Judging bugle distance

[LanceM]

Any suggestions for judging the distance of a bugle? I realize there are a lot of variables here such as terrain, vegetation, etc. I can tell you the approximate range of a turkey gobble, but I don't have as much experience with elk. I've noticed one of my biggest weaknesses on previous hunts is judging this distance and knowing how hard/far I can push to get "in his zone". Do you hear bugles that are too far to bother chasing? If so, at what point do you know it's worth trying? Then, when do you know you're close enough to be in his "zone"?

 

[Wrench]

You'll know when he's inside 20 because it'll rattle your chest. They're good at varying the volume too. As far as pushing him, he's either coming on a string and you have little time to get ready, he's curiously sneaking in and expecting to see elk, or he is 100 yards farther every time you make a peep.

 

[spike camp]

If you can hear the bugle, he’s not to far to pursue.

 

[Poser]

First bugle we heard last season sounded impossibly far away, over a 13,000 foot pass into another drainage system. My partner and I laughed out loud at how gain it was. 5 minutes later, a bull was standing 40 yards away looking around.

 

[LanceM]

Thanks for the input guys. I guess my concern comes from the times I've been shocked that I cannot see the bull. I've obviously seen/heard bugles from a distance, but never actually seen one bugle in my face or even within 200 yards. There have been a handful that I would have bet money were within 75 yards, but never even caught a glimpse despite good visibility. Those are the ones I wonder if I could have pushed closer.

 

[UtahJimmy]

I've had multiple times where I think they are right below me only to find them across the drainage. Their sounds can travel if unobstructed by terrain. Just another thing to consider...

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[Laramie]

If it's windy and you can hear a bull bugling, he is relatively close. In calm conditions I have heard them as far as 2 miles away. I hunt turkeys and elk frequently. My best estimate is that hearing calls from each at the same volume, the elk is probably about 4 times further away.

 

[Ross]

Some bulls bugles are so low you won’t hear them until your within several hundred yards either way if you hear them you can hunt them and when close there is no doubt

 

[cnelk]

Depends on if they are facing away from you or facing you.

Ive had a bull 100yds away sound a lot further when he bugled facing the opposite direction

 

[5MilesBack]

It's kind of tricky sometimes. I have a tendency of running over bulls at times because I thought they were further than they were. And two years ago I had one going away from me and then he decided to change his mind while I was running in. We literally met as we both came running around the same evergreen tree. I'm pretty sure I freaked him out as much as he freaked me out. But he stopped up in the timber above me and kept screaming his head off well into the darkness, so he must have not caught my scent which is baffling.

 

[trophyhill]

i saw a bull raise his head and bugle right in front of me at 25 yards. i was surprised how low key the bugle was. he was approaching where he thought he heard that other elk. he moved another 9 yards, and raised his head and started to bugle as he was now turned almost full on frontal. being that i was able to get to full draw as his head was behind a tree briefly, it was a blink of an eye and the D350 had done its work as the RazorTrick disappeared inside him.

so this particular bull was cross canyon at first. i smelled him as he got closer. i saw him bugle at least a half dozen times. it seemed like the closer he got, the quieter his bugles were. ill remember it like it was last year

 

[justin84]

Not to derail this thread but as a first year elk hunter I’m interested in learning the elk smell. I’ve read that a lot on here but can’t say I’ve identified their smell despite having some close encounters while deer hunting.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Tip 1. They’re always closer than they sound.

Tip 2. You’ll know when they’re really close.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Not to derail this thread but as a first year elk hunter I’m interested in learning the elk smell. I’ve read that a lot on here but can’t say I’ve identified their smell despite having some close encounters while deer hunting.

It’s a musky smell. Easiest thing is to pay attention when you’re following tracks. Even old ones. You’ll see a dark spot on the trail where they peed. It’ll stay even when it dries. Bend over and smell it. They smell like their pee smells. If you find a bed you can do the same thing. All that said, you’ll know when you smell them even if you’ve never smelled them. They’re very distinct. I think I get almost as excited by a whiff of elk as I do by a bugle. My girlfriend says I get that look in my eye. I give her the same look sometimes!

 

[tjihrig]

Not to derail this thread but as a first year elk hunter I’m interested in learning the elk smell. I’ve read that a lot on here but can’t say I’ve identified their smell despite having some close encounters while deer hunting.

First time I smelled a bull we were blood trailing him in the dark. I looked at my buddy at one point and said “are they grazing cattle up here because it reeks of cattle”. Then I looked to the right and the bull was piled up. Not sure if that helps but it has a distinct cattle muskiness to me. If your cruising the timber and that same thought crosses your mind, slow down because your likely close or close to a wallow. That would be another way to experience that elky smell, just get downwind of a fresh wallow and it will water your eyes it’s so strong.


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[5MilesBack]

Not to derail this thread but as a first year elk hunter I’m interested in learning the elk smell. I’ve read that a lot on here but can’t say I’ve identified their smell despite having some close encounters while deer hunting.

Try to find a bottle of I think it's called Bull Bomb or something like that. It's bull elk pee. Smell it. It's similar to some exhaust smells and even some wet woods. I'll be walking across a parking lot with my kids sometimes and I suddenly stop and start smelling the air. They laugh and say "which direction is he".

A few years ago I was hunting a more open area one morning and I caught a strong bull scent. I immediately pulled out my wind checker and started working my way in. After about 200 yards and several minutes of sneaking in, I found myself standing over a wallow. Ya, when I catch that scent it's as good as a bugle response.

Last year I was moving in on a bull that started responding at about 300 yards. I got to a large flat and then all timber down the side of that flat. The elk had been further up from where I was standing and I started moving in on the edge of that timber. I heard a sound a little out in front of me and below in that timber. It was them, cows started filing through directly below me at 30 yards. I nocked an arrow and was ready for that bull to bring up the rear. The wind was coming from over my left shoulder angling to about 40 yards out in front of the cows. I was hoping that the bull would show before they caught my scent. Suddenly there's that strong rutting bull smell up my nose. The wind is still behind my left shoulder. So I turn around and there he is........standing there staring at me from 50 yards away. He didn't stick around but a second after I saw him. If the wind is right, I always smell them before I see them.

 

[Sled]

Sweet and musky. Very similar to cattle but elk smells good and cattle stinks. Jk, that's just my prejudice toward cattle and sheep coming out.

FWIW, the scent is a good indicator but most of the time it just tells you where they've been. If you smell elk, hear elk and see elk, then it's a pretty good indicator that they are upwind of you and you're a stealthy hunter.

 

[Poser]

I think when you smell elk for the first time, you’ll instantly know it’s elk.

 

[spike camp]

I think when you smell elk for the first time, you’ll instantly know it’s elk.

Yep
They stink...like a barnyard.

 

[5MilesBack]

It's one of the greatest smells in the world......during September.

Although sometimes in the middle of winter I'll open up the camper shell and stick my head in and take in the wonderful smell of rutting bull.