HUNTING DIFFERENT TIMES OF fall call for different tactics when chasing elk with a rifle. These tactics can also vary depending on which state you’re hunting in. If you have a general elk tag, live in Washington and will be hunting east of the Cascade Crest, you will be hunting for a spike, though there are also a few any-bull and any-elk units. For this tag, you will want to focus on locating a herd, as spike bulls generally
hang with large groups of elk. They are not like big bulls that are tired from the rut and off seeking solitude. This also holds true with cows. If you were lucky enough to draw a cow tag, which seem to be fewer every year, you will focus on areas that hold herds of elk. That’s not to say that you won’t find small groups of cows, but elk love to find safety in numbers. The more eyes and noses
they have, the safer they will be. The benefit of trying to locate herds of elk is that they are generally easier to see and hear the larger the group. Now, when it comes to mature bulls, there will be a difference in how you approach the hunt depending on whether your season occurs during or after the rut. If you drew a quality tag and it is after the rut, you are going to want to hunt the steep and
WASHINGTON, OREGON ELK PROSPECTS
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t will be another tough fall for most elk hunters in Eastern Washington due to continuing calf survival issues. “The low number of calves being recruited into the population in 2021 will result in a low number of yearling bulls (spikes) available for harvest. This fall will be another below-average year for yearling bull harvest,” forecast Blue Mountains biologists Paul Wik and Mark Vekasy. Troubles with their herd sparked a large study this year (see Northwest Sportsman, July 2021) involving the radio-collaring of 125 neonates to better suss out key factors in why elk numbers are declining. As for the Yakima herd, it’s not apples to apples because of surveying differences, but this past winter’s calf count at feeding stations was 27 per 100 cows, up from the “record low” of 19:100 the previous February. “There should be improved harvest in 2021 over 2020, but still below average,” biologist Jeff Bernatowicz reported. The Schneider Springs Fire should – key word – be well under control by the start of the late October season, but Forest Service closures may still impact access to the Bethel, Bumping and Nile Units. Northeast Washington elk aren’t surveyed due to thicker forest cover, but “increasing hunter harvest, documented expansion of elk distribution, and anecdotal information indicate that elk populations are stable and possibly increasing,” per biologists Annemarie Prince and Ben Turnock. Elk harvest across the more open Spokane and Palouse region has generally been rising in recent years, and there are areas of strong calf recruitment, such as Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, but hunters will need to sort out access –
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whether through permission from farmers, permits from Inland Empire Paper or other sources – beforehand. West of the crest, the elk kill in the western Willapa Hills is on a gradual longterm increase and without weather worries, should offer decent prospects. Take in the eastern Willapa Hills and South Cascades has been steady in recent years, though below the highs seen a decade ago when high numbers of antlerless permits were available to reduce the size of the St. Helens herd and hoof disease may not have been as widespread. Speaking of, this fall hunters have an incentive to harvest limping elk in all Westside units and turn in the animal’s hooves for testing. Those who do could be drawn for special Westside bull tags next year if their sample is positive for TAHD. Oregon biologists report that after more Wilson and western Trask Units bulls made it through last season, hunting should be “okay” in the North Coast units this fall. On the Central Coast, bull ratios are below goal (10 per 100 cows) in the Alsea but meet the benchmark in the Stott and Siuslaw Units, though animals are hard to find in the latter. Numbers are also above goal in the eastern Trask and Scappoose Units, while they’re close to it in the South Coast’s Sixes, Powers and Tioga Units. While elk numbers in the Cascades are generally low, note that the general season has been moved out of October to November’s second week, which may boost harvest numbers. In Central Oregon, the Ochoco bull ratio was above goal, but below in the Maury and Grizzly. Biologists say that late winter snows impacted local herds and
Kalee Brown, then 19, bagged this Eastern Washington spike on opening morning of a past general rifle season. Most units east of the Cascades are limited to young bulls, but some offer a shot at cows and even any bull during the late October/ early November hunt. (COAST HUNTING PHOTO CONTEST) calf recruitment was a bit below average. In contrast, Baker County’s elk came out of winter “in good shape,” with bull ratios at or near goal and calf:cow ratios “good in all units,” with Keating, Pine Creek and Lookout Mountain herds growing and offering “good opportunity for hunters.” To the west, prospects are “average” in Desolation, Murderers Creek, Northside and West Beulah, while calf ratios increased in Heppner and Fossil over 2020, “so hunters should find a few more spike bulls.” In the northeast corner, elk numbers were reported as “stable” in Union County and “doing well” in most northern Wallowa County units. –NWS
