Make no mistake: The epitome of elk hunting occurs in early fall when the leaves are turning and frosty mountain meadows ring with the sound of bugling bulls. It’s a magical time, and no one who longs to hunt elk should miss it. However, the bugling period, and the often-dead time immediately following the rut when many general rifle seasons occur, are not necessarily the best time of year to take a mature bull elk. In fact, they may not be the best time of year to take any elk, be it bull or cow. Prime time to harvest an elk is late in the year, after temperatures have dropped to near or below freezing, the snows of winter have begun to fall and the elk have begun moving down out of the high country toward their winter range.
This annual migration has a profound impact on elk herds.
