Does anyone hunt a known wintering area during archery and have success?
That whole "heat" thing is a myth. They were originally plains and flatland animals from coast to coast. Tennessee elk didn't migrate to timberline in CO when summer heat came.
My biggest bull was killed on "winter range" in early September on a day when temps hit the high 80's.
It might happen in SW US, or Tule elk, but not anywhere I hunt. They are high when they can be, low when they must be.
Now keep in mind, elk can and do move/live lower, but this may be due to pressure, security, etc.
When our forefathers roamed the land, elk were a plains animal. They inhabit the high country today, even though elk in the 1800's probably utilized the mountains as "marginal habitat".
I guess what I am saying is an elk can be anywhere between the plains and a mountain top!
But in my experience there are areas with resident elk that are also staging areas that other elk move through on their way to wintering grounds. Wintering grounds being the lower areas where the majority of cows, calves and smaller bulls spend the winter.
But a pretty good number of bigger bulls camp out in that last staging area where the rest kept on going a bit further. They are in bachelor herds of branch antlered bulls. They'll make adjustments moving up and down a ridge as the daily or weekly snows and melt offs occur. Basically they are living on the fringe. There may also be moose wintering in those same kind of areas where they eat anything that's sticking up out of the snow. Incidentally those areas are usually also a good place to find sheds come spring. The larger wintering grounds wouldn't be my first choice for that.
That spot can be great hunting all season long because there will always be cows that don't go beyond there when they leave the wintering grounds and where there are cows there are bulls.
Like any answer to an elk question this is all based on one area I know and things might be different elsewhere. I have always wondered if there are some monster bulls doing something similar not far from the National Elk Refuge in Jackson.
I prefer where the elk migrate to come Summer as this is where the majority will spend Summers & Falls. Too, hunting elk where they hit the timber, burns & few meadows here & there is awesome country that many of the bulls will seek with their own personal harems. These are the bulls we hunt & absolutely love the country they inhabit. We love hunting OTC units that few hunters will enter! We have a very high success rate in these areas so stay with it, don't fix something that isn't broke! (grin)
ElkNut1
After that, the herds go where the matriarch lead cows take them. Sometimes they stay put and sometimes they'll move higher (or lower) to get away from human pressure.
Also, don't get sucked into the myth that winter range/low country is "wide open". This photo is classic CO elk winter range, and it is some of the best elk hunting in the state. The elk live here year-round, calve here, have no reason to move higher.
As elk head to breeding grounds not much differs there, they visit the same breeding areas every year, locate them & you can up your odds considerably into getting on elk after Sept. 10th. Just don't get too hung up on calving areas always being the same as breeding areas as they too can be in different areas. The reason is many areas elk calve in are below snow levels at calving time & breeding areas will be higher up as snows recede.
As you can see in above photo elk can calve in different areas so do ones homework to become familiar with what areas attract elk where you intend to hunt. Here in ID the country will look more like this!
ElkNut1
The simple answers to your original questions are "yes, yes, and yes". And we've killed truly BIG bulls without calling in those areas.
You should check the settings on your camera as the GPS coordinates are hidden in the properties of your pic
When referring to calling in the thicker country, it's to locate them, otherwise it's pretty tough to find them within a reasonable amount of time especially when many hunters can only hunt 5-10 days a year. It's best to utilize all options especially with limited time frames. If a hunter can hunt the entire month of Sept then yes you can be more open to pattering elk & create an ambush that can finally work into ones favor, most hunters are not allowed that luxury.
ElkNut1
Suffice to say I have eaten the coordinates and have no recollection of that event, even if that event were to have occurred.
