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I hate to admit it but I am a one trick pony when it comes to elk hunting. I have one strategy and it works very well, but I need to see or hear elk to be successful. With that said, I was in my usual honey hole right around treeline and the wind was cranking. It was perfect, steady in my face but at 20 to 30 mph. I moved slowly knowing the travel corridor the elk use hoping to just cross paths which is a very realistic possibility, but it is very dense timber which means if we aren't within about 30 yards of each other, we will never meet. So, does anyone have any good tips for windy day elk hunting. Keep in mind this is a terrible area for spot and stalk.
Thanks,
I would set up in the area they are traveling and wait its all about odds put youself in a high odds situation and have better chance
This happens a lot in Wyo. as storms brewing send me south winds early AM...certainly screws up any going north hunts.
I just hunt into the south wind and go for it!
Good luck, Robb
sounds to me like your working it right. just stay off there trail within 30 yards and poke along dead slow. if you dont see them first your not gonna get a shot. thats why i stillhunt with the arrows in the quiver. theres plenty of time to nock and shoot if you see them first. stillhunting with an arrow nocked is a pain in thick stuff. dial your binos so there focused through the near by trees. binos every step of the way. goodluck.
We called this bull in around 10 AM, big time South wind blowing, from what sounded like a quarter mile away. Turns out, there was a bad snowstorm blowing in the next day.
We were about to give up, because it seemed ridiculous to even be out there. A faint bugle answered my excited cow call. Then, closer and closer. He actually came in with the wind at his back.
Decoyed him the last 20 yards, for an 8 yard slam dunk (he tried to arc around me to get my wind after he stared at the decoy at less than 20 yds).
Getting that bull out of there after the snowstorm hit was an adventure in itself!
Wind or no wind, I guess you can't kill em if you're not out there!
Best of Luck, Jeff (Bowsite Sponsor)
Best of luck Andy! Know you'll get it done. Keep us posted Dave
I know with turkeys they will come in better with the wind blowing so we do some blind calling setups calling really loud. Not sure it will apply to elk but ibmight get the chance to fund out.
But elk have a sense of smell.
When the wind is blowing 30-40 mph, chances are you aren't going to call in anything.
The elk are typically bedded down. You will have the advantage stalking as the wind noise will drown out any you make.
The forest is dangerous to be in many times due to blowdown conditions, so watch those tree tops!
Sit water, hunt bedding areas, or just stay in and rest.
No kidding about watching out for falling trees when it's windy. We had a windy day last year and the sound of nearby falling trees was pretty frequent. When one came 15 ft short of hitting me I decided I better get out before I got hurt.
With the destruction caused by the pine beetle where I hunt in Utah, falling trees are definitely a real danger.
Get off the tops and down on the benches on the side of the slope away from the wind.
On windy days, the elk in my area are down in the thick trees in the areas the wind is not hitting. They don't move much and so sometimes you can walk right up on them. Elk like to hear what is around them so on windy days, when hearing is hard, I think they are on edge.
I usually walk until I get in an area that gets really quiet and the wind is almost completly void of and then slow down and be ready. I have occasionally got careless and walked up to 20 yards from bedded elk before I saw them. This is usually to late to do any planning.
The elk won't likely be where the wind is howling. Find the pockets that are sheltered from the wind and hunt them like you normally would.
Still hunt very slowly, into the wind, in an area they bed in. Other than that, go back to camp and get some rest until they start moving again at the very fringe of the day. They'll still get up and start meandering toward their nighttime feeding areas, but tend to do it more slowly when it's windy.
