This weekend in Elk County proved to me that the PA elk rut has begun. We heard a lot of bugling, saw some bulls getting into a frenzy, and saw the aftermath of a fight for dominance. Yes, the rut has begun! I think it is only really starting and in my opinion will be in full swing sometime this week. I saw several bulls chasing cows, one intently, but I did not witness any mounts or breeding.
The traffic up on Winslow Hill was unbelievable to me. Admittedly, it has been quite some time since I was on the elk range on a Saturday, but the number of cars and traffic jams was surprising to me.
The elk did not seem to mind in the least though. They went about their business as usual. We saw some decent sized harems being managed by some nice bulls. And we saw bulls every time we went out. In fact, some bulls were nice. We saw two bulls that were at least a 7×7 or 8×7. Even the lesser bulls seemed to have nice mass to their antlers. The cows seemed healthy but not yet ready to mate. We also saw a few calves that are growing up quickly.
Here are four photographs from our one-day trip this weekend.
Thanks for the update Bob. I am really looking forward to getting away and enjoying the outdoors. I will not be looking forward to the tourist on Saturday and Sunday thought. I guess that means I just get parked and take a long walk into the back country.
You’re welcome, Brad. We had a great time in the mountains of Elk County and I cannot wait for next week! I think things are going to be in excellent shape for our photography. I hope we cross paths and get to shoot together at least a little bit of the time. I ran into Buckwheat briefly but he had some family up and was taking them back home on Saturday so I was not able to spend any quality time with him. He will be up next week, too. I can’t wait!