# Hot weather bull tactics



## DevilDog09 (Oct 4, 2016)

Good gracious that was a hot opener and coupled with the full moon, man alive. Still beats not hunting. I have a le Wasatch elk tag in my pocket. Was out all day Saturday, sat water from noon to dark, nothing. Out early Sunday, same game plan, but ran into a fish cop who gave me some intel on some bulls, was a good exchange of info; he gave me intel I was more than happy to let him check my licenses. Was a good guy. Nothing planned out from his tips. These first two-three weeks what are you guys’ tactics for chasing elk in the hot weather? Sitting water all day? Trying to catch them on their way to the thick cover early on?


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

I would try and find their bedding areas. Then set up along the trail between water and the bedding area. This weekend it seemed like the bulls were feeding all night and bedding early morning.
I would do the same in the evening. While they come into water on occasion during the day it is generally very early in the morning or late evening from my observations.
The Wasatch can also be a lot of fun spot and stalk. a lot of time you can bed them and then get in close and cow call. While not the rut right now bulls are starting to follow the cows.
Have fun! I hunted 18 days on that tag in 2011. A whole lot of fun the entire time.


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## Aznative (May 25, 2018)

I could be way wrong but on hot bull hunts in AZ it wasnt uncommon for bulls to hit water mid day as the heat drives them to water. However much hotter down there. Plus it seems water is everywhere in the wasatch right now so id imagine they are staying in thick cover as there is water in the thick stuff they are finding guaranteed. Id honestly and slowly find their trails in thick pine areas and find a trail that is showing the most traffic and set up off that trail. Its amazing what you will see in the thick stuff if you set up somewhere. Plus most bulls are like mtn goats they will be in the steep nasty stuff. Just depends how bad you want one I guess.


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## Aznative (May 25, 2018)

One funny story too. In AZ due to lack of water its mainly cattle ponds. My buddy was working for a guide. The guide set him and the hunter up in tree stands at a tank. He gave my buddy a 15lb weight tied to a long rope. Told him to periodically toss it from his stand into the tank pull it back and do it again a couple times an hour. This was during the rut. He looked at the guide like he was high. The guide said look bulls will hear it and at times come running to see if its cows sloshing in the water as they do. My buddy did it and it actually worked but it was a small 5x5 the client passed on. I thought it was just awesome as elk hunting is so fun due to so many ways to grab attention in the rut. Bulls are like single guys at a sorority party totally clueless lol.


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## Packout (Nov 20, 2007)

My tactics this time of year includes finding cows and knowing where the bulls will end up. 
I would relax and not spend all my efforts and energy the first week or two of the hunt. Seems like far too many LE archery elk hunters burn out the first two weeks and can't give their best efforts for the last 2 weeks. That will be my plan if I ever draw a LE archery elk tag.


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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

My brother has a bull tag on the Boulder. Year in and year out we hunt the same general areas for spikes and cows and have learned where a lot of bulls hang out before the rut and then later during the rut and after the rut. Interestingly, we find bulls in the same exact area regardless of what part of the hunt or what hunt is on. When I had the same tag in 2005, we learned that the bulls would wallow pretty much all day long (not necessarily the same bull but bulls in general). Since then, I have always said that we like the hunt to be dry and hot. This year has been just that...but probably times ten.

This year, we have seen bulls in that same area and they are hanging out just where we thought they would. But, they are not hitting the wallows yet. It might just be me, but it seems like everything is behind schedule this year--they aren't rubbed clean as early, they aren't wallowing as early, and they probably won't start bugling and rutting as early. But, the bulls are still there. We are mostly waiting on wallows until they start using them which we have seen the do virtually every year since 2005. I hope this year isn't the outlier.

So far, the bulls seem to act differently each day. We have witnessed bulls getting up in the middle of day, milling around, feeding, and raking antlers one day and virtually laying in a bed the entire day the next and the following day watching bulls move about a mile into an entirely new area and bed again (without pressure). We haven't seen them hit water, but we have seen them get up in the middle of the day and move around. Not sure why...the trick has been trying to figure out where they are going.

My suggestion is to keep sitting the water. At some point, if they have been using it, they will again.


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## Aznative (May 25, 2018)

Wyoming, thats interesting as I come from a low water state. So the bulls around here wont stay in thick areas while hot and use smaller springs? Do they come out to the bigger ponds still to soak etc? Just figuring out bulls up here to as down south hardly any streams in thick stuff just ponds in clear areas. Thanks


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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

I think they will use the thick areas and the smaller springs. We are just not witnessing it this year yet. But, they have to be watering at some point and at some time. My bet is that they are watering at night under the full moon. It has just been weird to see them get up one day multiple times before sun down when it is hot and feed or mill around raking their antlers without hitting water and the next day watching them lay all day long. In the past, we would literally see bulls wallowing any time from early morning to sun down. But, like I said, this year has been different for us. 

