Bugle vs. chuckle

[trophyhill]

I had a bull in CO last year that would only respond to bugles with chuckles. That 350+ bull should be a euro mount. But instead lived to bugle another day . Point being, the chuckles are what got that bull into bow range. The chuckle will remain in my bag of elk tricks. I'll save it for a rainy day but I will be ready when it is needed again. Bottom line, no 2 encounters are ever the same. And as Paul says, not all encounters are created equal. If you disregard the value of a well timed/placed call (chuckle or any other elk sound) you are only limiting yourself

 

[trophyhill]

Some guys claim that there is the perfect response to a bull- I say thats bull.

___________

There is one exception to this. When you call, he comes, and you kill him. That's perfect enough for me

 

[5MilesBack]

I believe there is a perfect response to a bull.......totally depending on the situation and what has already gone on. Just think of a bar scene with some guys and some gals and the dynamics and what's said and done there to try and hook up. Saying or doing the wrong thing will be completely obvious to most of those involved. But saying or doing the exact right thing for that exact moment can bring the exact response you're looking for.

It's not unlike debating on these forums. It's pretty easy to lead someone exactly where you want them to go in a debate. It's a chess match then and it's a chess match with the elk. Everything that's said and done has a purpose.

 

[ElkNut1]

Timberland, for myself I need to define why a bull would Chuckle or Grunt! Chuckles are more social such as come on over here or I hear you! Repeated chuckling by a bull is generally asking you to come his way, this is especially heard if you are cow calling. A Grunt is a more aggressive/abrasive Chuckle. A Chuckle can turn into a more demanding abrupt tone such as a hard grunt when a bull is frustrated when a cow may not come to his demands. On the other hand grunts can also be intimidating towards another bull. Again, it's situational & a sign of his emotion for the situation he's presented with.



"How often do you chuckle, with a bugle or alone?"
Personally I generally bugle for location of bulls with a high pitch about 3 seconds long, once in a while (20% of time) I will add chuckling but it's not required to get a response, it's more just mixing it up if I feel I'm not getting responses from time to time.

Any rules with chuckles, like always chuckle back at a chuckle?
No sir, no hard fast rules for myself to imitate a bull, the reason is I find when I take charge I run the show not him, this increases the probability of a close encounter instead of him putting me on the defense. -- For instance let's say I was using cow calling for location & a bull chuckles me, I will not immediately add chuckling to my calling because he chuckled for me to come his way or just to let me know he heard me.

Never chuckle too close or when he has cows?
There are instances where I would chuckle in either of those, it's situational, such as what took place to get me in that moment! There are also occasions I would not chuckle in fear of being too close with not enough cover, I don't want to be spotted because I felt like calling/chuckling, I'd rather keep him in search mode coming to me if already that close.

Looking for Elknut to chime in
And chuckle is fun to say and do.

Does a chuckle get a response that a bugle won't?"
Anything is possible, but in most cases it can depend on distance & mindset of the bull. Is he rutting or not, things to be considered!

ElkNut/Paul