Hunting between 10am & 2 pm.
Elk
So, just curious as to how successful the gang is hunting mid day. Our group are in before you can see & come back to camp in the dark. Generally hunt hard until things quiet down generally by 11, head back to camp for a good lunch & will be back at it around 3pm. We have taken several bulls over the years but curious as to how many elk we have missed out on in the 4 hours we were in camp. The magic 1/2 hour at first light & just before dark have produced 90% of our take. I enjoy the break with the guys going over the mornings hunt, putting a great meal together, cleaning up the funk & a short nap. I know guys kill bulls over wallows & water at mid day but every time we try it seems like a bust. Share some mid day tips. I’m sick of all the political theatric stuff.. chit guys, we are only about a month out.
Nice bull Dave!
I hunt mainly before daylight (locating) till 1 p.m. or so. That's when a large majority of our elk hit the dirt. Not much on evening hunts even though they can be profitable. I don't sit wallows & such but do call nearly every elk in regardless of time frame. #-1 tactic is Advertising/Displaying within earshot of most bulls is something I've found over the years just simply slays them on our elk hunts, mostly OTC hunts. Cow calling plays little. Really not needed for us. Good luck this year!
ElkNut
Biggest deer I ever took (rifle kill) was about 1 PM. Might have been pushed toward me by a guy heading out to lunch. ;-)
We are LESS than a month out, but who’s counting. ;-)
Like you, I’m out well before first light and back in camp by 10:30 or so, unless I have a reason to stay out later. Mid-day is taken up by fixing lunch, doing odds and ends, maybe catch a couple brookies, washing clothes in the creek, etc. I take a shower around 3:30 or so, then head out to my treestand around 4:30. After fighting the squirrelly late afternoon/early evening winds for the first several years, I’ve hunted out of my treestand exclusively in the evenings for the past 25+ years with outstanding success. I’ve never felt like I‘ve missed out on anything by not hunting mid-day. Besides, it helps keep me from getting burned out quite so soon at my advanced age. Ha!
BTW…thanks for starting an actual bowhunting thread!
I would guess that 95% or more of the elk I have shot or have had buddies shoot with a bow have been between 10 and 2.
I like to hunt when the critters are out. They do t wear watches
I just hunt from before daylight until whenever the thermals change unless I know something is happening. My buddy hunts from whenever he gets going and in the evening. Both of us have had success, but it's a helluva lot easier to get one taken care of and out in the daylight.
I’m generally back in elk camp from roughly 1030 till about 300. I’ve has most success last hour of light, but I’m mostly hunting waterholes.
I hunt all day (maybe a nap mid-day) it the woods usually don't want to waste energy going back and forth. Shot many with rifle after others go back to camp.
Never had much luck finding elk during mid day during archery/early season. I've only killed 3 so far but all have been between 5pm-7pm not sure why just how it's worked. Maybe I'm lazy but I rarely hike back to camp mid day unless I plan on trying a new spot in the afternoon. I just find a place to string up my hammock eat a Peak and take a nap till it's go time again.
I’m in the go to camp for mid-day vittles and nap, let the elk be for the day.
We’ve found that way we can can hunt one or two ridges ‘soft’ for over a week without blowing them out.
I totally get it when NonRes blow through bedding areas and try to get things done as fast as they can but we’re in in it for for long haul.
Best time of the day to kill a bull. Get them into their beds give em time to get comfortable then get in close and apply pressure.
We hear them bugle, sometimes a lot, between 10-2. Unfortunately, in most of the basins I hunt, the wind goes totally to hell between about 9:30 and 5. I'd rather hunt elk than hunt for elk.
We usually let them be mid day, you get a lot more good action out of a week not disturbing bedding areas. Later in September they are more active throughout the day and we’ll change accordingly, if not tagged out by then:). There’s nothing like a quick lunch and 2 hour mid-day nap! I’m probably 2/3 morning harvest and 1/3 late day. With one good bull at 1:00, but they were fired up into late morning that day. And after chasing till noon, I sat down in an area he liked to eat my sandwich. Caught him cruising by after his cows bedded.
Not a fan of going to camp midday. hunt all day most days. nap somewhere along to way. camp has zero appeal to me. Have never killed an elk at camp and have killed plenty between 10 and 2 pm.
Depends on a few things. Weather, wind, and most importantly, what the elk are doing. I’ve been in bugling action from before sunup to 2 pm. Quiet down for maybe an hour or so and they fire right back up at 3 pm. Most of the time, I’m so far from camp that it’s pointless to go back at midday. I just eat my lunch/snacks, read a western paperback book, and take a nap right on the mountainside. Slowly start hunting my way out in the afternoon unless I’m in the thick of things where I’m at.
