Elk! What Would You Have Done?

[ElkNut1]

This is real life encounter shared with me today via phone call. I love it when guys call to share their passion, successful or un-successful.

This hunter located a bull & called him in but had no real shot, (archery) the bull shy ed away with his cows as he was suspicious but still uncertain of the encounter, he was not seen or winded.

The hunter pressed forward for his 1st Roosevelt bull with a bow. He did his best to stay on this group as it traveled away but the bull was bugling enough for him to stay up. He ended up trailing for 1-1/2 hour, wow! He finally caught them & slipped in to 50-60 yards, he could not see the bull but could hear him talking with the cows & caught glimpses of the cows through the timber & undergrowth so could not slip in any further even though he had the wind.

What would you do to seal the deal? What do you think he did? He said all he could think of is what he learned on the ElkNut App. (not a plug, it's what he said) What he did next shocked him as the bull bolted to him in an instant! Any guesses? No wrong answers!

ElkNut

 

[Blowdowner]

Calf in distress call.

 

[Gerbdog]

ummmm..... I appreciate he stayed on their tail and persistent... i would have done the same... but i hunt units where i'm probably looking at most 2 encounters a season so... staying on the elk to me is a must cause there may not be any more encounters !

Did he... get in close and give a bark into a challenge bugle to bring the bull charging? Surprise! if not that, i'd guess a calf call of some sort. Guess i took two guesses.

 

[carsonkeys]

Did he slow play the bull?

 

[ElkNut1]

HuntNM, I share Scenarios like this throughout the year for a lot of years, this is not an isolated case. I could care less about selling something. This is an actual encounter shared with me today, sorry you feel otherwise. It's all good.

ElkNut

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

Coyote yip?

 

[NDGuy]

A challenge bugle to let the king know he had a challenger

 

[ElkNut1]

It's all good guys! Let's get back on track. What the hunter did was good no doubt about that. It's one I've talked about but no sure I would have chosen it! (grin) He did & it had awesome results!

ElkNut

 

[Alpineelk]

Not knowing how aggressive the bull is. Mabey going with a bull call cow bugle and some raking. If he's aggressive probably the grunt scream

 

[jKsled]

My guess is panting/glunk, maybe followed by cow call

 

[BullsDeep]

Bark, bark/scream

 

[ElkNut1]

Good stuff guys! There's some that ones guessed I would have personally done, But, he chose something different!

Goes to show you more that one tactic can work on certain encounters.

ElkNut

 

[Whip]

I'll go with nervous grunt/round up bugle. But since you were surprised by his choice I'm guessing I am wrong.

 

[Mag_7s]

Wild guess but, grunting, glunking, and dumped his water bladder?

 

[Blowdowner]

Dumped his HUMAN bladder.

 

[Smtn10pt]

Ran towards the cows and bugled

 

[Jethro]

I was thinking glunking may be what the hunter did. Although doubt I would since I've never glunked before.

I'd probably rake or scream an aggressive bugle. Most likely what I'd do is get picked off by one of the cows and send the herd running. That's my usual play.

 

[Coveyleader]

stay quiet, rake tree and get ready.

 

[ElkNut1]

Great guesses! I like the "I'd probably screw up & send him packing" (grin) Been there! (grin)

OK, here's what he did! After trailing this small group he caught up with them in the timber, aprox 50-60 yds away, couldn't get eyes on the bull but saw parts of his cows but there's no getting any closer. He doesn't want to screw it up & is really nervous as he hasn't taken a bull before with his bow. He almost did nothing but decided man I got to get it together & call him over.

He remembers from the App that it's common for another bull to try & call another bulls cow/cows away by an intruder bull. He chooses to imitate a bull calling his Cow/Cows away. It's done by giving 3 mews & a strong Round Up Bugle all in one breath, no hesitation in the sounds, you roll from the last mew right into the bugle showing this is a bull addressing the cows. When he did this the Bull broke from the cows & came storming in, he took him at 20yds.

No doubt some of the other responses here could have worked but the hunter chose this & it worked to perfection!

Thanks everyone!

ElkNut

 

[Read1t48]

Nice summary, Paul. I was late to the party but my initial thought was a bull calling cows bugle, especially knowing the territorial behavior of Roosevelt. My bull calling cows bugle seems more aggressive than the 3 mews followed by a bugle but I suspect it worked because bulls don’t want another bull saying anything to their cows. With Rosie’s, even a little conversation from an outside bull to the cows gets the herd bull fired up!

I have learned a lot from your app and put it into practice with success. Can’t thank you enough for sharing your hard earned knowledge.
Joel Turner has a YouTube video on bulls calling cows bugle (aggressive). When you get in tight, as the hunter did in your description, the bull has no other option except to come address the threat. Or he could walk away, but that is not common when you get in tight with a bull and his cows.
These threads are perfect for helping me get to the next elk season. I wish opener was tomorrow.