Well I got drawn for a Cow Rifle tag this year in Kentucky. I'll be hunting in unit 4 and going to attempt to do it as a DIY hunt. Every time I have spoken to somebody about it, I get told to "get a guide" but I don't have the $2,500 to drop on it. Not saying their time and prep for the hunt is not worth the $2,500, I just cant spend that much this year on the hunt. I tried to get on a regulated area but was not successful so I am stuck to national forest and a couple of small WMA's. I got a week prior to my hunt to go scout and see what I can locate. I'm hoping I can find something but knowing I will be on more "open to public ground" I worry about pressure as I do when I hunt public while deer hunting. Has anyone on here ever hunted Elk in Kentucky? If so, any advice would be great. I got drawn for week 1 rifle cow hunt. November 30-December 4
Hey my place is in ky, and I’d be interested in how it goes s keep posting up. Sent from my iPad using Bowhunting.com Forums
Kentucky is my kinda place. Best bourbon in the world and now elk is getting plentiful enough to shoot cows. Awesome for you ! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
great draw. I been putting in for bulls but not hit the lotto yet. Some things never change. Best of luck
First congrats! Second, disclaimer, I've never hunted KY, let alone elk in KY... But... I do hunt elk out west. So take this with a grain of salt. Elk move, scouting now may or may not indicate where they will be i end of Nov. Out west, the maps of general range along with summer and winter ranges gives you an idea of where animals might be found. That time of year would be post rut, so food, water and security will be key factors. I suspect this last factor will be key. Cows will be bred, bulls recovering from the rut. Benches on ridges with a fairly steep angle 25-35% with a water source and nearby food. Get in shape, keep moving if you're not seeing fresh sign. Call biologists, friends of friends with questions geared to your hunts timing. Thanksgiving is a good point of reference if you're among locals... 'where bouts might people be seeing elk around Thanksgiving'. Be proficient with your weapon, >especially< with targets above or below you, is there is a lot of elevation change in that unit (e.g. Old mining areas I know are fairly popular hunting/Habitat areas). Good luck!
Congrats on the tag! I would approach it like a western unit/tag that I've never hunted in and had minimal information prior to the hunt... Buy some maps ASAP if you don't have them, start pouring over them and comparing to SAT imagery - look for areas that seem like they could be good for elk. Also keeping in mind that by Dec they could have been pushed around by other hunters this fall - so they could have moved deeper and to more remote areas (not sure how much deer pressure that area gets)? Make a call to the local state biologist andor game warden and see what they have to say as far as elk movement/habitat.... Then go as early as you can and scout... Hopefully you can run across someone that has hunted that unit & timeframe/season before - that would be ideal. Good luck!
Thanks guys, I have contacted a game warden and spoke with him. He has helped me out a little on where to look. According to him I just need to come closer to time of my hunt to scout. I have been looking at map and utilizing the maps with onX to narrow it down to where I need to start. I have a little bit of a game plan and hope to build off it. I have a week prior to my hunt to scout and plan on using it. Time will tell but I am learning more and more each day.