My brother stopped for lunch one day and had a nice public land, OTC bull walk past at 18 yards. I mean, if you consider a 7X8 good for OTC….
Different year, I shot a cow at noon; a week later we were on our way back up past the kill site and almost stepped on a bull big enough to go on the walk at the Buckhorn Bar in Laramie. That was about 1 PM…..
The country we’ve hunted has always been too rugged to be willing to concede any altitude unless strictly necessary. If need be, we’d just hike up above timberline or find some other spot where the thermals and prevailing winds would just suck our scent into the next county. Thinking mostly about Elk there, but the nicest mulie buck I have ever gotten a good look at up there was midday.
And most of the whitetail bucks I’ve taken and/or observed at length have been between 10 and about 3; only a couple in the last hour of daylight, which may be a function of my preference for setting up in (or sifting through) travel corridors, rather than bedding areas.
I was never shy about moving downhill with the thermals in my face, but that can go bad fast when the wind is twitchy…
For September hunts, out way before daylight locating elk by ear then trying to close the deal until they bed and I follow suit with a mid afternoon nap in the field in the shade then back at it until dark.
Right now I’m trying to kill a cow elk in NV over water. Up at 3:00 AM, in the blind by 4:45 AM, out at 10:00 AM then back in until dark which was 8:20 PM tonight. Just rolled into bed and unwinding with a little BS so I can sleep.
Unfortunately we had about 2” of rain Monday - Wednesday and the near full moon just rose so it’s been slow the last three days but everything has dried out so tomorrow should be better. I’ve had 2 6x6, 1 5x5 and a spike come in. Have seen lots of cows within a mile and a group at 150 yards bit they weren’t thirsty with all the moisture in the feed this AM.
Although I'd prefer to be in camp for lunch and nap between 11-3 I have found that staying until at least 1 pm is best. We have always had good luck finding a bugling bull that's receptive at noon. They go to bed with the cows early and then get anxious mid day to find a receptive cow. They seem to be the easiest to call in at noon but you do have to be careful with the finicky winds. We always stay out till 1 pm because of this. We've killed our biggest bulls at noon. It's also the best time to hunt on public because all the hunters have gone back to camp and possibly kicked them out of their beds doing so.
I’ve killed deer and elk midday. Shot a coues deer one time at 1pm after getting to a tank at 12:15, eating a Jimmy Johns sandwich and settling in.
Shot a bull at 1:30 after getting in a blind. Not even there for 5 minutes. Still getting settled and barely finished ranges some distances.
Several other instances of similar situations.
After the first 10-12 days of September I have way higher odds of mid day encounters.
Between the peak of rut( or lots of bulls bugling), and way cooler weather some years around this time I usually have some good mid day action.
Late august/early September with super hot weather midday action is pretty rare for me.
Mid September with cool weather, mid day action is pretty normal.
It also seems the days with all day action only happen for a short period of time, like 1-3 days most years somewhere between the 15th-20th of September.
This is mostly NE Oregon.
The higher the elk numbers, and higher the bull to cow ratios the more I seem to run into good action all day during that mid September time period.
I forgot to add a full moon around mid September leads to more midday action.
Definitely not a day I want to not be in the woods all day
Like most of the responses, I get out early and am typically back in camp for lunch. Hang out and get camp chores done and maybe a nap by 3:00pm and then head back out until dark. There have been a few times when I put a bull to bed some distance from camp and stayed on the mountain all afternoon.
That said, I got bored in camp one day and decided to head back out. There was a stiff wind that afternoon and the wind direction was perfect to spot and stalk a known bedding ridge. Located a small herd mid-afternoon. Took about two hours to work within easy bow range of the bull (17 yards on the first stalk, but no clear shot at the vitals...22 yards on the second stalk) and my season ended just after 4:00pm. Not my biggest bull by any means, but still one of my most satisfying elk hunts.
Another good deer taken late morning, pushed at me. I used to love the guys who *chased* deer, 'Benoit style'. Dressed light, thin boots, couldn't sit much past sunrise ;-)
I've noticed that elk/deer are more mobile and active in those hours for some reason I think it is that they get bumped by hunters going off the mountain and that the hunters aren't as focused as they are earlier in the day hunting.
Good luck, Robb
"I hunt all day (maybe a nap mid-day) it the woods usually don't want to waste energy going back and forth." Same here. I find a good ambush spot and read a good book.
