Second, your weapon will determine your season, which also determines your experience.

It is nearly universal, for example, that archery season for big game happens in September because it coincides with the elk rut (mating season). Hunting during the elk rut is a uniquely powerful experience. During this time, bull elk vie for the attention of cows, piercing the mountain air with their signature bugles, grunts, chuckles, and screams. The ability to hear the animals and understand their intent, and engage in vocal communication with a 600-pound king of the forest, is one of the most intense, thrilling, and addictive elements of archery hunting. Elk language is nuanced and laden with information. As a bowhunter your goal is to paint a picture in the animal’s mind with the timing, location, tone, and intensity of your vocalization. In one situation you might imitate a cow elk looking for love, while in another you might communicate to a bull that you’re a bigger bull ready to rumble. (If learning animal vocalizations intrigues you as much as it does me, check out Roe Hunting Resources, a treasure trove created by field biologist Chris Roe, who has spent thousands of hours observing animals in their natural habitat.)