Advice to archery elk hunters in CO.

[elkyinco]

Well spoken by a person with no success !!! No, you look for likes here and likely on fb and your contribution is "0". I call BS on you share with F&F. You are constantly looking for likes here on RS, but since you don't actually have any success hunting and little knowledge about the subject, you troll around looking for ways to make stupid, immature comments.

 

[Gerbdog]

This probably has more to do with my lack of aggressive bull calling skills then anything but i was confrontational with bulls the first 3/4 of the season this year and managed to get the bulls to sound off but never got them to come in. Some high-tailed it.

I took the approach elkyinco did the last week of the season, never bugled once, stayed real quiet, and cow called my way in. The bull did sound off on his own and with excited cow calls i closed the distance. I already posted that story up, ended in sadness and a botched shot, but the strategy worked for me. I also like elky found that bruiser right under everyone's nose, but i think that was more due to laziness of the hunters cause the bull called out at night where he was and it wasnt exactly a huge trip from camp, just steep and nasty. Maybe everyone's a way deeper sleeper then i am in the elk woods, but my sleeping brain is waiting to hear bugles out there haha.

Elky appreciate you putting up your story of success and big grats. Different strokes for different folks and i'd rather have too many arrows in my quiver and strategies for hunting elk in different situations then be a one trick pony. I think most/all successful elk hunters on here agree that the situation is determined by the mood of the bull in question and you seemed to tap into the mood of the bulls in your area with success. A dead elk with a photo to prove it.

 

[elkyinco]

This probably has more to do with my lack of aggressive bull calling skills then anything but i was confrontational with bulls the first 3/4 of the season this year and managed to get the bulls to sound off but never got them to come in. Some high-tailed it.

I took the approach elkyinco did the last week of the season, never bugled once, stayed real quiet, and cow called my way in. The bull did sound off on his own and with excited cow calls i closed the distance. I already posted that story up, ended in sadness and a botched shot, but the strategy worked for me. I also like elky found that bruiser right under everyone's nose, but i think that was more due to laziness of the hunters cause the bull called out at night where he was and it wasnt exactly a huge trip from camp, just steep and nasty. Maybe everyone's a way deeper sleeper then i am in the elk woods, but my sleeping brain is waiting to hear bugles out there haha.

Elky appreciate you putting up your story of success and big grats. Different strokes for different folks and i'd rather have too many arrows in my quiver and strategies for hunting elk in different situations then be a one trick pony. I think most/all successful elk hunters on here agree that the situation is determined by the mood of the bull in question and you seemed to tap into the mood of the bulls in your area with success. A dead elk with a photo to prove it.

 

[elkyinco]

T is that you ?
I agree with some of what you say, but I don't think it was laziness, but lack of elk knowledge, only one trick in the bag and not thinking like elk.
I have used my slow approach tactic to kill elk every year except one and multiple elk some years and everyone was in a different area.
I do use a bugle, but it has to be what I consider a high odds in my favor situation. Even the best hunters using the aggressive bugle method will tell you it is a 10 % chance at best of actually killing the elk.
This bull and I had two other encounters before I killed him.
1st encounter ) I heard him bugling out of his bed and then move through the timer while continuously screaming. I did nothing but use the wind and got to 20 yards when he busted me as I made a strategic move I should not have`.
2nd encounter) two days later, in the morning, and no bugling during the night, I dropped into a lower meadow and heard him bugle across the meadow in a patch of timber. I high tailed it to get the wind in my favor and got within 50 yards of him but he would not finish and there were too many cows scattered in the timber to risk pressing in closer. I knew there was a high probability he would stay in the timber patch as it contained great bedding and a good food source and we would likely meet that evening if I let him go for the moment.
3rd times a charm). The meadow on the edge of this timber is very large, but at the west end was very narrow with small patches of pines in it, a wallow and more importantly two very small running seeps. It was perfect for me to get in a small patch of pines and wait for his move. At 6:20 ish he made a very low effort bugle cut short with even a lower effort grunt. I muffled and blew a very soft cow diaphram call. If you were 50 yards away You would not hear it, but I knew he would here it even though he was likely in the 200 yards range at the ride top.
I did nothing and heard nothing for about 2 or 3 minuets and then heard the slight snap of a stick inside the timber less than 25 yards. in less than a minute he walked just enough out of the timber, and 60 yards upwind of me, where he could scan for danger and, or the cow he heard. I knew that doing nothing was the best thing and let the scenario play out as if he headed straight across the finger of the meadow it would put him inside 30 yards of me and when he crossed thought the intermittent patch of trees I was hidden in he would allow me to draw. That is pretty much exactly how it played out, except for the part where he angled away and the turned to tear up a tree at 35 yards. He was hard quartering to me at 35 yards. I drew did all of my post draw checks and anchored the front edge of the shoulder closest to me and just above his briquet.
The rest is history and he dropped dead 70 yards from the shot.

