Elk Hunting in Alberta?

[Interseptor]

Anybody have any insight on elk in Alberta?  How does the hunt differ from the American West experience?

[JohnV]

I have been on two outfitted elk hunts in Alberta, one in the Canmore bow zone and one in the Waterton Provincial park in south Alberta.  Never heard an elk bugle on either hunt even though we hunted mid-September during the rut.  Saw less than a half dozen elk on both trips combined.  Elk densities are a lot lower in Alberta than in most US states where elk are hunted.  That said, they kill some really big ones.  Based on my experiences, I will not return to Alberta for elk.

[calgarychef]

Alberta has around 20,000 elk if I'm not mistaken, it's a big area so they get spread out quite a bit.  Some of the states have huge numbers and they are small areas   . That pretty much sums it up.  Three of us hunted elk really hard last year and one out of the group got an elk.

I also think that because we have lots of carnivores here and the elk have been dealing with them for a long time that our elk are spookier than "down south."  That's partially why the wolves were so successful those first few years after their reintroduction in the states.

If you want to get an elk The best elk hunting is in a farmers field around here but we also have serious wilderness left and that's where a lot of us like to hang out.  There are some big boys out there and they're definitely heavier and larger than the southern variety.   It also seems our elk bugle less, and again it might be because of the predators.  Not that they don't bugle but they also like to hide in the trees and keep quiet.

Hope that helps