Also, FWIW, some of the wallows we watch are in the timber and pretty well shaded on springs. The springs will pop up, run for a couple hundred yards, and disappear into the ground. The elk seem to be staying up high on the ridges all day long in the thick stuff without leaving it.


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## Aznative (May 25, 2018)

Thanks Wyoming, I do have to say AZ bulls are a little easier as the lack of water is a benefit as once you find some water you know they are not far off.


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## Hoopermat (Dec 17, 2010)

Glass glass like it’s a mile deer hunt watch them bed and then move in. And kill them in their bed


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

Sit on water at first light, if they are feeding all night, chances are they will water up before they hit beds.


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

Water, water, water. Mid day is a good time to sit on ACTIVE wallows and wait.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

taxidermist said:


> Water, water, water. Mid day is a good time to sit on ACTIVE wallows and wait.


And that is exactly what's hard with this year. They aren't wallowing yet.

Like Wyoming stated, the area we are hunting, those bulls just are not hitting water during the day. They get up every couple hours, mill around for a minute or two, and drop right back into bed. One bull never went more than 100 yards in 2 full days (no idea what he did at night).

Hopefully that changes this week.

The weather isn't. It's going to stay hot and sunny.


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## sheepassassin (Mar 23, 2018)

Find a good water source and plant yourself there, all day, until September 5th. They come in all hours of the day. Yesterday I shot a spike sitting water at 11 am. Water water water. It’s boring, and makes for a long day, but if you are wanting to make the most of your time right now while out hunting and are serious about killing a bull, sit water.


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## DevilDog09 (Oct 4, 2016)

Thanks for the replies fellas. It’s been stupid hot like you all know. The only bull I saw on the most random piece of Indian ground in the state. The problem is this heat coupled with the full moon, these elk weren’t moving at all. Hard to follow them when they don’t come out until midnight and then bed before even a glimpse of light. I figure they will be out longer as the moon continues to shrink back down (spoke with a biologist and he confirmed in general this is their behavior with a full moon+heat). Have any of you dabbled with those Montana elk decoys? I’ve thought about setting 1 or 2 up at a water hike early on a cow call a little bit.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

DevilDog09 said:


> Have any of you dabbled with those Montana elk decoys? I've thought about setting 1 or 2 up at a water hike early on a cow call a little bit.


It's too early to be getting desperate!

Just keep after it. Those bulls are going to start wallowing any time now...

....maybe.


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

Here’s the deal, the elk are still in their summer habitat for the first 2 weeks of the archery hunt. Bugling or wallowing May or may not occur during that time frame, that by no means indicates “pre rut”. Elk will be elk and are free to think for themselves and do as they please.. I was on the Beaver unit 2 years ago in May and I was watching about 50 head of elk and a couple of those bulls were bugling a lot, were they rutting? Of course not..
Pre rut doesn’t really start until after the first week of September and the peak will be around the 22-23rd ish.. So, don’t get the notion that pre rutting behavior should start right now, although like I said, elk will be elk..

With that said, WATER! Is gonna be the most consistent player here. 

I hear all the hype about elk being late this year and I roll my eyes, heck We still have a week and a half before it’s even September, and literally the difference between slow action and hot and heavy action could be a matter of hours....


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## DevilDog09 (Oct 4, 2016)

PBH said:


> It's too early to be getting desperate!


Oh that's not me getting desperate... My desperate plan was to buy a thermal imaging camera, find the elk in the night, bed down with the elk, and then arrow him the second shooting hours go green lol.


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## sheepassassin (Mar 23, 2018)

DevilDog09 said:


> Oh that's not me getting desperate... My desperate plan was to buy a thermal imaging camera, find the elk in the night, bed down with the elk, and then arrow him the second shooting hours go green lol.


I would imagine that method is illegal in Utah...


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## DevilDog09 (Oct 4, 2016)

sheepassassin said:


> DevilDog09 said:
> 
> 
> > Oh that's not me getting desperate... My desperate plan was to buy a thermal imaging camera, find the elk in the night, bed down with the elk, and then arrow him the second shooting hours go green lol.
> ...


I don't know....it only mentions artificial light on pg. 49 of the regs. Either way, I kid I kid


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

Try glassing first light. Watch where they go. Good chance they are bedded in the nearby heavy cover. Sneak in during the day and hang till they start moving.

