Welcome to our Elk Hunting pages

Elk (Cervus elaphus)

Elk are a known member of the deer family. Native American Shawnee Indians first called them "Wapiti" meaning white or pale deer - referring to their light color. Scientists adopted the same name. The name "elk" was given to the large deer by early English settlers. The name being previously used for the European moose.

 

Elk were lived throughout most of the United States and south Canada. At one time, elk ranged over most of southern Canada and the United States, even the plains states. Over hunting caused a drastic decline in the populations, and by 1900, they had disappeared from ninety percent of their range. Today, elk are found mostly in the mountainous Western states of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico &Canada. A few of the Northeastern states also hold elk populations such as Kentucky and Minnesota. Organizations like the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation help to support introduction of elk to areas that once had elk populations. It does seem that Elk populations are on the rise throughout the United States by support of private organizations consisting mostly of hunter's and not by the "fish & wildlife" or any of the so called "liberal groups".

Adult Elk can reach a shoulder height of 4 to 5 feet, and a length up to 9 feet or more, with a body thickness of about 6 inches. Adult bull elk may weigh more than 1,000 lbs. before the rut, but seldom exceed 900 lbs. Smaller cows usually weigh 500 to 600 lbs.

Elk Food; Elk feed on all kinds of plants, but primarily graze on roots and grass. They also eat the sedges, forbs, twigs, fir needles and juniper and deciduous shrubs.

Gender: Adult male elks, called bulls, have a dark brown mane or ruff on their throats. Their huge antlers can weigh 25 lbs. (older bulls). The antlers may reach 5 feet in length and usually have five tines projecting from the main branch for a total of six points per side. The antlers are shed in late winter (March or April). About one week afterwards, males begin to grow new ones. The new antlers are covered with 'velvet.' Females, called cows, do not have antlers, have shorter manes and are 25% smaller than bull elk.

Habitat: In the spring, after calves are born, elk move slowly back up to higher mountain pastures. As mating season begins, the elk move from the high mountain valleys called parks to the lower valleys. There they gather into large herds of both sexes and all ages. They spend the winter in the wooded slopes and often dense woods of the lower valleys, where the snow is not too deep

Herding: Elk cows have a strong herding instinct. During spring and summer, herds of cows and their juvenile calves usually graze separately from the bulls. An old cow usually leads this summer herd. As yearling (spike) bulls age, they spend less time with the cow herds. During winter, males and females forage together.

Locomotion: Bull elk can move silently through forests at speeds up to 35 mph. Both bulls and cows are strong swimmers. Their walking stride is 30 to 60 inches, but when running this length can increase to 14 feet. When walking, their hind hoof prints fall slightly ahead of and overlap their fore prints. When bounding their hind prints and fore prints are separate. In mud or snow, the print of "dew claws" are often visible behind their lobed main prints. 

Reproduction: A bull elk announces the rut, or mating season (Sept. - Oct.), by bugling. He begins with a low bellow followed by his far-reaching whistle. During the fall rutting (mating) season, bulls rub their antlers on trees, "horn" the ground, and then roll in the created wallows. Rival bull elk battle clash their antler racks in jousting matches for possession of a female harem (cows). A bull may mate with as many as 60 cows, but the average harem contains only a dozen or so cows at a time. Cows usually breed when they are 2 1/2 years old. After the fall mating season, the gestation period for the cows is 255 to 275 days. Usually one or occasionally two calves are born in June-July and weigh 25 to 40 lbs. During the first month, calves are totally dependent on milk and may suckle for up to 9 months.

Range: Elk are mainly found in western North America. In the U.S. the largest numbers are in Colorado, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming with lesser populations in California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. Elk have been recently reintroduced into many areas in the East, Midwest, and the South including parts of Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Virginia. The largest herds are still found in Yellowstone Park, on Montana's Sun River, and in Washington's Olympic Mountains.

Predators: Natural enemies of elk include wolves and cougars. Bears and coyotes kill some calves and sick adults.

Threats: Many of the larger elk herds in the U.S. and Canada are overpopulated and do not have an adequate winter range for feeding. Elk die of starvation or from diseases, such as pneumonia and necrotic stomatitis (calf diphtheria).

Roosevelt Elk (Spirit of the rainforest)

Roosevelt elk are sometimes known as Olympic elk and they are the largest of the big game animals. A mature bull may weigh as much as 1,000 pounds or even more, but on the average they will weigh much less. Both male and female elk  have a dark-colored neck mane. Antlers of the males are heavy, and  tend to rise straighter and with much less spread than antlers of the Rocky Mountain elk.

 The greatest difference between Roosevelt elk and Rocky Mountain elk is in their habits and distribution. Roosevelt elk choose to live in the rain forests of the Pacific coast. They prefer the logged and burned over areas of the coastal mountains and the western slope of the Cascades. Upon finding an area which meets their needs they spend their entire lives there. Huckleberry, trailing wild blackberry, vine maple, salal, and other shrubs are favorite food during the late summer, fall, and winter. Weeds and grasses are preferred in the spring and early summer. Roosevelt elk are larger in size and darker than a Rocky Mountain elk. Antlers are shorter, heavier, with a narrower spread and often "webbed" or crowned at the top. (NPS leaflet)

Feeding occurs just after daylight and again in the early evening. When food becomes scarce, the elk herd must  spend more time in search of it. 

Equipment need for a successful Elk Trip

Elk Guides

Elk Stories

Elk Photos

Products	Order On Line	Dealer Locater	Blog	Contact Us
News & Reviews	Gallery	Hunting Cabin	Company Info
Shooter Education	Tactical Advantage	Find a Hunt	Cinema Production	Cool Links
Link To Us	Print and mail order form	Fisherman's Corner	McKenzie River	Hunting Info.