Bugling bull elk and the high country are an awesome combination that’s hard to imagine, and if you’ve never experienced it, you should. You will pursue rutting bulls during the breeding season, when their eerie bugling fills the mountain air and they become the most vulnerable. Stalking and calling these elusive animals you can sometimes bring them as close as few yards or even feet, allowing you a clear shot, but remember elk have no tolerance for human odor and will blow-out in an instant if they catch a whiff. An elk’s best friend is a thermal breeze and more hunts are fouled by a stray thermal than any other condition, but these up close encounters are still some of the most thrilling and exciting action you will ever experience.
Colorado’s archery seasonruns September 2nd through September 30th, providing many opportunities for the archery hunter. Either sex archery tags are available through the draw and currently take zero preference points.
Muzzleloader season takes place the third week of September, providing the cap and ball hunter a tremendous opportunity to harvest a mature bull elk. Muzzleloader bull and cow tags are available through the draw. A bull tag currently takes four preference points and a cow tag takes zero.
During the pre-rut the summer bachelor groups of bulls are no longer buddies. They’re pushing and fighting to establish a pecking order and are constantly on the move seeking out cows to build their harems. Since they are on the hunt for cows during this stage of the rut stalking and cow calling can be a very effective method to lure in a mature bull. During this same time wallows are also a good place to locate a worked up bull as he tries to cool down and cover himself in mud.
The peak of the rut will find bulls with their harems in secluded pockets and timber patches and can be a difficult time to harvest a mature bull. The top priority on a bulls mind at this time is breeding not fighting, so calling can be tough. Cow calling can sometimes convince a herd bull to come gather up a stray cow, or slipping in close to a herd and mixing cow calls with a few small bugles may convince him a satellite bull is trying to encroach on his harem. He just might come looking and if all the conditions are right give you the chance to ambush him.
These archery and muzzleloader hunts are unbelievable, in your face, up close and personal encounters that will rattle the nerves of even the most veteran whitetail hunter. So, if you’re tired of sitting in a tree stand waiting for a buck to walk by, and you’d like to experience the ultimate hunting rush, give us a call and book one of these heart pounding hunts. You won’t be sorry and you might just get hooked.
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