My hunt today, critique?

[Thomasj1107]

Saw a post another guy made about how his hunt played out to get some situational advice and I liked that so figured I’d do the same. The hunt actually played out a lot like his. I bugled at first light into a drainage and got an immediate response. Started to drop down keeping the wind in my favor, constant chuckles and responses the entire time. 15-20 mins of back and forth trying to get closer I spot him 90 yards away raking the heck out of a tree. Tried bugles, tried cow calls, tried an advertising sequence and he wouldn’t come any closer and definitely not UP at all. As he inched down, i closed distance a little heading down with the wind in my favor still. Got to around 70 yds, good cover, could see him back and forth talking still. Then I hit a cow call and a calf came SPRINTING out of the bottom and almost ran me over. It saw me, but didn’t run off like crazy, just kinda mosied away. Now the bull closed towards me to 50 yds, head and rack visible but the topography JUST kept his vitals out of view. Before he could take the rest of steps I needed, he stopped, turned and just walked away as if he knew something was wrong because of the calf.

They continued down, bugling, chuckling angrily back and forth with me the entire time following keeping wind in my favor. Would get closer, then further, close the distance, repeat. An hour and a half later we get to within 80-90 yds again. He’s raking the heck out of a tree again, us going back and forth. I couldn’t close any distance from this spot as it was way too open and noisy. Couldn’t get him to come to me at all. This went on again for about 30 minutes and they continued on down. All together a 3 hour interaction over 1.2 miles ish of ground down about 800 vertical feet. Solo elk hunting is hard. I’m sure there was something i could do different? Was so focused on the wind, that was my primary concern.

 

[Speck1]

I don’t have any advice other than that happened to me several times last week. Some are ready and some are not. I was fortunate enough to have multiple bulls talking at the same time. Just moved on until we found one that was willing to come in. Sounds like you did all you could.

 

[Geewhiz]

If it were me and if they were making enough noise that you didn’t need to do any calling at all, I wouldn’t and I wouldn’t even let him know I was around. What stopped you from continuing to close the distance from 90? A bull raking is an excellent opportunity to close some distance without him knowing you’re even around and put an arrow in him.

 

[CC11]

Agreed with the above. If I can sneak in on a bull without doing any calling I feel like my odds are way better since he doesn't know you're there. I've snuck in on bulls raking trees and basically been able to run right at them to close the distance.

 

[Ross]

As above noted when they are raking they can’t see movement per se and is a great opp to close the distance quick as their hearing is also affected. That being said cover May limit your further ability to close the distance . Other than raking to mimic him , sometimes it just does not play out as you want. A 3 hr interaction is what the experience is all about and you played the wind and what you could control as best you could. If cover allows, I have bull rushed them after raking, a quick scream and move forward trying to prompt them to want to fight. It has worked several times, other times they had other ideas. Good luck on the next one

 

[Dos Perros]

So I'm not hip to the ElkNut nomenclature...does the advertising sequence include raking?

If there is a bull raking, and you can't close the distance, I'd try raking back. It's tougher as a solo hunter, but other than that I think you did most everything right. Keep doing stuff like that and you'll kill one.

 

[wyogoat]

Elk can pinpoint where the sound is coming from and I believe that a mature bull will maintain that buffer for a variety of reasons; if you fight and lose you risk losing your cows namely. I watched multiple herds this week seem to have a respectful separation between each other with as many as three big bulls operating within that small area with sometimes 50 to 100 yards between. Sometimes the best place for your calls is in your pocket and if they won’t play fair and you have the wind, don’t play fair either. Slip in and make your shot.
The bull in the avatar was shot doing just that. Back and forth for a couple hours with that constant buffer then slipped in when terrain and wind allowed.

 

[HODL]

Similar situations have happened to me. The bull expected to see a cow based on your calling and he will only come far enough to verify whether there's actually a cow there. If he saw from where he was that there was no cow then he's gonna be on alert and not going to come any further.

Not uncommon for them to stand in the timber and look out to the clearing, so in that case we've gotta use the topography to conceal where we are calling from. One of the hardest things to do solo hunting since I want to see the bull coming in.

 

[Dirtbag]

I'll echo what the others have said with him not seeing any elk after your calling he may have became uninterested or spooked. or maybe not. Thats just elk hunting.

 

[wytx]

You should have raked a tree when you got in that close, he would have come right to you, seen it done and it worked beautifully.
Sounds like he was kind of hot, bugling and chuckling. Probably had a hot cow nearby he wouldn't leave. We raked in a bull when he had cows about 75-100 yds out feeding. He was raking a willow bush so we raked and he charged right in. No calls were made though.

 

[Thomasj1107]

Thanks for all the responses. I did rake back, all it did was make him keep raking. This was my first bonafide back and forth with a bull so my answer to why I didn’t go In while raking is because one, I was afraid to mess it up lol and also because there wasn’t a lot of cover and I was worried the cows would see me while I moved up and blow the whole thing up. The area was very much full of broken limbs and sticks, loud stuff.

