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Asking what baits have been good for Elk. We are legal to bait in Utah and I am hoping to get some good advice from elk hunters who have baited Elk sucessfully? Please this is not meant to be a debating question on should we or shouldn't we bait...just asking for some help with a bait stand I have that Elk are visiting every 10 days or so. Thx
Grabbing a beer....be right back.
If they're on a 10 day schedule it isn't workin too well. Alfalfa works but takes time to condition them, salt works till the bulls rub out. When I hunted Utah they were very patternable and bait/salt was never considered. That said there were a cpl guys that had trophy rock out for months and filled their tags on the same hunt as mine.
I have trophy rock and alfalfa out right now
Can't bait in AZ, but I have had a cow elk come up on my porch and consume part of a quail block. She came back the next night and finished it off even though the yard light and the porch light was on.
She wanted that seed block so bad that she stood there and finished it off even though she could see both my wife and I on the other side of the window watching her. I had some concerns that she was going to try and come in and look for more inside the house. No bird feeders around the house now. All are above elk level in the trees behind the house.
Terry
Getting the popcorn... I didn't know that baiting was even legal in Utah.
This is going to be interesting. 100 posts here we come.
I remember an outfitter in Washington baiting them with apples. Corn would work good I would think but I imagine a few elk could eat you out of house and home. I'd be more likely to try some sort of mineral lick. Maybe one of these.
If it's legal, why even debate? "Righteous" ethics are like opinions...
I know people have used anise oil for deer.
How about a 100 pound sack of corn, that's what the deer baiters use in WI to condition the deer to come the same spot over and over so they can shoot them without learning about their natural movement patterns. Should work for elk too...
I have had good luck with the sweetmix sold for livestock laced with molasses....warning elk are herd animals and a herd will eat a ton, literally of bait in a few days and will then move on unless you keep bait supplied continually. Mineral will work well until mid July when bulls antlers are finished growing and then they too will hit only sporadically.
50 pound Mineral blocks are the way to go, they last a long time and I have had elk come in to them the whole month of September. Warning, if you have cattle in the area, they will find it and make a mess of the site. Ive salted one spot for 25 plus years. the hole in the ground is about 18 inches deep and 6 feet in diameter. it fills up with water which stays for a very long time. The elk keep hitting it even though the cattle crapped up the area... literally.
If they're not hitting the rock or alfalfa more than every 10 days they're not interested.
Sounds to me like elk are just big deer relative to baiting. If you have private property timed corn feeders would be the ticket. This should help reduce night visits. Lace your corn w/ crack and fill your tag, warning: your bull may lose some weight and teeth and will be smoking a marlboro when you shoot him.
X2 on what GotBowAZ said, I've set attractant out and the cattle ruined it - keep that in mind when picking a site, best to find a spot where the free ranging cattle won't be (understanding it can be tough).
When the 2 bull elk do show up they stick around for a few days on and off and seem to only leave when the feed put out is gone. They are hitting the trophy rock and cleaning up pretty much whatever bait we have put out. A few reads indicate maybe trace mineral block with selenium is good for keeping them? Thanks so far for your advice
I have no experience with it but if I was going to feed them I'd try the protein tub I linked. Cattle love it and with 40 head it will still last 3 weeks. I would think you would get a couple months on elk and you could supplement it with your blocks. Of course at 200# your not carrying it very far, might not work well on public property. They make a 100# tub as well but still your not packing it in very far. I think it would hold up if cut into 30# chunks and placed on the ground.
something like this should work
Hey we started out pretty strong with the baiting help but we sure faded quick? Anyways maybe I can give some good old fashion trial and error advice to any wanting to know what has worked for me so far? Rocky Mountain sweet mix has been there favorite so far. Alfalfa has been the number two. Trophy rock, and sweetlix have been good and they are starting to hit the trace mineral with selenium. They are visiting frequently now and seem to be into a pattern of checking every few days. Hope this helps out. Now if they will just stick around for the opener?
unfortunately i know a thing about baiting elk in WA. i wish it were illegal but my neighbors do it so i have to compete. salt only good until early August then the bulls stop followed by cows. rich hay or alfalfa work best. my elk wont eat corn. if u have a lot of moose or deer then a good hay is better. moose love alfalfa. the bait is good thru early Sept but when rut get going all bets off. works best in late season. pattern them well with cameras before going to stand. elk wont tolerate any mistakes. i much prefer to hunting elk in Idaho during rut without bait.
Have you named the bulls yet?
Yikes, some of you guys are harsh. Sounds like it's a legal hunting method where he is. Don't see those kind of comments on the bear hunting threads. Soon as it's a holier than thou elk people get up in arms.
Good luck, seems like a great way to see lots of elk. Even if it doesn't lead to a shot, you'll have a good idea of quantity/quality in the area.
If we as a group Keep fighting each other, we also won't have to worry about any of it pretty quick.
Has anyone stopped to think that there are people who are just as passionate about baiting elk as another guy is calling elk?
Can I chime in on this Charlie? lol
Hackbow I beg to differ...It seems you actually do care if someone baits or not. I'm not sure why, but it seems you are the only one lying to yourself. Get over it!
^^^ Beat me to it...
"If we as a group Keep fighting each other, we also won't have to worry about any of it pretty quick."
Yep.
