How to Locate Big Game in Rifle Season

Finding game during rifle season can be a challenge. An increase in hunting pressure combined with a decrease in daytime movement can make the odds of tagging out seem insurmountable. However, many hunters beat the odds each season and come away with a trophy buck or bull. To learn more about where to find game when the rifle shots start cracking, I talked with Clint Schneider of Seven J Outfitters in Sheridan, Wyoming. His experience and insight could be just what you need to tag out this rifle season.

Ugly is Beautiful

Schneider said that rifle season game, particularly elk, seek out security cover in places most hunters won’t or can’t access. Clint said, “If you’re hunting public, they’re usually going to be in the thickest, most inaccessible spot you can find. Once those first shots start cracking they get pretty leery.” Schneider said that rifle season bulls, particular those with a few seasons under their belt, will move into spots that are often overlooked by hunters. “If there’s a big draw that they typically hang out in and there’s this little isolated patch of trees that nobody would ever think to look in. They’ll move into something like that and they won’t get up until after dark and they’ll bed in it before daylight. If you can find something that ain’t being hit, that’s where they’re probably going to be.” Schneider also said that pressured bulls will put themselves as high as possible and in the steepest country possible to avoid being bothered by hunters. A willingness to go where other hunters won’t could help you fill your rifle season tag.

Saddle Up and Go Deep

Schneider said another way to find game during rifle season is to venture farther from roads and trails than other hunters by using riding animals. He said, “You can get into some country that other people aren’t going to get into on foot. It cuts off a lot of the distance. That’s a major asset. You can cover a lot more country than you could on foot. A lot of those guys that hunt National Forests, I see them do it all the time, they ride around on their four-wheelers or their pickups and they never get off the roads. You’ve got to get away from the people that are there. It could be anywhere from a mile to ten miles.” Schneider said that fit hunters can accomplish the same goal using good old-fashioned boot leather stating that “any way to get away from the general public on public land is the best way to [find game].”

Learn Where Bucks Bed

Finding mule deer in an October rifle season can be just as tough as finding a bull elk at that time of year. Schneider encourages hunters to spend a lot of time behind some good glass and focus on spots where bucks like to bed. Schneider said, “You’re usually looking for shaded areas. That’s where the mule deer are going to be. It’ll be something up high where they can see. They’re almost always going to be in the shade unless it’s cold because they can see better if they’re in the shade looking out into the light.”

Breeding Season is Best

Finding elk during rifle season is typically harder than during bow season because the rut is either winding down or completely over. Schneider said, “They’re usually letting themselves be known during the bow season because they’re bugling in the timber. So you can find them that way. In rifle season, depending on where you’re at, they don’t do a whole lot of bugling, especially once those bulls start singling themselves out and getting into bachelor groups. Finding them can be a little tough.”

If it’s mule deer you’re after, the job of locating a shooter buck may be easier during late rifle seasons. Schneider said that thanks to the rut “the mule deer make themselves more visible. They actually get about half dumb.” Schneider went on to say that the same principle applies for whitetails when rifle season lines up with the rut. Finding a group of does and sticking with them is your best bet this time of year. Schneider said, “If you find a group of does and you watch them, usually a buck’s going to come by and check them.”

Use these tips to help you find game this rifle season, then shoot straight. To book a hunt with Seven J Outfitters contact them at: www.guidefitter.com/sevenjoutfitters