Before I get into gear and shot placement, I want to give credit where it’s due: the photos featured in this post are from Joe Dingeldein’s 2022 Nevada bull elk, taken with a perfect shot placement — a genuine example of what we’re about to cover below. Quality optics matter as much as your weapon. I run good binoculars and …

When a stubborn bull hangs up out of sight, vocal calling alone doesn’t always get the job done. Grab a set of sheds or a couple of stout branches and crack them together or aggressively rake a pine tree while tossing in a few soft cow mews. That commotion convinces the bull that another bull is moving in on his …

Elk talk constantly with soft mews, chirps, and estrus whines. Years ago, I used elk bugles regularly, but I’ve mostly moved away from them. Bugling gives away your exact position to every hunter on the mountain, and I’ve personally had other bowhunters stalk me thinking I was a bull. These days, I call in far more bulls using cow sounds …

During early archery season, hot September afternoons push bulls toward active wallows. Bulls roll around in these muddy seeps to cool off, scrape away biting flies, and coat themselves in musk. That heavy, wet mud often cakes their body until that naturally light hide looks almost jet-black. Look for fresh, stirred-up mud with a strong rut scent, mark your approach …

Pre-season scouting takes just as much attention to your legal boundaries as it does to finding animals. Game wardens are not going to overlook a crossed unit line or the wrong weapon choice for your tag, no matter how good your excuse is. I use onX Hunt in the field to clearly see public and private land boundaries, verify game …

By July and August, it’s time to get boots on the ground and find where the elk are actually feeding and watering. In dense timber and swamp bottoms — I spent years hunting country like this up in Washington State — I still use a simple trick with a spool of sewing thread. Tie sections of thread chest-high across active …

Timing the rut right is what separates a good elk season from a frustrating one. Rocky Mountain and Roosevelt elk typically peak from mid-September into early October, while California’s Tule elk start earlier, in August. On the calving side, cows drop a single calf in late spring after roughly an eight-and-a-half-month gestation — twins are extremely rare, so don’t expect …

Elk season is in full swing right now, and before you ever step foot in the woods, you need to know exactly what you’re hunting. Not every elk is built the same, and knowing the difference has saved me from misjudging more than one bull over the years. Out across the West — Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada — we’re hunting …

Antelope hunting means long days in blazing sun, miles behind the glass, and can mean crawling through cactus and sagebrush. Being physically ready and having the right gear makes the hunt enjoyable instead of miserable. 1. Protect Yourself During the Stalk Knee and Elbow Pads: The final push often means crawling hundreds of yards over jagged rock and prickly pear. …

Success on opening mornings is usually bought and paid for weeks in advance. Glassing and spotting terrain patterns are your absolute best tools when preparing for an antelope hunt. 1. Start with Smart E-Scouting Before putting boots on the ground, fire up your mapping software — the onX Hunt app is one of the absolute best tools you can use …

When you’re chasing pronghorn across open prairie, you rarely get a second chance or a close shot. At Hancock Outdoors, I always tell folks that dialing in your rifle setup before you head out is the difference between a clean harvest and driving home empty-handed. 1. Match Your Round to the Wind & Check Local Laws Many hunters successfully take …

When you’re hunting the wide-open flats, getting within ethical shooting range of a mature pronghorn buck can feel nearly impossible. They have vision equivalent to 8x binoculars and a radar-sharp sense of danger. But as the season progresses and the rut kicks into high gear, dominant bucks develop a major weakness: extreme jealousy. To pull a trophy buck out of …