Hunting help for cows

[YegFishing]

I think scouting has finally paid off. We found an area in the spring while bear hunting that looked to be some good elk and moose habitat and it looks like we hit the jackpot. Checked our cameras after a month and one camera had over 4000 photos of moose, deer and elk and the other one had a little under 2000. Now the question for help is this; we had cow elk only come in and rest on one of the cameras and sit there for a whole day just being lazy. No signs of bulls, just cows with calves. There are a few bull moose that come in but nothing worth shooting. Some nice bucks as well but I mainly want to target the elk with my bow this season. If my reading and listening makes sense, then where there is cows, there will be bulls once the rut starts. BUT... I am worried the cows will move to greener pastures once the rut starts.

Any opinions and help?

[st99]

You said it "where there's is cows, there will be bulls". If the 3 necessities are found nearby (food, water and cover), they will stick around.

[cowmanbob]

You have 6000 photos of game and you need help? I’m trying to wrap my head around this.

[Bulldog Edm]

Sounds like you found a great spot. Sit tight and the bulls will come. Any signs of rubs or wallows from years past?

[hartsky]

Hopefully they stick around for you. I hunted Hinton area the last two years and we had the same thing. Found a few good spots, one was a natural mineral lick. We would get anywhere from 1000-4000 pics a month. One camera had 5 different bulls and cows were coming every single day. We thought for sure it was going to be no problem killing an elk. When we showed up to hunt the first thing I did was pull my cameras to see what has been there. And to my disappointment everything pushed on and didn’t come back. Two years in a row the same thing. By the middle of August they left the area and didn’t come back. We hunted the surrounding area hard just trying to cut tracks and find sign but we struggled. Both years it snowed early September while we were there and we couldn’t even find tracks in the snow. Not sure where they go or why they move like that. I would of bet anyone 1000 bucks we would have killed. Boy was I wrong. I hope they stick around for you and good luck !

Hartsky.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Hardsky, you "hit the nail on the head" Elk move around a lot. They will hold if no wolves or bears, however as soon a trouble like us hunters arrive or 24/7 ones they head for new pastures.

[Gear guy]

I have found everything hits these mineral licks hard all spring and summer but about mid August to end of August they stop and move more to their wintering areas or they move to avoid the hunters and head for the thick nasty stuff. It's weird.