Mature bull elk circled down wind and busted me? Tips to avoid this?

[Elite]

So I hiked way back into a new area it was down into a nasty river bottom. I was starting to notice a lot elk tracks and some bull elk poop and rubs. I then heard a very distant bugle. I threw a couple cow calls out and sat tight I then hurt the same really deep bugle a lot closer so I started to cut the distance and got the wind perfectly in my face and then all went quiet for awhile. Then 20 min later I heard the dreaded elk bark directly behind me. So I am guessing he went down to the river bottom and circled around me first before coming in close. I am wondering how everyone else would’ve played this scenario out and what I can learn from it?

Thanks


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[coldboremiracle]

Always have commanding view of the downwind side?

 

[ElkAB1212]

So I hiked way back into a new area it was down into a nasty river bottom. I was starting to notice a lot elk tracks and some bull elk poop and rubs. I then heard a very distant bugle. I threw a couple cow calls out and sat tight I then hurt the same really deep bugle a lot closer so I started to cut the distance and got the wind perfectly in my face and then all went quiet for awhile. Then 20 min later I heard the dreaded elk bark directly behind me. So I am guessing he went down to the river bottom and circled around me first before coming in close. I am wondering how everyone else would’ve played this scenario out and what I can learn from it?

Thanks


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I guess that’s the idea behind the set up spot, much easier said than done I know


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[Elite]

Always have commanding view of the downwind side?

The bush up here is extremely thick. Lucky to see 50-60 yards in most spots. So it’s hard to see the down wind area


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[bluetick78]

If you cow called and then moved towards him a ways and stayed quiet, he might not have intentionally circled you. He may have merely walked sidehill to the spot he heard the calls come from. Elk are experts at pinpointing sounds. That would've placed him downwind from you.

 

[Anglo-American]

So I hiked way back into a new area it was down into a nasty river bottom. I was starting to notice a lot elk tracks and some bull elk poop and rubs. I then heard a very distant bugle. I threw a couple cow calls out and sat tight I then hurt the same really deep bugle a lot closer so I started to cut the distance and got the wind perfectly in my face and then all went quiet for awhile. Then 20 min later I heard the dreaded elk bark directly behind me. So I am guessing he went down to the river bottom and circled around me first before coming in close. I am wondering how everyone else would’ve played this scenario out and what I can learn from it?

Thanks


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He was cleaver.
Knew not to trust you and confirmed with his noise.

Chris Roe has alot to say about Elk talk.

 

[Elite]

If you cow called and then moved towards him a ways and stayed quiet, he might not have intentionally circled you. He may have merely walked sidehill to the spot he heard the calls come from. Elk are experts at pinpointing sounds. That would've placed him downwind from you.

I kept cow calling every once in awhile while moving and when I set up in a good spot


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[bluetick78]

I kept cow calling every once in awhile while moving and when I set up in a good spot


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Never mind then, he used his nose to bust you and live another day.

 

[KineKilla]

Elk will almost always do this same thing. Their eyes and ears deceive them but their nose never does and they know it.

You could try a decoy set upwind from your spot.

Usually once the rut gets going stronger they tend to drop their guard a bit and it is easier to catch them thinking with their reproductive organs rather than their nose.

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[Moneyball]

If he couldn’t see you, he may have gotten a response or heard a sound from you that made him wary. Which in turn caused him to circle the downwind side.


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[corey006]

Archery Elk in itself is not an easy hunt.

Hunting a herd bull is even harder.

Doing it Solo x difficulty by a large margin.


3 hunters is probably ideal.

Forward shooter.

Rear caller.

3 rd guy can be downwind 80 yards.

 

[Huntnnw]

If solo I will call the last time and move down wind 50-70 yards and wait.Get that bull coming to look for you as he approaches down wind you are there.

 

[5MilesBack]

If he barked, I can't imagine that he smelled you. Generally when they smell you, they just bust out of there without making a peep. It also could have been a satellite bull or even a cow that you didn't know was there and either saw your movement, or heard your cow calls and wanted you to show yourself.

Two years ago I had a herd bull do something I had never seen before. There was a long draw in this larger basin that had an open bench and then heavy timber on both sides. The open grassy bench was maybe 30 yards wide. When this bull first bugled back at me he was about 300 yards away and I could tell he had cows. I moved in and was right on the bottom edge of that bench with the bull still up the timbered part of the draw maybe 100 yards now. I start to hear sound down in that timber making its way down the draw coming kind of towards me but would pass below me on that angle.

I see a cow below me in the timber, then another, and another, and finally probably 20 cows funneling through that timber below me. The wind is cutting across at an angle from my left that would have hit their direct line they were on if they continued another 50-70 yards maybe. There's a small gap in the timber below where the cows are and I range them at 30 yards. I figured the bull would be bringing up the rear and I was nocked and ready to go.

The cows out front were getting close to that wind intercept spot and I was getting a little antsy. Then while I'm locked onto the back end of these cows moving through......suddenly from my left directly from up wind of me my nose catches that unmistakable scent of rutting bull. I turn to see the large 6x6 directly above staring right at me from about 40 yards away. Holy smokes! Never expected that. About the same time I tried to turn my body, those front cows hit my scent line and all was over and gone in a matter of just a couple seconds, including the bull. That was a first for me.......the bull actually moving to a spot "up wind" from me. It was like he sent the cows down below as a decoy so he could slip in above. Sometimes they do exactly what I expect them to do, but many times, they'll throw a curve or a screw ball in there and I come out just shaking my head.

 

[Jaquomo]

I hunt solo, and plan ahead before calling. Like Huntnnw, I pick out a shooting spot 40 yards downwind and to the side where I expect the bull to come from. After doing a calling/stick popping sequence, I move to the ambush spot and shut up. I sometimes toss a couple rocks or sticks back toward where I called from. Have killed quite a few bulls from 3-10 yards using this method, and have passed up more than I can count.

 

[Dos Perros]

Sometimes you can do everything perfect and still lose. That's archery elk hunting.

 

[OregonSteeler]

I'm hunting solo this year also and hope to call as little as possible except to locate. Hoping to put myself in a spot where I can advance without them knowing I'm there. Nothing is off the table though (in terms of tactics) and play to the scenario instead of trying to force something.

 

[Grant K]

I pretty much assume anything coming into the call quiet is going to circle to get the wind, usually not very far out though, usually just on the edge of visual distance, if I am setting up I'll assume that they will circle and set up for that, it's a lot easier to adjust to a bull coming straight in and making a ton of noise than it is to adjust to the silent circling one...

 

[BDRam16]

Male cervids will almost almost always circle downwind of what they want to check out. Like other guys said, he pinpointed the sound and went downwind to inspect it. With the wind right in your face though, I wonder how he got around you without making a peep or you seeing him. Time of day? If it was evening once he got in a bottom maybe the thermals pulled your scent down to him.

 

[mavinwa2]

I hunt solo, and plan ahead before calling. Like Huntnnw, I pick out a shooting spot 40 yards downwind and to the side where I expect the bull to come from. After doing a calling/stick popping sequence, I move to the ambush spot and shut up. I sometimes toss a couple rocks or sticks back toward where I called from. Have killed quite a few bulls from 3-10 yards using this method, and have passed up more than I can count.

this works for me too.
Used this strategy a few times when solo. And most of my shots are short distance with the bull looking toward direction from where I had called.

 

[Read1t48]

I think if you’re in an area not pressured and it’s early season, and you call right, especially good cow calls, they have no reason to come downwind. I think it’s Phelps that talks about using the wind as a steering wheel when choosing your set up. It’s a good technique.