I had just taken a bite of my pb&j when the bugling started getting close as noon approached. A lot of times they are in their beds bugling, but on occasion I guess, they get up to chase off the competition or go get a drink, etc. My experience pales to those posting above, but you don't necessarily have to bust beds to be out there in position to make hay when the sun is shining. That situation resulted in a dead bull. Let the day dictate whether you hang out on the mountain or go back to camp is what I say.
I try to stay all day when I can. Mid day is a prime time where I hunt...especially on certain moon phases.
I like to hunt all day . We have killed most of our elk from 10am-2pm. I like to let them get settled and then move in close. Best of luck . Hunt
My brother and I have been hunting the same area for many years... by no means do we consistently bring elk meat home but I will say that we are usually in with the elk and have had some misses and lost elk along the way . Our approach has been to leave super early and make a big old loop that usually takes us to about 2 o'clock. Go back to camp for quick nap, clean up, etc... Head back out for a much shorter version of the morning in a different location and hope to at the very least hear a bugle or two for the next morning... Has anyone ever had luck hearing a bull off in the distance in the evening and bugled back and forth with him only to find a bull the next morning at your bugling location from the night before? Maybe not so odd but have had this happen a time or two..
Most of my bears taken 1-3pm
at one time i kept written notes and the majority of action and kills were early morning, before 10AM. i think a lot of that was because the weather was more often than not sunny, hot, and dry.
i would often take a nap mid-day. while we had action on occasion in the evening, most of the evening hunts seemed to turn into trying to figure out where they were and where they might be the following morning. we had very little action in the evenings.
in the areas that i hunted, the action picked up in the afternoon and evenings when the weather was cooler, and we had some rain. i'm sure that is common.
Over the years I have found that during SEP archery Elk season as soon as the sun comes up the elk are moving towards the beds. Ounce they get there I go for my nap. Last thing I want to do is spook them out of their beds. I return around 3PM and try to get set up where I think they will move to water or feed.
We generally return to camp as well. Last season we we're sitting in camp and kept hearing a bull bugle from a nearby ridge clearly in his bed. Threw the crocs in sport mode and went after him. Would have gotten the job done on a very nice 6 point if it weren't for a couple jack pines covering the goodies! Definitely a great time to hunt, but an elk hunt for alot of us is a marathon affair, not a sprint. Part of the enjoyment of elk season is elk camp and the camaraderie. Good times will be here soon fellas!
I rarely ever go back to camp midday. I hunt all day and bring my lunch with me. I'm usually too far from camp and don't want to waste the time and energy hiking back and forth. I'm not there to hike or hang out in camp, I'm there to hunt. Also, I would think hiking back and forth would prevent me from getting in as far as I often go. I hunt until last light and sometimes don't get back to camp until 11pm or so. Most of the other guys camping near me are still sleeping when I leave in the morning and have already eaten dinner and are sleeping when I get back at night. I think maximizing your time on the mountain contributes to success.
I usually rest and/or nap midday downwind of a bedding area, water hole or wallow and I'm careful not to pressure bedding areas. I've killed a few bulls midday including one of my best that I killed at high noon. He bugled weakly from his bed and he got up and came in to investigate a few calls. Last year I had a 310" class 6 point walk past me at less than 20 yards while I was resting midday. He busted me as I was drawing on him but it was very close to happening.
I killed my first bull last year that was before 2. I must be hunting too far from my camp, cause I'm not going back and wasting energy. Up earlyish, midday lunch / quick nap and then back at it by 1. Hunt till darkthirty and head back to camp in the dark.
I nap in the field. Takes lots of walking to get into elk country, not walking back out just to walk back in for the evening
When we truck camped we would go back to camp. When we spike camped we would hunt all day. One year Ike sat in a blind on a water hole all late morning and afternoon. He shot a bull in the middle of the afternoon. It’s the only elk I have been involved with that wasn’t shot in the morning or evening.
Most elk hunts find me hunting before dawn to 11-12 then back to camp for lunch and a nap and back out by 3pm. One year I dropped down a drainage to refill water and have lunch. As I sat in some shade and pulling my luch from my pack, I let out a couple of cow calls. At the end of my second call I heard a bugle from my right, I one more cow call and the bull bugled from right again, to be cut off by a screaming bugle from up the hill in front of me. This bull bee-lined in from 150 yards out bugleing his way in to 51 yards and one more cow call he stopped broadside allowing me a killing shot. At the shot he ran 75 yards back uphill and I watched him fall into a little creek. Looked at my watch it was 12:10 pm. I do like to stay out all day too.
