Oregon West Side Roosevelt Elk

[Zach95]

I'm a longtime roosevelt elk rifle hunter, but I am archery hunting elk for the first time this month for Roosevelt on the Oregon Coast, and am looking for any tips and tactics from anyone who has experience. I have seen a lot of conflicting information on Roosevelts as far as whether calling is effective, and am open to any tips in general for this hunt. I have followed Born and Raised and Angry Spike Productions and they seem to like an aggressive bugling strategy, but they even admit that a response from a bull is not common in this country. I hunted last weekend and found some legal bulls, one of which I was in bow range with very limited shooting lanes who was just walking by me unaware. I let out a couple cow mews and he didn't stop, slow down, or even look my way. Lost him after that.

Anyways, any Oregon roosie hunters who can share some effective tactics with a FNG?

 

[NWBLKTAIL]

Be ready to grind it out, I personally use calling as a tool to locate or keep tabs on elk. It’s so brushy here on the coast if you are where elk move early morning late evening you will typically hear them breaking brush.
I don’t like cold calling so much I did when I was new and trying to force some action to happen. Now I really only call if they give themselves up first and try to gauge the mood of the bull. I have buddies that strictly call and are very successful just not my style. I prefer getting between bedding and known feed typically in the timber and slipping in on them.
Sounds like you already have some bulls located, I’d figure what the wind does in that area in times of movement (early morn/ late evening) and play the game find their trails, ridges etc and just work in on them.

Good luck

 

[Dirtscoots]

At times calling can be counter productive, because you are on elk you made elk noise now another hunter is calling to you and won’t shut up. I rifle hunted Rosie’s all of my youth. Once I picked up a bow it was a different experience. Sounds like you are on the right track. Finding elk is pretty easy finding them within bow range is where the fun begins!

 

[HODL]

The west side can be frustrating. I haven't nailed the recipe for success yet myself. I do know from experience that for every one bull I have called in with bull sounds, I have made 10 run for the hills. Not because I am a bad caller, but because most of the time, they want to get their cows out of there and avoid a conflict.

The only exceptions to this I have found are when you're close before you start calling, or even better if two bulls are already bugling at each other.

So much of whether the elk are receptive to calling depends on what the elk in the area are doing naturally -- whether there are cows in heat, whether the bulls are herded up with the cows yet, if there are a high number of smaller bulls shaking things up for the herd bull. This varies from drainage to drainage.

I say if you're finding elk you're on the right track. Sometimes a series of cow calls will pique curiosity enough to get a bull to check you out. Don't be afraid to make an aggressive stalk on a herd and look up ElkNut's videos on stopping elk with the nervous grunt.

 

[3Esski]

I don't call that often when hunting the coast range. Sometimes it can be effective, but it seems like, at least the areas I hunt, the elk are pretty pressured. I try and stay quiet and hunt in pockets that they get pushed into that most guys pass up. I've pulled a few groups out of thick stuff but it's completely different hunting than the east side of the state, not any less fun, well maybe a little, but certainly quieter.

 

[elkliver]

I have a theory that with the thick heavy jungle of the coast range, sound often doesnt travel as far. So you may bugle and not hear their answer. The other thing i think happens is because it is thick and hard to get off the road, 90% of the hunters are bugling from a logging road. Walk in or bicycle in one of the gated roads. you get a couple of miles in, you will likely get an answer... Getting to where you can actually shoot an arrow is a lot more challenging., Working the edges of clear cuts, just inside the tree line is sometimes helpful.

 

[wide_groupings]

^ I don't even think that's a theory. The terrain and vegetation just swallows sound. If you're hunting with others, be sure to spread out well before a bugle.

Plodding the logging roads waiting for a response is tough. Like others have said, you have to imagine the elk get used to hearing 1-2 bugles from the same place on the roads day in day out.

 

[hibernation]

I do know from experience that for every one bull I have called in with bull sounds, I have made 10 run for the hills. Not because I am a bad caller, but because most of the time, they want to get their cows out of there and avoid a conflict.

