Whats your 'Slow Play'?
Elk
Topic: Elk Hunting
In your methods of elk hunting, what is your 'slow play' part of the hunt?
We all know there is the 'run & gun', but its not all that.
I would have to say I have 2 factors of 'slow play' when it comes to elk hunting
One is running trail cameras and the other is hunting from tree stands
The cams give me a good idea of what happening late summer and tree stands give me a chance to rest up from the morning's hike and keep hunting and check the barometer of the nearby elk
Do you 'slow play'?
My slow play usually involves either a glass of bourbon or a bloody mary...depends on the time of day! JK, Seriously, I too like to sit in my tree stand from time to time to just relax, watch the world go by and get a feel for whats happening. My stand allows a good view of a large park and puts me within earshot of 3-4 travel corridors. I'm gonna kill one there one day...so close so many times, wind change has usually been the culprit.
For me it's figuring out a specific bull and his herd before deciding when, where, and how to make the move. That may be a day or a week. I spend time where they were, learning how the wind works, looking at tracks, maybe a camera at a couple waterhole that aren't huntable due to wind, maybe sit and listen and watch, checking entrance trails to the feeding meadows.
I don't hunt too far from roads or ATV trails so nobody else is bothering the bulls I'm hunting. Plus I have the time to do this, not compressed into a 7 day hunt.
Agreed, cameras have helped for sure. Although I've never killed a bull I had on camera. Mid day I'd usually sit the nearest wallow . Lots of rivers where I hunt so water holes aren't usually a pot of gold. A good cool mud pit is usually where I spend my time if they're not talking.
Been “slow playin’” in the same tree every evening for the last 20+ years. Not so much for relaxing, but because the evening breezes are so darn squirrelly, and it been so freakin’ productive!
Well, I'm learning as I haven't done it much but, I have set wallows and sign during the day and in the prime times with no success. What I do know of it now, which ain't much, is to play it by my gut. There is a time to push things and, a time to let things work out if the situation isn't right. To put it more simple, I hunt them like turkeys. The key to killing any turkey is finding him. I'm hard on turkeys and, up to this point have been hard on elk once I find them. I don't know how to explain it any better then that other then to say, if things aren't clicking right, I have and will set sign trying to put myself in a position to kill one once they have settled down for the day. But, until I find reason, I'm going to be covering ground looking for a dumb one or, sign that tells me to slow down. God Bless men
Personally I ambush the Elk instead of chase them around. I want to be where they are heading not where they have been. After figuring out a herds general pattern for morning and evening then I will intercept them with little to no calling.
I do the same as Franklin.
A few different ways I "slow play".
If I know the area, I have no problems starting off at an ambush site or treestand.
If I don't know the area and I manage to locate elk that I cannot get on, I will stay back and track them. (Either by ear or visually). Track them until dark. Next day I will likely hunt a different area via "run and gun", and then come back to the area I found elk the day before and try and capitalize on intel I gathered from previous day.
Have a pop up blind and some tree stands. Haven't used either in years. i shot a bull from a tree and it just didn't feel like I'd done anything more than shoot.
I admire those who can stand to sit and wait, but for me it's just a form or torture.
I like to spot them, let them bed and then try and get in on them. Lots of failure but pretty intense.
Have a trick I use to make sure I'm going slow enough. If I hear any noise I can't identify I make a slow count to 200. It's amazing how long that is and it gives you and opportunity to have something good happen.
I have to agree with Franklin. The number one piece of information I want when I hunt elk is their pattern. Once I have their pattern my odds of success go way up. I think this is the hardest thing for guys who live out of state to figure out and that is why it takes a few years of them hunting same unit before they have consistent success. If I was ever going to ask someone for info that is what I would ask. No honey holes or locations just tell me what the overall behavior or the herd(s) in the area are.
I move more in the AM but that is only because I got to get to where they are going before they get there. Afternoon/Eve very little movement as I sit on edge of where they spend the night.
My bro-in-law and his family never hunt the eves, just the am. Never could quite understand this way of thinking but I guess that means less guys are in the woods.
