New here but thought I'd give my .02 here! (grin)
Bowdoc, nice photo, I've been toying around with a camera as well lately but so far just cows! I'll work on that by re-locating!!
Here's some info I've written in the past that has served us well when hunting elk during full moon times! Hope it helps out!-------
This is one of the biggest questions many out of State & in State bowhunters have these days, that is, should I pick my hunting days during a Full Moon or just before or after or avoid this time frame completely? Hunting the full moon phases can be very productive when you approach it with the right attitude & knowledge of an elks activity at this time! Even in non peak rut times bulls & cows alike can become very vocal & nocturnal come Aug.--Sept. --Take advantage of these times, hunt elk in a manner you can take advantage of.
If you think about it, when elk are vocal at night they're in their feeding/watering/wallowing & nightime bedding areas. Calling after dark can be productive! When you find vocal elk in areas at night be rest assured they'll be there come morning & if not severely harassed, they'll be right back there the following evenings. It's a desired feeding/breeding area & it's tough to push them out of these types of areas. Hunt smart & you'll be able to hunt them a good while! Always hunt with favorable wind!
You can hunt them come morning knowing full well they are there! At times we get to these spots an hour or so before light & sit & listen, elk are generally vocal at this time & you can really narrow down right where they are, moving in towards them with good wind & getting good positioning will give you an edge come daylight. It's up to us as hunters to use the best possible methods to either ambush them or lure them in with calling that fits the encounter! At this time I personally like taking care of business while they're still in their feeding areas. You have about one hour generally to get in there & get it done before they head off to their daytime bedding areas, after that time you'll find yourself "dogging" the herd! If it doesn't pan out then, do your best to keep tabs on their movement as they head to bedding areas, many times bulls will bugle their way to them with the lead cow leading the way & avoiding possible confrontations with other vocal bulls. Finding those bedding areas is a great key to our success. If not real sure where they are or where the elk bedded, we then stake out the higher peaks within reason & sit & listen, many times for a couple of hours, elk love getting up midday/afternoon for light feeding & watering if it's hot especially & we like being within earshot. At this time bulls will sound off including the herd bull, this will not only give away his immediate position but also his aprox bedding area as bulls will bugle right from or very near from their beds at this time! Make mental notes of bedding areas, they use the same ones yearly. Be willing to use Location sounds early afternoon if need be to get them sounding off. Hunting near bedding areas is another subject! (grin)
Too, knowing they'll be back to these same feeding areas come evening, now you can get into that area in the afternoon while they're bedded elsewhere & find those trails they're using to enter that nightime area. It's a great place to set a treestand/ground blind or just "setup" in a good area near their trails. You may want to setup further up the draw or ridge or whatever you need to do to intercept them on their way to this pre-determined spot! Get in there scout it out & do what's best for the area. We do things like this everyear. Remember, "hunt smart" take advantage of these very vocal nights!! Some of the best elk hunting occurs during these full moon phases especially from Sept. 8 & on into Oct. Keep a positive attitude! Consider pop-up blinds & a decoy as well for selective setups!
ElkNut1