Anyway, hunted again today, got talking with three bulls I couldn’t get close in the morning, then around 10 got into it with the same bull again. Same result, hung up at ~50 yds, much shorter interaction this time as I had to leave, no choice had to be to the airport to get someone. But he still is just constantly below me no matter what I do, I tried to high tail it and get ahead of him moving down, no luck. If I started down past him (below) the wind would be going right to him. Been some good fun though

 

[rclouse79]

Wish I could give you some good advice. My buddy and I were just talking about how we wished hunting days were like the movie “Groundhog Day”, so we could try different tactics till we found out what worked. Sounds like you were close, which is what seems to happen most of the time in my experience.

 

[Elk97]

Move in aggressively when you hear them raking, you can sometimes get very close without them hearing or seeing you. Tough to get them to come out of cover but if you have good wind and can close the distance on a raking bull without him seeing you it can work great.

 

[Read1t48]

I am a solo hunter. Here's my take...

You mention a bugle at first light. The elk were likely feeding and not in their mid-morning bedding area. Very difficult to get a bull to come to you when they have a destination in mind - especially if they have cows (assumption based on calf running into you). They will bugle and "talk" but they are not going to travel off course very far, at least not the majority of bulls. I would have assumed they were leisurely feeding on their way to their mid-morning bedding area.

I would have dogged the herd far enough back, quietly, to keep track of the herd so I would know where they would bed. As you did, paying attention to the wind. I would have bugled only if necessary to keep track if the timber was so thick I could not keep a visual eye on them. Once they got to their bedding area, I would have let them settle down. Let the cows mill around, feed, and bed. Let the forest return to normal. I would then set-up within 100-150 yards and start a sequence that portrays a bull advertising following by a bull with a hot cow. I would go through the ElkNut Slow Play sequence. This time of year, in the heart of the rut, with the herd bedded, I bet you wouldn't even get three-quarters through the sequence before that bull came in. Dead bull!
Thanks for sharing. Keep your head up. Enjoy the adventure! We are blessed everytime we get to spend a day in the woods in search of Elk.

 

[Thomasj1107]

I am a solo hunter. Here's my take...

You mention a bugle at first light. The elk were likely feeding and not in their mid-morning bedding area. Very difficult to get a bull to come to you when they have a destination in mind - especially if they have cows (assumption based on calf running into you). They will bugle and "talk" but they are not going to travel off course very far, at least not the majority of bulls. I would have assumed they were leisurely feeding on their way to their mid-morning bedding area.

I would have dogged the herd far enough back, quietly, to keep track of the herd so I would know where they would bed. As you did, paying attention to the wind. I would have bugled only if necessary to keep track if the timber was so thick I could not keep a visual eye on them. Once they got to their bedding area, I would have let them settle down. Let the cows mill around, feed, and bed. Let the forest return to normal. I would then set-up within 100-150 yards and start a sequence that portrays a bull advertising following by a bull with a hot cow. I would go through the ElkNut Slow Play sequence. This time of year, in the heart of the rut, with the herd bedded, I bet you wouldn't even get three-quarters through the sequence before that bull came in. Dead bull!
Thanks for sharing. Keep your head up. Enjoy the adventure! We are blessed everytime we get to spend a day in the woods in search of Elk.

I’m definitely going to give this a shot next time around. I don’t know if i could make it happen with these ones because it’s pretty open and noisy but I’m going to try, gotta try SOMETHING else. Im considering trying to just get down below/ahead more if I can get the right wind and just stay silent waiting ambush style a little.

What you are saying about the morning route and not talking, are you saying more so of just this particular bull? Are other bulls bugling at first light not something others go after immediately? I don’t know if I’m capable of sneaking up on bedded elk in any of the area I’ve seen them so far.

 

[Read1t48]

Yes; I am saying this about bulls in general, not your particular bull. In the morning, the elk are feeding and meandering around and heading to their bedding area, which they reach mid morning say between 9:00-1030 depending on the weather, etc. It is very difficult to pull a bull away from this travel, because they are headed to a destination. They are also not in a spot to defend anything. When you get to their bedding area, that is their bedroom! It is where they bed frequently and spend the majority of their day. It is their domain and they guard it like their castle. This is especially true when the cows are bedded. When the cows are bedded and relaxed, the bull may wonder around and feed, and will be much more willing to come check you out when he hears you advertising or doing some type of sequence because you are an intruder. You are in his house!