Guys keep talking patterns. I have very seldom found elk in any kind of pattern. Very rarely have I found them in the same place more than once. Seemingly spending only a day or two in a spot before moving on.
The way my knees feel after a couple days, everything I do is slow. That said, slowing down makes it much easier not to blow them out. Took me a long time to figure that out, I am never the smartest guy in the room.
Whatever the Elk are doing and offering me is how I play the game.
I do prefer covering some ground with the occasional break for a snack of something like that.
Good luck, Robb
My slow play is setting on tanks or wallows.
My active slo mo is just setting and calling every so often!
My slow play is "blind cold calling". It requires more patience than I thought I had ;)
It’s hard for me to make the call to give up a morning or evening to glass, but it almost always pays off. I’ve learned that glassing is as productive as any elk killing strategy in my areas. Backing out has also served me well if things aren’t quite right or if it’s gonna be a marathon to reach them before dark or before the wind goes sour.
Not being a local and having a chance at valuable scouting intel, I like to hike up to a high point where I can hear down into a few different drainages/suspected bedding areas. From there I'll eat some lunch, take a nap and listen for mid-day bugles. Often can find one or two bulls that way and start to make a play for the evening hunt.
Good beta here,,thank to all for posting..
Packing out gets slower every year...
I use my glass to save my @$$!
Would have to say staying back and glassing has worked really well for me everywhere I have hunted elk (WY, AZ, NM, CO, and UT). Find the one you want, figure out what they are doing, where they are going in the mornings, get the wind right and then get in there with them for the day.
Not a sitter!
Also, not a fan of guys bumbling blindly thru the woods tooting horns...
I'm not "local" enough to be able to use trailcams for scouting.
However...I will pack a treestand in several miles if I find the right spot. I've killed about half of my elk from trees.
Best of Luck, Jeff
Glassing during a morning or evening when my legs need a break or listening for bugles at night.
ohiohunter- Isn't it a little awkward for your hunting buddy? (I suppose he might eventually warm up to you!) LOL!
Sorry, slow day at work.
or just ponder the next move.
or just ponder the next move.
My slow play is to grab up an oatmeal cookie and lie in the sun and try to figure out what to do next. Ok, two oatmeal cookies.
Paul, always the inspiration you are.
I have become familiar with some areas that consistently hold elk. During the rut I will get some where high and just sit and listen. Sometimes a couple minutes, sometimes a couple of hours. Eventually bulls will start bugling. I then plan accordingly. It works much better than my old strategy of cold calling or walking around until I bump them. lol.
Most all the uphill part is my slow play :^)
Gotta figure out how to keep cookies looking like cookies... Mine are usually just crumbs after the first day!
my cookies never last past the first day. No crumb issues.
Slow play is when it's crunch time while runnin' n gunnin'.
If you put cookies in a flat tupperware with some paper towels, they last.
Even in tupperware with paper towels ... the way I eat em, they don't last long enough to get crummy. LOL
Reminds me of the time back when Clif bars first came out. I thought they were great because they didnt crumble in a pack. I pulled one out and my hunting partner asked, "What the hell is that??! Looks like raccoon $#!t!"
I remember that whenever I unwrap one now.
The drive home...always seems to take twice as long as the drive out!
I go and scout around, do a little cold calling, or go to a new tree stand location. I like the oatmeal cookie option. I may just have to try that.
Coconut chocolate chip Cliff bars are so good. The way I keep from running out is by buying them by the case. Those and Blue Diamond Wasabi Soy Sauce almonds are always in my pack.
I'm really not one for relaxing much. Typically it's hike all morning, hike every evening. I have a hard time trying to stay in one spot. I've tried sitting in tree-stands, but have hard a hard time staying awake, even though the tree stands had elk, deer, bears coming in every day. In fact I'd put up treestands and have others kill elk out of them, but I never have. If it's a nice sunny day, I may lay around in the sun, mid day for an hour or so. The only other thing I used to do mid day was to keep a journal of what happened each day during bow-hunting season. It is good to look back and see what actually happened each year.
