The Elk Migration: What It Means for Your Hunt

For whitetail hunters used to chasing critters that sometimes live their entire lives on 1,000 acres, hunting the elk migration can seem daunting. The trick is knowing when and why elk migrate and using that knowledge to your advantage on the hunt. Ryan Plumb of Sudden Impact Outfitters in Maybell, Colorado offers both guided and drop camp style elk hunts. Here’s what he said about the elk migration and how it could affect your 2017 hunt.

Can You Explain the Elk Migration for Someone Totally New to the Idea?

According to Plumb, “[Elk] will get to the highest point they can find in whatever area they’re going to be in. On my upper ranch, that is 7,500-8,000 feet. That’s where most of those elk are spending the summer and on through hunting season before they start to move down.” Plumb went on to say that a downhill migration is typically triggered by one of two things, a lack of feed or the fact that available food sources are buried under an abundance of snow.

“[In] their normal migration pattern, they’ll start out in late October or so and they’ll move to the mid-section on the mountain. They’ll hold there for a while and then as the weather progresses they’ll start moving on down to the lower winter ground. But the last few years here, I don’t know if it’s been because of drought conditions that we’ve been having, but they’ve come down a lot later. This year, right now, the first part of January, we’re just now starting to see a few elk down here at about 6,500 elevation. For us, that’s pretty much where their winter ground is in our area.”

The distance traveled during the elk migration is even more impressive than the elevation gain/loss. Plumb said, “It’s usually about 50 miles or so. When [elk] take a mind to move, they definitely will move. I’ve seen herds of 100-200 head. When they take a notion to move, the next day, they’re gone.”

Plumb said, “Usually the weather is what pulls them down.” Without feed covered by the snow, the elk have very little reason to head for lower ground.

Plumb feels that another reason for the later migration has been a change in land use. He said, “We did have a lot of cattle and a lot of sheep in this part of the world. In the last few years, a lot of the cattlemen have sold off parts of their herd, and in the high-country grazing [areas,] there’s still a lot more left up there than there used to be. The animals are staying up there until the snow gets so deep that they’re tired of pawing and digging through it before they start moving down the hill. Now that the grazing and the land use has kind of changed, they don’t have to move as readily as they used to.”

Will a Hard Winter Affect My 2017 Hunt?

Plumb said, “The only thing that would really affect the hunt is if, during the hunting seasons, a tremendous amount of weather pulled in. If it turned out bitterly cold and we start getting quite a depth of snow, the animals will start moving down out of there like they did years ago. If it’s another winter like we had last year, those animals are going to be up in the higher reaches right through the fourth season.”

Plumb also said that late spring snows don’t have a measurable effect on calf survival rates, with predation being the main cause of early elk deaths.

Do Big Bulls Migrate with the Rest of the Herd?

Plumb said, “Your larger animals will a lot of times hang up in a nesting area. It could be as small as five acres. As long as they’ve got good cover and they’ve got water and they’ve got feed, they’ll stay there until it gets so bitter that they have to move. They’ll find those little nesting areas and stay in them. That’s why they’ve gotten so big is that they’ve found those spots. A lot of times year after year they will go back to the same spot.”

Given a Choice, Which Season Should I Hunt?

Colorado offers three rifle seasons starting around the middle of October and ending around the third week in November. Plumb urges hunters who are up to the challenge of hunting the high country to apply for the earliest season possible. He said, “I think that the late season hunters that bank on [the migration] every year, the last couple years here in Colorado have had kind of a tough go of it because the elk just haven’t migrated down when they normally do. When everything’s down in the low country, it’s pretty much a turkey shoot then. But I feel the best times to hunt are the earlier seasons if you can get into the higher country and find where these elk are living during that time period rather than banking on them migrating down to where you’re going to hunt them in the low country.”

“[Low-country] hunts are not really a set-in stone thing, whereas up in the high-country if you’re willing to put in the time and find where these elk are at up there, I think you stand a better chance of connecting.”

As with anything in elk hunting, betting on the migration is not a sure thing. Although it’s easier to wait at the bottom of the mountain for weather to drive a big bull to you, Plumb’s comments prove that it’s not always a viable tactic. Understanding elk habits, trusting your outfitter’s expertise, and showing up with the physical capabilities to go where the elk are will earn you the most meat in the freezer and antlers on the wall.

To book a hunt with Sudden Impact Outfitters, contact them at www.guidefitter.com/suddenimpactoutfittersllc.