Do Your Homework for Elk

If you want to take a big, bull elk, you can't have too much information. Just because bull elk are large doesn't make them easy to find.

elk3 First, locate the areas that produce the most big, bull elk. Check the Boone and Crockett (B&C) and Pope and Young (P&Y) records to learn which states and which counties historically have produced respectable quantities of large bull elk. Make sure to learn which counties have most-recently produced trophy bulls. Due to habitat changes, some prime elk producers may no longer be productive destinations for elk hunters, and some formerly mediocre areas may now offer excellent hunting.

Start your research with Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho and Colorado. If you don't have a good guide, you'll spend a lot of your time trying to find elk. When scouting for elk in arid areas like New Mexico and Arizona, start by locating water. Water holes, tanks and ponds are small and stationary. Elk in these regions will have to come to these places, while elk living near streams will have a greater choice of water sources.