Way to damn hot where we are in NM to sit out all day. Have tried it too many times and elk are holed up with wind in their favor. We are in by 11 and back out around 4. We also head out in the dark around 4am and listen/locate at about 10 spots to give us our best shot in the am. Good luck to all
I've killed most of mine in the morning. I have killed those in the middle of the day too. My last 6x6 walked out of some black timber, north facing ridge. I knew the elk were in there bedded up and I didn't want to run them out. I knew I had a decent chance of getting a shot if I played it smart. Elk will act like mule deer they'll get hungry in the middle of the day and get up to nibble a little bit. I was set up above them in a small Aspen grove. Bull followed two cows within 17 yards. I had the bull back in camp by dark. You can't kill one in camp doing chores. Plan to stay all day.
So many variables to consider, and really accomplished elk bowhunters all have their own strategies based upon the conditions where they hunt and tactics they use. This thread is great to get ideas from some great elk hunters, but everyone needs to factor in all of the conditions and consequences before deciding whether to stick close all day or leave them be.
What works in some places where the wind and thermals are relatively constant, may not be a good idea in other places like areas where cnelk and I and some other successful Bowsiters hunt, where the only constant is predictable swirling wind after about 9:30.
Just because something works for someone who hunts two states away and 3000 feet higher or lower, doesn't mean it will work for you, where you are. So use your best judgment, really think about the consequences of your decisions, and figure out what works best for you.
As for me, I think I've killed 17 before 9:30, 16 or 17 after 5 pm, and none in between. But that could be because I stay away from the elk bedding areas during the day. If I hunted all day and took my chances, who knows? So take that FWIW.
I should add.... I rarely go more than a mile from my vehicle to kill elk. Sometimes only a few hundred yards. Why wouldnt I go back to camp? ;)
^^^^Exactly, Brad. I get it if you’re miles from camp, truck, or atv. I never have been, never will be.
Last year we chased bugles and ended up killing at 11am 4 miles from the truck. Bulls were bugling the entire time we were processing and packing out. Most often I lay down where I’m at and hang out in the mid day. I’ll go to camp if I’m close.
I usually stay out all day because: 1) Too dang far to walk back 2) I've killed 2 elk midday, and blown several other chances.
I'll take a nap if needed,
Success rate overall is low. Success rate on mature bucks is high.
I hunt most of the day for the same reason as JRABQ. By the time I get into an area, I am not too excited to leave and come back again. I rest wherever I am during the day when I feel like laying down. I quite often have game walking up into my area when I am taking a break. I really like to get something early than later in the afternoon or evening though. Makes taking care of the work side of things so much easier. That doesn't stop me from shooting later though, just much more pleasant the earlier it is.
I hunt all day, I'm not spending valuable vacation time sitting in camp during huntable hours. I generally find a spot to take a catnap late morning or early afternoon but I like going in with consistent mid-day thermals if I have a bedded bull. My last couple elk hunts I've been in the middle of rut-fests at 11 am extending past 2 or 3.
Ive never hunted anywhere the wind cooperated in The middle of the day. So hunt mornings until the thermals fall apart. Then late afternoon you get something you can work with again. I wish i could figure out a way to hunt mid day.
Elk … never hunted in the middle of the day, but we are planning a couple blinds at waterholes and mineral licks for this year.
Deer - during the rut, the majority of good deer we’ve taken were in the two hours around noon. All day sits in 20 below can be tough, but it’s the best plan here in November.
Hey Bungle Master! Pack a lunch and stay out all day. Where you are going is too many years in between draws to waste any hunting time. Mid day may not be as productive as early and late, but there is always a chance. Besides, mid day is a great time to look over new territory and you may just stumble into something.
Hey Bungle Master! Pack a lunch and stay out all day. Where you are going is too many years in between draws to waste any hunting time. Mid day may not be as productive as early and late, but there is always a chance. Besides, mid day is a great time to look over new territory and you may just stumble into something.
I have had very little luck midday.
WW had a GREAT point, covering more ground midday could turn up a hotspot. Most times I elk hunt somewhere new about 5-8 days in I really know where to go, and have found a great spot.
Good points from all! We do a lot of recon mid day also & have found some great stuff in doing so. But man, you should see what we have on the menu for lunch..The last time we hunted the unit we drew this year we were putting 6-8 miles in every day. I’m sure that’s just a nice hike for some of you guys, but for this flatlander it’s a butt kickin! By the way WW, I’ll have you know I haven’t “ Bungled” anything since missing that 320 bull in 2014..;-) Good luck kids! 18 days & it’s go time!
Here's a bull I killed at high noon during a full moon.
They’re my favorite hours to hunt. I don’t like getting up early and there is nobody in the woods during archery season during those hours. During the rut I see more Bucks mid morning than any other time.
