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Featured
Alberta Elk Hunting Outfitters
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Alberta Canada Elk
Hunting Guides & Outfitters
There are 15 hunting outfitters in our
directory offering elk hunts in Alberta.
Please review each of the outfitters listed below and contact them
directly for more information about their elk hunts.
Elk
Hunting in Alberta
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Alberta Rocky Mountain elk is
hard to match! A non-typical in 1999 that scored over 440
inches is credited to several mild winters, better management
and more knowledgeable outfitters. Elk hunting in Alberta
is getting better every year. There are more record book bulls
being taken than ever before.
Elk hunting is very challenging,
but the rewards are impressive! Between 850 and 1000 pounds,
a bull elk is outsized by only the moose in Alberta. The antlers
are usually chocolate brown, except for the tips, which are
polished ivory-white. An adult bull's antlers will usually
weigh about 12 pounds per side and extend about 50 inches
in length. Non-residents are only permitted to shoot six-point
or better bulls in most zones and this management regime allows
the majority of bulls to reach maturity, resulting in a higher
than average number of trophy bulls. Alberta’s elk mature
quickly and it is not uncommon for three-year-old bulls to
sport 6x6 racks. An elk with a total of 12 antler points (6x6)
is called a ''royal" bull; one with 14 points (7X7) is
an "imperial" and one with 16 points (8X8) is a
monarch.
Alberta's, some 26,000 elk are
found mostly along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
in the high basins and foothills zones, The elk have been
migrating to the boreal forest and parkland regions over the
last several years. If you are up for a rugged hunt by horseback
in remote camps, you'll want to plan your elk hunting trip
in the mountain or foothill zones. If you want to go the "old
fashioned way" in a truck, quad or on foot, you'll enjoy
the hunts in the boreal forest and parkland zones. Any way
you choose, you'll have the opportunity to see monster elk!
Archery elk hunting begins in
late August and early September and is permitted in most zones
before the rifle season begns. There are two archery-only
zones that have excellent trophy elk. During the early hunts,
when the elk are in rut, the favored method of hunting is
bugling and cow calling, trying to draw the bull to you rather
than you going to it. Elk are one of the few members of the
deer family that gather and protect a harem of cows during
the rut. By bugling, it is possible to convince the herd bull
that you are trying to steal his cows and he will come to
challenge you. The rut often lasts into mid-October and the
action can be as good, if not better, at this time of year,
as bulls compete to find the few remaining open cows. As the
rut draws to a close, bulls leave the cows and begin to form
bachelor herds that will often remain together until the following
year’s rut. Spot and stalk becomes the method of choice
now, as bulls are drawn to prime feeding areas to replenish
fat reserves for the impending winter.
As elk are big animals, rifles
like the .300 or .338 are preferred, although many bulls are
shot each year with the trusty .270 or 7mm. The key is to
have a rifle you are comfortable with and that you shoot well.
Precise shot placement is critical, as a marginally hit bull
can go for miles. Rifles should be sighted in for 250 yards
for late-season hunts. For early-season bugling hunts, shots
are usually under 100 yards and sometimes as close as 30.
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