Find The Bull

Find the Bull Elk

It’s not always easy locating and seeing elk before they see you. We hope this will help train your eyes to locate elk. You’ll want to notice movement, color and shapes. All the elk I saw January 2003 were found in what was a wet area. Aspens are included in these areas as they are always cool and full or abundant plant life.

Movement: Find The Bull 1 It’s not always easy to detect an elk moving through an area unless they are running. Then it’s too late. All you’ll catch is a glimpse. Look for ears twitching, or antlers as a bull turns his head. Elk move their ears to fend off insects or to listen. Their ears move independently of each other. To the human eye this twitching may look like a small bird flying away. The legs of an elk are dark brown. If you can see below tree limbs then you might be able to locate an elk walking through the woods. Kneel down or lie on the ground for the best point of view to locate elk walking through the trees. As elk graze they bob their head up and down. Nibbling as they go. If you walk slow enough or take breaks often you may be able to detect their movements before they see, smell or hear you. Remember this is their home and they know where every fallen log lies. Anything out of place will alert them. If you don’t move and have a tree behind or in front of you to break up your human form they won’t see you. Bull’s have a unique way of walking. It’s like a strut and easy to notice. Their walk is similar to a horse’s stride if you have any familiarity with horses. They share a lot in common with horses. If you are an accomplished horseman then you should be able to use what you know and apply that knowledge to elk.

Color: Find The Bull 6 The colors of an elk often give them away. It could be their yellow bodies or white rumps you see first, especially as the sun shines through the trees at sunrise. Those yellow and white areas almost shine or glow. Elk are more reddish brown during the summer than yellow in the area of their bodies. The dark brown color of their legs and neck contrast with snow in the winter. As Elk get older their dark colors become lighter. The Shawnee Indians call the elk “Wapiti” which means white rump. Elk will often use shade and bed in dark areas of the forests to avoid detection. It’s almost impossible to sneak up on a bedded bull in the old forests. They are almost entirely still. Their head and neck blend in well with the dark pine trees. Their antlers resemble branches.

Shapes: A wise man once told me if you look through the trees for horizontal lines you may find an elk standing there. Trees grow vertically – most of the time. Fallen logs are too low to be an elk. Beyond that, any horizontal line in the woods should catch your eye. It could be an elk grazing with his head down. The longest part of an elk is their spine from neck to tail. If by chance you don’t see their movement or if you don’t notice their color then look for horizontal lines. We’ve often spotted bulls coming up a hill because all we could see were their antlers as they bobbed their head up and down. Try to set up on the number of shelves located on North facing ridges early in the morning. If you’re lucky, and have successfully beaten the elk up the mountain (get in shape for this!) you could catch a nice bull as he swaggers up the mountain to his bedding area. Look for those antlers as they stand tall and high above an elk’s head. Antlers are oddly shaped sticks or branches. They have similar colors to pine limbs but have a unique curve to them. Looks for these curves. The end of an elk is also rounded.

Try to keep something like a tree between you and the head of an elk. Full, Christmas tree-like pines are good for this. Those areas where pine and aspen mix are great for stalking close to elk. The pine will break up your shape. However, movement is quickly detected so try to stalk when the wind is blowing the tree limbs or when a natural noise happens. This will cover your movement. I was able to sneak within 40 yards of several bull elk in January. The wind was brisk and covered my scent and the noise of my footsteps. Elk will eventually detect you. Some will bolt and some will stare. If they run it’s best to let them go because you will never catch up to them. If they stare, stand perfectly still and hope they resume their normal activity. This could take several minutes. Be more patient than they are.

The best practice is to get out in the woods and look for movement, color and shapes that resemble elk. First locate those places elk frequent. Second, go there in the early mornings or late afternoon/evenings. Third, use the tips in this article for locating elk.

Test yourself. Try to locate the elk in the following six pictures: