How to avoid chasing the wrong bugle

[Gapmaster]

Couple years ago I heard a bugle a few times above me on a ridge and was convinced it was a hunter. I was +/- 200 yards with good wind and turned and walked away... later found out it was a solid 315” 6x6. Guy camping down the road from us had heard him and went to investigate, called him right in. I felt really smart...

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

All the worst bugles I've ever heard in the woods ended up being bulls. Should be sneaking in well enough that whether it's a bull, or a person they won't see you.

 

[7Bartman]

I will intentionally throw out an unusual chuckle every now and then if I suspect it's another hunter as I don't want them chasing me. I try and listen how quickly a bull bugles back. It usually takes a hunter more than a few seconds to get their bugle tube up to their mouths. Loud cow calls can be a give away too.

 

[Wrench]

Don't avoid it. I've screwed up WAY more times than I've been called by hunters.

I had a bull pipe off last year 30 yards from my truck and I bet the farm it was a hunter.....aaaaaaannnnddd then 5 hours later I bumped a 300 class bull at my truck.

 

[dukerugger25]

Agreed with everything already said, chase every bugle. In the last 8 years the bugle has been another Hunter only once.

 

[DmrbigEshotT]

I worked my way up a steeeeep drainage last year and over the course of the couple days before that, worked elk about 2/3 of the way up it before busting out some cows. I got up to the top 1/3 of it and stopped to cow call on the edge of a patchy stretch of meadows. It was opening day of muzzle loader season near a popular CO wilderness area and after I called, a squealy, whiny, fluty bugle answered within 200 yards. Out of frustration and sheer stupidity, I just turned around and began walking away swearing it was an old timer who was packed in on horses blowing a 30 year old bugle tube with dry rotted reeds.

I often think about how I probably walked away from an elk that I most likely would have killed.....

 

[North Idaho Stickbow]

chase them all. Some people are really good and some elk are terrible.

Friggin great statement.

 

[pirogue]

One more important thing. If you’re with someone, and both of you are busting it uphill chasing a bugle, I’ve had the other person say “It’s a person”, just because they can’t keep up with you.

 

[snowtoy83]

I have talked hunting partners into chasing down a bugle that was way to bad to be a real bull. Guess what, it has been real every time.

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

One more important thing. If you’re with someone, and both of you are busting it uphill chasing a bugle, I’ve had the other person say “It’s a person”, just because they can’t keep up with you.

Shit, I've had guys know it's a 300+ bull and still be 50 yards behind me running up ridges.

 

[roosiebull]

Context can make it easier but still no guarantee with a good bugler.
Like mentioned above, a cow call can be a dead giveaway

you’ll get a feel for it with time.

 

[MOSO 300]

I must bugle fair, last year I called in some guy and his posse complete with camera man.

That was me!!! Your episode should hit YouTube this week.


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[5MilesBack]

Shit, I've had guys know it's a 300+ bull and still be 50 yards behind me running up ridges.

I've slammed the truck door intentionally, and still had hunters chasing and bugling at me.

 

[4rcgoat]

I believe i roped in another hunter 2 days ago. I made a low key location bugle in some very heavy north facing timber,got a very aggressive response, came in fast and furious. He almost had me convinced until i heard a series of cow calls in between the bugles and chuckles, that just didn't seem right so i packed up and got out of there. Hope my instincts were correct. Guess I'll never know.

 

[commandoNate]

All bugles are guilty (of being elk) until proven innocent in my mind. Been fooled too many times both ways before.

 

[sneaky]

Some of the worst sounding turkey sounds I've heard, have been from turkeys. Same with elk. If you get a response from a godawful thick patch on a steep face, 99.9% it isn't a human. I left a bull this morning in exactly that situation before I screwed it up enough for this evening.

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[Sled]

I bumped a bull this morning and stopped him with a cow call only to have a response from below him in the woods that sounded like a half second bump on an air horn. Since I knew another hunter was around I assumed it was him. I tried to position myself to take the first bull as he walked off. That meant getting ahead of him if possible. In the meantime I heard the hunter slowly make his way up to my first position that I called from. After 15 minutes of him looking around for me he finally pushed off. It was about that time that I realized it was a real bull. He was in a dry wallow when he responded the first time. Lesson learned.

 

[Winnie]

It might be a bit embarrassing to chase a bugle only to find another hunter, but that is actually a way better feeling than to not chase and find out it was real bull.

One tip that can slightly give you a clue is the timing of the response. As someone said, it takes a second or two to get the bugle tube up but generally hunters always respond within a few seconds and all of their responses are in the same time frame. You bugle......they bugle. You bugle.....they bugle. real bulls may answer immediately or 5 minutes later. This is by no means foolproof, but there is a wee bit of truth there. I have found most hunters to be very consistent and most bulls to be not quite as consistent. But that is only a generality.

 

[sneaky]

Yeah. I've noticed the past few days that real bulls can be lackadaisical in their response. They also change position way quicker than any hunter can. If they respond, then a minute or so later they're 150yds closer, that's a bull. What I've noticed the most, that has already been mentioned, is the tone of a real bull's bugle. They don't echo like bugles from a tube.

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