We have spent several hours watching bedded Bulls waiting for them to get up and move. They will at some point even if it is just before dark.

The advice to sit water is good. Just don't think you are the only one to come up with the idea. Be prepared for company.


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## DevilDog09 (Oct 4, 2016)

goosefreak said:


> Here's the deal, the elk are still in their summer habitat for the first 2 weeks of the archery hunt. Bugling or wallowing May or may not occur during that time frame, that by no means indicates "pre rut". Elk will be elk and are free to think for themselves and do as they please.. I was on the Beaver unit 2 years ago in May and I was watching about 50 head of elk and a couple of those bulls were bugling a lot, were they rutting? Of course not..
> Pre rut doesn't really start until after the first week of September and the peak will be around the 22-23rd ish.. So, don't get the notion that pre rutting behavior should start right now, although like I said, elk will be elk..
> 
> With that said, WATER! Is gonna be the most consistent player here.
> ...


Funny you say that elk will be elk. I have a friend that is hunting deer on the Nebo right now, told me he saw a bull pushing a group of about 12+ cows up a hillside this morning. Elk do whatever they want and whenever they want I guess.


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## sheepassassin (Mar 23, 2018)

DevilDog09 said:


> Funny you say that elk will be elk. I have a friend that is hunting deer on the Nebo right now, told me he saw a bull pushing a group of about 12+ cows up a hillside this morning. Elk do whatever they want and whenever they want I guess.


I can say with certainty that the elk on the Nebo aren't rutting right now. However, there are bulls starting to move into areas cows are known to summer in. I've glassed 9 groups of elk this week. Out of those 9, 8 of those groups consisted of multiple branch bulls running together. The only group of cows I saw that had just 1 bull in them, was a small 4x5 in velvet, he looked more lost than anything.


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## DevilDog09 (Oct 4, 2016)

sheepassassin said:


> DevilDog09 said:
> 
> 
> > Funny you say that elk will be elk. I have a friend that is hunting deer on the Nebo right now, told me he saw a bull pushing a group of about 12+ cows up a hillside this morning. Elk do whatever they want and whenever they want I guess.
> ...


He didn't say they looked like they were rutting, just saw a bull with a nice group of cows that he was pushing up a hill. Maybe he was trying to hide them from the other bull prior to the rut kicking in. Doesn't want anyone else reaching into his cookie jar. Smart bull if you ask me


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## DevilDog09 (Oct 4, 2016)

Was hiking in Sunday morning and threw out some cow calls and immediately got a response to the North. Headed towards the bugle and threw out another one, this time got a response to the south. Figured maybe the bull was on the move. Headed south and in the distance saw some guys sitting in some trees, so I figured I’d been got by some callers, which always gives me a good laugh. Waking away with dashed hopes, I just couldnt help but think that the first bugle was a legit bull. So I hiked back to the original spot and threw out another cow call with an immediate response back to the north. Was thinking there’s no way it was those guys again. Hiked in towards the bugle with half hearted hopes....only to be busted by a herd of 10+ cows and a bull! It was disheartening to want to hike towards that bugle because the thought of being called in by another guy was almost stopping me. In the end, who cares if you get called in by another hunter - it’s part of the fun. I’ve heard some awesome bugles that I thought were monster bulls that turned out to be hunters, but I’ve also went in wearily to awful rookie sounding bugles that turned out to be elk. Lesson learned on my part, you never know when or where you’ll run into elk that could be your opportunity. The bull was bugling at 10 in the morning in the late afternoon heat.


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## Aznative (May 25, 2018)

I also think too many guys hit the first two hours of light and call it a day then only come out last two hours. Ive seen in past lots of elk moving mid day too. I agree with elk being elk as well. When they want to get up they do when they dont they dont. Even down south we usually pack lunch hit a glassing area if not rutting we just glass all day / take naps glass more etc thru the day. Seen a ton of stuff moving at 1pm on hot days but just having the patience at times is tough. But for during the rut id leave it to you guys who are good at calling as im awful.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

Another 4 days on the mountain.
Another sunburn to show for it.

My butt is bruised -- my sit-bones are ruined.


the elk are bedding just after sun-up. They hit the oak and lay down. Every couple hours they'll stand up, mill around for a minute, then go right back down. They'll do this all day long, until about 10pm. That's when they come to water, according to the cameras.

Hoping things change soon. They should start getting a little more aggressive soon.

I did watch one bull Monday morning (yesterday) that had just had enough of that patch of oak, and decided to destroy it.

Still no wallows.
The 10 day forecast is still broken. Why hasn't the NWS fixed it yet?


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