area that disrupts an arrow’s flight pattern. With fixed heads, nothing moves, so you don’t have this problem.

Lastly, most mechanical are difficult to practice with. I shoot every one of my hunting arrows several times at 40 yards, using the same broad-head I plan to hunt with. If the arrow/broad-head combo doesn't group well, multiple times, then it doesn't make the cut.

When accuracy is good, I inscribe a small “G” on the arrow's vane using a Sharpie marker, then I install new broad-head blades (or sharpen them), double check alignment by spinning the arrow across rollers and load the arrow in the quiver.

With some mechanical, it’s hard to practice over and over with the same head, without redoing rubber bands, securing blades with wire or epoxy (which changes the grain weight), or dealing with snapped-off blades. The normal procedure is to use a “practice head,” but not all these target heads match the exact blade geometry of the real broad-head, which certainly lessens my confidence.

I’m certainly not saying that all mechanical are poorly designed. Some I actually plan to use out hunting this fall, mainly the models that require little resistance to open and that you can also practice with without having to glue or wire the blades shut.

All in all, to say that mechanical are more accurate than “fixed heads” just isn't true.

Bow Hunting Tips - The Mental Side

The power of the mind can be amazing, but if your focus is on things like fear rather than success, you can kiss your hunt goodbye. Here are some tips to help you stay in the game, despite a troubled mind.

Several years ago I found myself sitting at a desk going through my second session of court-ordered anger management. The class was going into its third hour and I was paying less attention this time than I had the first (probably why I was attending a second time). But, somewhere in the middle of that third hour a new instructor came in and started talking about something that caught my attention.

The instructor was covering the “fight or flight” response of a human when faced with a stressful or dangerous situation—basically how one deals with fear. When broken down, the moral to his story was simple. You’re going to have one of two initial reactions: 1. Come out guns blazing and both fists swinging (the fight response). 2. You run like a school girl scared to death (flight).

The instructor’s job was to help each person understand his or her own specific reaction and then harness that reaction to turn it into a positive outcome (instead of a third session of anger management). Now this subject may not seem like it has anything to do with wilderness bowhunting, but when you simplify things, you only have two choices when heading into the backcountry—complete your goal and stay for the entire trip, or talk yourself out of the hunt and head back early.

Each year hundreds of bowhunters head west with the hopes and dreams of tagging a big bull or buck on a multiday wilderness hunt. They’ve spent thousands of dollars on tags, gear and fuel, trained in the gym, lost weight and got as prepared as they could for the great adventure ahead. In reality, it’s always easier to visualize the ideal hunting adventure sitting on the couch. Unfortunately, many underestimate the physical and mental rigors of wilderness hunting and often talk themselves into cutting the hunt short.

Most hunters won’t head down the mountain early because of a specific incident that has made them fearful; but, the general concept behind the “fight or flight” response will eventually get the best of them.