I was there 9/16-9/19 around Spring Creek. Only heard 2 distant mid-morning bugles. I did hear a few bugles at night near camp, but it was very quiet during daylight hours. Got lucky and killed a silent 5pt.
HookUp, can't say if others were there before us, but we were the only ones around the 5 days we were around fossil ridge. Camp was about 5 miles in and we went deeper from there each day looking for them.
We were in Taylor park and Texas Creek last week and they were really quiet. We did manage to get into a group of satellites(never found the herd bull or cows) but even they were quiet except for one night. Even when working we would get one little like bedded bugle and then they were quiet.
All the other guys we talked to said they were not hearing anything either. We were fortunate to kind of get into a few elk, but the shots never materialized. Probably worked a total of 10 bulls over the week period. Saw most of them, from 4 pts to a smaller 6. One nice 5 was in the same exact spot for two nights in a row. We were there the 2nd night but too much deadfall to get a shot.
fyi...saw more deer this year than ever, all does and fawns and at least 2 shooter moose and several small bulls and cows and calves
Not technically but there are 650 archery tags and 180 or so muzzy I think. One of the old timers we talked to thinks the pressure is worse now that folks are obligated to hunt 55 with the draw tag versus spreading out and being able to hunt other OTC units with the old system. Take it FWIW. I can see his logic.
Sorry, just dropped to the last post, but pressure will quiet things in general. Plus, sometimes they just aren't vocal. This pic is from unit 49. Most of those animals are bulls and during the last weekend of the second week, they were not vocal. I heard one location bugle at noon one day, but otherwise relative silence. I didn't bugle the entire two weeks I was in there and got my bull by ambushing them on the way to their bedding area.