Cfb Suffield elk hunt
- Thread starter Reddogcattle
- Start date
I was out there about a month ago for the first antlerless hunt. By early afternoon on the second day, my partner and I had 4 animals down (2 tags each). The hunt was certainly a success in terms of tags filled, but I can't say that we saw a ton of elk -- we just made hay when opportunity present itself. For a place that allegedly has 5500 - 8500 elk on it (depending upon who's doing the talking), I don't think we saw more than 40-50 between us. And that's after glassing an enormous amount of real estate with binos and spotting scopes. My guess, and it's only that, is that most of the elk were staying put in the CWA (federal wildlife area -- off limits to hunting, at least during that first hunt) where they were safe.
It's an odd experience, as many have already said in other threads. Wide open grassland, and a lot of guys in a lot of trucks driving around looking for them. We ended up getting ours by getting out and walking, hiking into bowls and depressions that couldn't be viewed from the major roads and trails. I would definitely do the hunt again, and quite look forward to it. But I would do it largely the same way. Leave the roads to the road warriors and use my feet to get me to a spot where I can look down into spots the road warriors can't see. When you do that, suddenly you feel like you're the only one out there.
One piece of advice -- bring a rangefinder, a shooting rest of some sort, an be very familiar with your shooting ability and where to draw the line. When you see elk out there, they tend to be a long ways off. We didn't have any trouble making the shots we chose, but not one of them was inside 300 yards. And when you're dealing with highly pressured animals on flat terrain without a piece of cover in sight, your options to get closer can be very limited.
It's worth the trip though. Elk is always welcome in the freezer. And while you're looking for elk out there, you'll see 10 mule deer for every elk. And probably 10 pronghorns for every mulie. I've NEVER seen antelope numbers like that. While standing on one memorable high spot and glassing around 360 degrees, there were about 300 - 400 pronghorn visible. That alone was worth the trip!
It's an odd experience, as many have already said in other threads. Wide open grassland, and a lot of guys in a lot of trucks driving around looking for them. We ended up getting ours by getting out and walking, hiking into bowls and depressions that couldn't be viewed from the major roads and trails. I would definitely do the hunt again, and quite look forward to it. But I would do it largely the same way. Leave the roads to the road warriors and use my feet to get me to a spot where I can look down into spots the road warriors can't see. When you do that, suddenly you feel like you're the only one out there.
One piece of advice -- bring a rangefinder, a shooting rest of some sort, an be very familiar with your shooting ability and where to draw the line. When you see elk out there, they tend to be a long ways off. We didn't have any trouble making the shots we chose, but not one of them was inside 300 yards. And when you're dealing with highly pressured animals on flat terrain without a piece of cover in sight, your options to get closer can be very limited.
It's worth the trip though. Elk is always welcome in the freezer. And while you're looking for elk out there, you'll see 10 mule deer for every elk. And probably 10 pronghorns for every mulie. I've NEVER seen antelope numbers like that. While standing on one memorable high spot and glassing around 360 degrees, there were about 300 - 400 pronghorn visible. That alone was worth the trip!
Member 'IronNoggin' posted about a year ago:
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/foru...berta-My-Prairie-Elk-Experience?highlight=elk
Doesn't sound like my cup of tea, or glass of rum, whatever the case may be.
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/foru...berta-My-Prairie-Elk-Experience?highlight=elk
Doesn't sound like my cup of tea, or glass of rum, whatever the case may be.
It's not a hunt...... it's a cull....... and that is fine, if I was eligible I would surely apply for the hell of it......
But every year, I see CGN folk complaining about populations, hunter quantity etc.....and I question why...... you are asking to participate in the most redneck hunt possible.......
Were it me, I would be more concerned with my safety than anything else......
But every year, I see CGN folk complaining about populations, hunter quantity etc.....and I question why...... you are asking to participate in the most redneck hunt possible.......
Were it me, I would be more concerned with my safety than anything else......