I always wonder how bull:cow ratios factor into this. A lot of Oregon units have pretty low numbers of bulls per cow (compared to other states in the west), and I see a lot of midsize branch bulls that have their two cows and seem pretty content. Makes me wonder if their social structure and behavior changes when there's just not that much competition from other bulls, you get a couple cows and don't have much reason to stick around for a fight.

 

[Zach95]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I was out all last week, got into a few herds with no success. Only ran into one vocal bull. I was unwittingly 60 yards from him in his bed and ripped a bugle followed by a chuckle, and he screamed a bugle and chuckle in response and came in charging! Unfortunately I was in dark timber with not great cover and lots of branches. He hung up at 50 yards when he could see where I was calling from. Got one shot off but hit a branch halfway between us. I learned that cover is really important for a set up, as he probably would have came in to 20 yards or less with how fired up he was. Would have been a better shot at that point with far fewer possible obstructions. That was an awesome experience though, and might have just converted me to archery elk hunting!

 

[Brushroach]

I’m a Roosevelt hunter from the central Oregon coast area. I had some success with calling this year, dogging a herd up a drainage. I had my cousin up high watching the elk and keeping me informed on their location and what they were doing so that really helped. I pushed and called my way up the bottom for about a mile before that bull finally stopped and quit pushing his cows away from me. He ended up turning to meet me, but of course when he got to about 70-80 yards the wind that had been perfect all day long switched 180 degrees and ended that hunt real quick.

The other call in I had was a Hail Mary right before dark. The elk headed away into a different drainage. I dropped my pack and ran about a mile down this road to head them off. Dropped down into the bottom of the drainage and started calling and raking and stomping around. Sounding like a pissed off elk. The bull started coming in but ended up getting to about 100 yards and turning back the way he came. My cousin was spotting for me on that one too. When he said the bull was leaving I backed out and headed back to my pack. I tried calling my cousin but didn’t have enough service. About 20 minutes later I got through to him and he asked if I was still in the bottom because that bull had come back with more cows and he headed down the exact trail I was on. The last time he saw that bull he went into the timber about 20 yards from where I was set up. But it was too close to dark to make it back down there. I was pretty sick about that one too. But the most luck I had was just spot and stalk. Or I would hear bugles and move in silent. I spent a lot of time in my socks this year. I got in to about 40 on a nice 6pt but I just could not get him to stop. I even whistled at him while at full draw and he didn’t even look my way. Hell his cows didn’t care about the whistle. That was a crazy experience being right in the middle of that rut fest. That night after the encounter I went back in and watched a giant 7x7 bamboozle that 6 and steal his cows. He bugled from across the drainage and drew that 6pt from his cows, then swooped over silently and stole his cows and pushed them back to his herd and they hauled ass to a timber patch about a mile away as the crow flies. I didn’t end up punching my tag this year but I had a ton of action and a ton of fun. I burned all of my vacation and was in the field for 21 days this year. I plan on doing the same next year, as time in the elk woods seems to be the key. They can be rutting like crazy and bugling their heads off one day, and then completely silent and nowhere to be found the next. Then a day or two later they will be back at it again. You just have to give yourself as many chances as possible. It’s a numbers game once you have the basics figured out. That’s just my opinion as a novice elk hunter. Good luck on your future as an archery elk hunter buddy.

 

[Read1t48]

@Brushroach …nice summary. Sounds like you had a good season. I agree with a lot of what you shared. Next time, instead of whistling, you need to bark using an elk diaphragm. A “bark” is a call to action. That bull - or any elk for that matter - will stop with a bark. They hear whistles from birds, squirrels, humans, and even cougars. A “mew” isn’t good either. A bull hears cow mews all year. In a big herd, the mews are non stop and if the bull is with his cows, a mew will not get him to stop often. A bark will get an elk to come to a skidding stop. Immediate. It’s the last sound many elk have heard before they died. Keep a diaphragm in your mouth and use a bark when they come into your shooting lane. If you spend enough time in the woods, you will hear a bark and it’s usually the elk barking at you! But the gig isn’t necessarily up; it’s just the clock is ticking. Study the ways a bark is used - it can be for more than getting an elk to stop and all of them can be to your advantage. Good luck next season!