 

[Gerbdog]

T is that you ?
I agree with some of what you say, but I don't think it was laziness, but lack of elk knowledge, only one trick in the bag and not thinking like elk.
I have used my slow approach tactic to kill elk every year except one and multiple elk some years and everyone was in a different area.
I do use a bugle, but it has to be what I consider a high odds in my favor situation. Even the best hunters using the aggressive bugle method will tell you it is a 10 % chance at best of actually killing the elk.
This bull and I had two other encounters before I killed him.
1st encounter ) I heard him bugling out of his bed and then move through the timer while continuously screaming. I did nothing but use the wind and got to 20 yards when he busted me as I made a strategic move I should not have`.
2nd encounter) two days later, in the morning, and no bugling during the night, I dropped into a lower meadow and heard him bugle across the meadow in a patch of timber. I high tailed it to get the wind in my favor and got within 50 yards of him but he would not finish and there were too many cows scattered in the timber to risk pressing in closer. I knew there was a high probability he would stay in the timber patch as it contained great bedding and a good food source and we would likely meet that evening if I let him go for the moment.
3rd times a charm). The meadow on the edge of this timber is very large, but at the west end was very narrow with small patches of pines in it, a wallow and more importantly two very small running seeps. It was perfect for me to get in a small patch of pines and wait for his move. At 6:20 ish he made a very low effort bugle cut short with even a lower effort grunt. I muffled and blew a very soft cow diaphram call. If you were 50 yards away You would not hear it, but I knew he would here it even though he was likely in the 200 yards range at the ride top.
I did nothing and heard nothing for about 2 or 3 minuets and then heard the slight snap of a stick inside the timber less than 25 yards. in less than a minute he walked just enough out of the timber, and 60 yards upwind of me, where he could scan for danger and, or the cow he heard. I knew that doing nothing was the best thing and let the scenario play out as if he headed straight across the finger of the meadow it would put him inside 30 yards of me and when he crossed thought the intermittent patch of trees I was hidden in he would allow me to draw. That is pretty much exactly how it played out, except for the part where he angled away and the turned to tear up a tree at 35 yards. He was hard quartering to me at 35 yards. I drew did all of my post draw checks and anchored the front edge of the shoulder closest to me and just above his briquet.
The rest is history and he dropped dead 70 yards from the shot.

Gotta love it when a plan comes together

 

[5MilesBack]

This bull and I had two other encounters before I killed him.

I love killing bulls that I have had experience with previously in the season, or even better in previous years. My daughter got to kill a bull that I had chased around quite a bit the year before.

 

[elkyinco]

I love killing bulls that I have had experience with previously in the season, or even better in previous years. My daughter got to kill a bull that I had chased around quite a bit the year before.

Yes , it was pretty cool ! I was not positive it was the same bull, but his voice was the same and when he stepped into the meadow,, the first thought was, "It's him and I will win the war if this breeze does not change direction".
Very cool that your daughter pulled that off !!!

 

[trophyhill]

A well versed hunter is a dangerous hunter. Reading a situation correctly is critical when it comes to choosing ones tactics. The black timber can be tough. Especially when it’s choked with deadfall. But if that’s where the elk are. That’s where you will find me. I try to set up and call from locations where my sound travels far and wide. Preferably from a knob that has multiple canyons, draws or cuts leading to me with several shooting lanes. Patience is key for me here.

Pro’s and con’s?

Pro’s = that’s where the elk are. You will likely have up close and personal encounters. You will hear them snapping logs and giving away their position as they come thru. You may see them first. Your shots will be close.

Con’s = very physically demanding. you will also be heard making your way thru and could be seen as well. you may not get a shot. You might have half a dozen shooting lanes but an infinite amount of non shooting lanes where the elk like to stop leaving you holding your dick in your hand.

 

[Lukeutley7]

Been looking into elk university as a first timer out west. Hopefully that can help smooth the learning curve!