STEVE PUPPE ON ELK HUNTING IN THE BITTERROOT MOUNTAINS

Hunting After Bugling Season

EDITOR'S NOTE: Steve Puppe of Hamilton, Montana, promotions director for Knight Rifles and longtime avid hunter, lives on the edge of the Bitterroot National Forest with its abundant elk, mule deer and white-tailed deer.

QUESTION: During bugling season, you know where elk are so you know how to find them. How do you hunt them after the bugling season?
ANSWER: During the late season when the elk aren't bugling, they have hangouts they like. They enjoy feeding in the parks and meadows. A lot of times they'll go to parks and meadows at early daylight and late in the afternoon. They'll bed not very far away from these places, and if you meander meticulously and glass you'll locate them. A quality pair of optics is an absolute must in any type of elk-hunting situation. I always watch ahead of me. You also need a good elk call. You may jump an elk out of his bed. He may be startled because he doesn't realize where he is. But by elk calling to him, he'll stop, turn around, look and think it is another elk that's walked up. Calling is a good way to stop an elk.

I cover a lot of ground with a truck. I spot from long distances, and then I put a game plan together. If I'm on foot, I go where I know the elk hang out, where they have wintering areas, or where I guess they are. Every year elk migrate to a certain area, and you know they're always in that spot every year.

To learn more about Knight Rifles, call (641) 856-2626, write them at Knight Rifles, Customer Service Dept., 21852 Hwy J46, Centerville, IA 52544, or visit the Web site www.knightrifles.com. You can contact Scott Boulanger, a dependable, expert elk guide in this section of Montana by writing him at P.O. Box 733, Darby, Montana, 59289. You can call him at (406) 821-0017, E-mail him at elkhunter@circlekbl.com, or visit his Web site www.circlekbl.com.

TOMORROW: WHY YOU WAIT ON AN ELK