When shooting before the season, I always have a diaphragm in my mouth and I bark before every shot. It is a great way to build your confidence calling and to not let the heat of the moment and the sequence or speed of your shot get the best of you. Bark, set your pin and shoot. It is a game with a lot of mental challenge because the time between your bark and your shot seems like an eternity. But you can get faster and more smooth with practice and you would be surprised how long an elk will stop and look for you. You will have time to shoot so don’t panic!

 

[Brushroach]

@Brushroach …nice summary. Sounds like you had a good season. I agree with a lot of what you shared. Next time, instead of whistling, you need to bark using an elk diaphragm. A “bark” is a call to action. That bull - or any elk for that matter - will stop with a bark. They hear whistles from birds, squirrels, humans, and even cougars. A “mew” isn’t good either. A bull hears cow mews all year. In a big herd, the mews are non stop and if the bull is with his cows, a mew will not get him to stop often. A bark will get an elk to come to a skidding stop. Immediate. It’s the last sound many elk have heard before they died. Keep a diaphragm in your mouth and use a bark when they come into your shooting lane. If you spend enough time in the woods, you will hear a bark and it’s usually the elk barking at you! But the gig isn’t necessarily up; it’s just the clock is ticking. Study the ways a bark is used - it can be for more than getting an elk to stop and all of them can be to your advantage. Good luck next season!

Ah yes the bark. I’m familiar with it. And I even had a reed in my mouth the first time I had him at full draw! I don’t know why the bark didn’t cross my mind but everything you said makes perfect sense. That’s another tool in the tool box.

 

[hibernation]

He ended up turning to meet me, but of course when he got to about 70-80 yards the wind that had been perfect all day long switched 180 degrees and ended that hunt real quick.

I'm still a relative novice to elk in September, but have had a lot of experiences just like this - dogging them uphill, especially at dawn. What's helped me the last few years is looking at how much time I actually have and realizing I don't have to force things if I've still got 2-10 hours of daylight left. Hunting pressure can always screw this plan up, but I've had some good encounters by dogging elk while they're on the move, then hanging back as they settle into their bedding area. Get to a position where I can let the wind switch and stabilize, but still be within easy earshot, then make a move once it's settled down.

 

[Brushroach]

I'm still a relative novice to elk in September, but have had a lot of experiences just like this - dogging them uphill, especially at dawn. What's helped me the last few years is looking at how much time I actually have and realizing I don't have to force things if I've still got 2-10 hours of daylight left. Hunting pressure can always screw this plan up, but I've had some good encounters by dogging elk while they're on the move, then hanging back as they settle into their bedding area. Get to a position where I can let the wind switch and stabilize, but still be within easy earshot, then make a move once it's settled down.

That might be my biggest regret of the season. If I would have just taken my time things may have turned out different. Time managment will be top of mind next year.

 

[hibernation]

That might be my biggest regret of the season. If I would have just taken my time things may have turned out different. Time managment will be top of mind next year.

No joke, the two things that helped me out were going back to a regular, analog wristwatch, and bringing a paperback. Sometimes you need to head straight at em and go for broke, sometimes it's better to just chill for an hour. Too bad I can't always tell the difference.

 

[Brushroach]

No joke, the two things that helped me out were going back to a regular, analog wristwatch, and bringing a paperback. Sometimes you need to head straight at em and go for broke, sometimes it's better to just chill for an hour. Too bad I can't always tell the difference.

For real! I keep telling myself that if I just spend as much time as possible chasing these elk then eventually I’ll figure these things out. The trouble is the rut is so damn short! Also, I’m a slow learner who only learns things the hard way.