To ask for input on baiting and then request that there be no debate on the ethics of this issue implies that you have doubts on the ethics yourself.
That's bull Ollie. I assume you are referring to the author of this post, but I know people have ethical issues about baiting. I don't like baiting and wish it were outlawed, but I have no ethical issue with it whatsoever.
Yet baiting Deer with a food plot is OK.
Ollie Or maybe he's just looking for facts and doesn't want to hear from everyone about what his ethics should be.
Stick to the question asked by the OP Ollie. Nobody needs to hear from the ethics police if that was not the question.
I disagree on at least part of the "big tent" theory and "if we argue, we fall," idea.
I think policing ourselves is a good thing. The stereotype that we are unfortunately seen as often times by non-hunters who can turn into anti-hunters, is often times created by an unsavory minority whose practices most hunters don't agree with. I think using shame/ostracizing that minority can hopefully make hunters more close-knit and if not, marginalize certain people so that at least the rest of us can defend what we do.
Every non-hunter that I've ever talked with has had the same take on baiting and high-fence hunting and their comments have always been along the lines of "that's not hunting," or "that's not fair."
Most can agree that issues like poaching, littering, shooting holes in signs, wanton waste, etc, are distasteful, but that's the image we have because of a few slobs. I'm not arguing for the banning of all baiting, I'm just saying that those who say it's "ok so long as it's legal," should understand why some people aren't ok with it even if it is legal.
Abortion is legal. Is it ok just because it's legal?
We went from baiting to abortion?? Time to close this thread!
Well idyll, I for one, particularly enjoy baiting. And baiting and abortion aren't even in the same universe for anything. Don't make it something it's not.
I do love how everyone is so willing to take away from another person.
As far as policing ourselves?? Absolutely. On ILLEGAL things.
If you don't like baiting, don't.
I for one enjoy baiting for a wide, wide host of reasons.
And to do it correctly, is a hell of a lot of work.
Anyone who says otherwise, come join me.
Obviously, it's a stretch. The point is that just because you can, doesn't mean you should and there's lots of examples of that in life. I just brought it up because the "it's legal" defense comes up often. The other defense is the "arguing will be the downfall of hunting," which I also do not believe for the reasons stated above. To the contrary, not policing ourselves could very well be the downfall of hunting.
Someone please explain how baiting an elk in Utah is any different that baiting a black bear in Canada, Brown Bear in Alaska, Coues Deer or Mule Deer in Mexico, Whitetail in Kansas or Saskatchewan or hunting antelope over a man made water hole in Wyoming? I don't see people complaining about those hunts. Why the double standard?
It is different in so far as it's not too difficult to kill elk and deer with a bow every year without bait, whereas, in most circumstances, killing a bear every year without bait or hounds is not nearly as practical. You don't "need" bait to kill elk and deer. That's why some people see it as less-than-sporting. Because there's not a great need to increase one's chances. Whereas, with bear hunting, odds of success are completely different.
And I'm not defending baiting bears, I'm just explaining how it's different.
"I do love how everyone is so willing to take away from another person."
DConcrete, look at my previous post, I said, "I'm not arguing for the banning of all baiting, I'm just saying that those who say it's 'ok so long as it's legal,' should understand why some people aren't ok with it even if it is legal."
"If you don't like baiting, don't."
I don't like the idea of baiting deer and elk. So I don't. I'm not advocating for it being banned, I'm just explaining why I and others look down on the practice. And I and others are not going to change our minds on something we don't like, just because it's legal.
It's legal for me to drink a 5th of whiskey everyday, and I could probably get away with it if I wanted to, but I wouldn't, just based on the example I'd be setting for my children.
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
Guys I really didn't mean for it to turn into this. I am ok with baiting animals and if others are not I can respect there choice not to bait. I truly love the challenge of trying to bring them in---am I going to shoot one? Not sure, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of baiting them. Going to check your trail camera just to see if they came in again is good enough for me. Thanks everyone for the help in learning how to bait for Elk I have gotten some good advice on this site and hope I have been able to help here and there. I do think we need to realize that it is ok to disagree with each other but I hope we can stay united in our fight against the enemy.
There will obviously be debate, because your handle isnt one of the bowsite elite thats posting. Always makes me chuckle....
Dig a hole in the desert and fill it up with water, kill a pronghorn, you're a hero. Bait an elk and guys will string you up. Makes perfect sense.
I'm OK with abortion. I can think of a few people that should have been aborted.
There are those who will not hunt pronghorn over water but instead choose to spot and stock them for the thrill and the challenge.
It's all about how much advantage we want to give ourselves while hunting that particular animal. Additionally, there are CWD concerns and the perception of the non-hunting public, on whose blessing we enjoy the right to hunt.
I'm not going to derail this guy's thread anymore since he respectfully asked as much. I'll start a thread on it later when I get home with my thoughts on it instead.
I'm no rancher so I might be recalling incorrectly. But it seems to me I remember hearing that switching a cows diet over to corn too quickly can kill it. Since Elk have similar digestion I would be careful about using corn as bait for elk.
Here in WA Red apples (red delicious and Galla) work the best. They don't seem to like yellows. Also wet c.o.b. (corn, oats and barley rolled in molasses) works good to but the bears will also come into both. They also love the Deercain powder and will stay on that longer than just plain salt. Good Luck!!!
