November Archery

[Scooter]

This elk hunting rookie needs to know what the optimal time is to scout for the late November archery season... I don't want any unit-specific advice- no secret spots, nothing like that. I wanna do the work and tag a bull with my bow in November!

[bonecollector]

When I had the tag I started in early october. Good luck on a tough hunt.

[jim]

You will still have some bulls with the cows at the start of the hunt but for the most part they will be already back into their solutary mode and starting to bunch up. Water can be a big key if it stays dry but glassing big country and spot and stalk. I had the tag 4 differnt years and found the 2 weeks before were the best as the bulls were in the process of moving into their suclusion mode.Any earlier it seemed the bulls were just to hard to pin down and count on them staying put. The other issue is the rifle deer hunts really psuh the elk around also. I hope these rambles help.

[azhunter85]

Weekend before depending on unit, alot can change with deer hunts or elk hunts before the archery hunt.. And weather, the bulls I scoured before the hunt were gone by the time it started and every day of the hunt was a new day it felt.. But I had a million tags and hunters for every day up to the day before my hunt. Fun hunt though,I had a blast and should of put in again for it but didnt..

[naturegirl]

I believe it's never too early to start scouting the terrain. I'm not sure of your unit, but I've been on a couple November bull hunts and there's a possibility you may not know until weeks before where they are in November. So much depends on the weather and the food sources.

 

I believe it was 5 years ago snow was everywhere and it was a colder winter. That was the year there was a death or two due to snow storms. Where I typically hunt the elk were sparse because most had moved out, but last year in the same location in November elk were everywhere because it was a warmer November with little snow. My best advice is to think about the different locations they will be in November and scout the terrain in these areas (different elevations) and be prepared to hunt either.

[Scooter]

Thanks everyone! Keep the tips coming... So far a couple of folks seem to favor scouting closer to opening day rather than well before. I would agree since the November weather patterns for the area I'm hunting can vary greatly! I've looked up historical data for the area and I've been keeping an eye on rain totals for this year.

[Snapshot]

I drew a Unit 27 November archery tag the first year G&F started offering those tags. It was before the rifle hunt started, and a lot of the bulls were pouring off the top of the rim, down into the winter range canyon country. They were on the move and impossible to pattern. I glassed up 18 bulls total, over 2 days, in 2 adjacent drainages. When I went in the there the next day, they were all gone, and nowhere to be found. Lesson learned for me.

 

I came close to getting a nice 5x5 that was hanging with some cows. but swirling winds blew my chance. Even though I did not score on that hunt, it was a great time. I learned a lot about the elk movement, and what I will do if I ever get that tag again.

[idgaf]

If you have the time and resources I would scout as often as possible. The bull in my avatar is from the late archery hunt in 2011 in 3c and I missed a much larger one. I have started scouting for my October hunt already remembering old terrain I have hunted in the past, learning new terrain that I have yet to hunt, and checking the validity of rumors of huge bulls crossing the road and feeding in my area. So I would scout knowing that everything is subject to change.

[AZbowhntr]

It is nice to at least go up during the rut to check out what is in the unit. But they will not be near there during the hunt. Here is the bull I shot a couple years ago on the late archery hunt. Don't be afraid to call. This bull was pushing about 6 cows and gave himself away by bugling. We hunted our unit just like we have on the late rifle hunts. We glass and bed them down and then stalk them. But that depends on the amount of water. It poured the week before our hunt so sitting water wasn't much of an option. Good luck.

 

 

[Scooter]

Nice bulls! I'd settle for much less just to put a tag on one... I really should get up there during the rut- I just don't know if I'll be able to. Last year September during the early archery deer hunt we saw some elk so I have an idea of where to start.

[Viper]

I am faced with the same "adventure" this year. Put in for Nov archery bull for the first time ever so I could get a tag. Got unit 22-S. We have hunted WT deer in that unit for years, so I know the country. We always see plenty of elk during our Oct deer hunts. I think we will be able to find elk....getting in on them through the heavy brush will be the challenge. We always get our first big winter storm that last week of Nov, so water may be plentiful.

I consider this hunt an experiment and will not be too picky on size...more of a meat hunt.

I am interested in any pointers/strategies for elk hunting in late Nov. Most of my experience has been during the rut.

[idgaf]

It was my experience that the elk were focused in on feeding more than anything. I witnessed some rutting activity, including a really cool fight between a couple of 360+ bulls with a couple of other bulls watching and a herd of cows just out of sight (I found out the hard way). There was always bugles, but they were not really responding to any calls, so it was more just "herd" talk. I hunted everyday of the season some days not seeing an elk and other days seeing a fifty elk herd the first second I put my binoculars to my face. They bulls and cows sometimes were together sometimes not, but they always seemed to be focused on feeding. I passed several bulls my hunting partners told me I was crazy to pass. I shot my bull on the last day in the middle of a large herd of cows, calves, and spikes at 18 yards causing a pretty cool stampede. Good Luck and remember that big elk do exist beyond September and the rut their just a little harder to find.

[Millhouse]

azbowhntr, were you above that bull when you shot? Almost didn't see that arrow.

[AZbowhntr]

That was the second arrow. The first arrow was a perfect broadside shot right through his vitals. He didn't run off after the first shot so I decided I would just put another arrow in him. Once I was ready to shoot he trotted off aways and I misjudged the distance and hit a little high. That makes a very load noise when you hit a bull in the back of the head. And elk scatter everywhere.

[naturegirl]

Week before for animal location (sometimes even weekend before) because weather plays a big factor in the November hunt. My husband has this tag this year.