It is hard to kill elk in transition but I did it this year when they were in transition from feeding to bedding. I did a locate bugle only to find the bull and he was nearly 800 yards away. I quickly cut the distance to 200 yards and bugled again, only to relocate him and to determine whether he was on one side of the creek or the other. Once I received a response, I snuck in using the thermals of the creek to get ahead of the group. I watched the cows file down the ridge and was able to range them knowing that the bull would be in the back. He followed the same exact path and was moving fast with his nose up a cow. I barked, which is a call to action, and got him to come to a skidding stop. By then, I was at full draw and the arrow was released. Dead bull!

 

[Thomasj1107]

Yes; I am saying this about bulls in general, not your particular bull. In the morning, the elk are feeding and meandering around and heading to their bedding area, which they reach mid morning say between 9:00-1030 depending on the weather, etc. It is very difficult to pull a bull away from this travel, because they are headed to a destination. They are also not in a spot to defend anything. When you get to their bedding area, that is their bedroom! It is where they bed frequently and spend the majority of their day. It is their domain and they guard it like their castle. This is especially true when the cows are bedded. When the cows are bedded and relaxed, the bull may wonder around and feed, and will be much more willing to come check you out when he hears you advertising or doing some type of sequence because you are an intruder. You are in his house!

It is hard to kill elk in transition but I did it this year when they were in transition from feeding to bedding. I did a locate bugle only to find the bull and he was nearly 800 yards away. I quickly cut the distance to 200 yards and bugled again, only to relocate him and to determine whether he was on one side of the creek or the other. Once I received a response, I snuck in using the thermals of the creek to get ahead of the group. I watched the cows file down the ridge and was able to range them knowing that the bull would be in the back. He followed the same exact path and was moving fast with his nose up a cow. I barked, which is a call to action, and got him to come to a skidding stop. By then, I was at full draw and the arrow was released. Dead bull!

So if I am not able to follow them to bedding, I mean today it was 10am when I located him so I feel like they should’ve and maybe we bedded when I located him… but if I can’t follow, just wait, locate, and then close the distance from there.

I’m not arguing at all, just feels weird not pursuing those morning bugles. I want to do whatever works though

 

[Read1t48]

Without knowing the details of the terrain, I am not sure why you could not follow them to bedding. My only thought would be you get Cliiffed out somehow. Regardless, you could get a general direction of where they are going, and you could relocate them later. I am not suggesting that you don’t pursue them in transition. It can be done, but you can’t really do a set up or expect them to stick around for a long period of time if they are in transition. They have a destination in mind and they are going there. The bull is not running the show. They are just following the cows. So, if you are going to pursue them in transition, or as they prepare for transition out of a morning feeding area, you have to ideally get ahead of them and intercept them because you’re not going to call them over to you with very much success. Certainly not the majority of mature bulls with cows. A spike, rag, calf, cow, more likely.
In short, Intercept if you can. Otherwise, kill them in their bedding area between 12 and 2pm. That is when a lot of bulls have met their maker. The average hunter is back at camp or taking a nap on a log at this time but they should be swatting bees and packing meat!

 

[ElkNut1]

Thomas, Read1t48, is giving good advice, it's obvious he has the App & has diligently studied it, you need to do the same. The info he's sharing is in it.

P.S. those morning bugles are elk leaving nighttime feeding/watering areas & heading to daytime bedding areas. You are trying to call them back to where they just left! Tough to do unless you're right on top of them & everything is right with wind & cover. The more you elk hunt you will see the pieces of the puzzle start to fit together & make sense!

ElkNut

 

[Thomasj1107]

Thomas, Read1t48, is giving good advice, it's obvious he has the App & has diligently studied it, you need to do the same. The info he's sharing is in it.

P.S. those morning bugles are elk leaving nighttime feeding/watering areas & heading to daytime bedding areas. You are trying to call them back to where they just left! Tough to do unless you're right on top of them & everything is right with wind & cover. The more you elk hunt you will see the pieces of the puzzle start to fit together & make sense!

ElkNut

I understand and I have the app. As far as applying it to the field though, I can’t figure out WHERE they are bedding. I mean general area, yes, like they’re bedding that way over there but I don’t know pinpoint enough to sneak in on an exact spot, there’s no way I’d get even close I’d just be sneaking around random woods I feel like? It’s pretty open in a lot of parts. I’m really trying, but yeah elk hunting is hard lol (but fun).

Today, 3rd day in a row I got a bull in to about 40yds in the same drainage, think it might’ve been the same bull but not 100% as there were multiple bugling. But body was still behind a large tree so no shot. I had originally been just following a very distant bugle, I continued to creep slow with the wind good, had no response to my most recent call, out of nowhere he blows a MAD bugle within 75 yds. I didn’t have an arrow knocked at the time so I quick got ready, didn’t even get a chance to call back and he bugled and chuckled even more mad like a challenge bugle. I was able to call back but couldn’t move, and I feel like again he just knew it wasn’t a real elk as he got closer.

With all that being said and me not knowing exactly where they are bedding should I try a different tactic for getting them in transition or is there something I can do in the broad bedding area? As always, thank you