The Slow Play Breeding Sequence!

[Moneyball]

Throwing this back up to the top because its such a great sequence. Question for any of you guys that have used the slow play with much regularity. Have you had instances where you may have been using the slow play and pushed elk out of the area? If so, why do you feel it happened? (too aggressive too quickly, called too much, made the wrong sound at the wrong time, etc.) And how far did the elk go after they were pushed? Thanks!

 

[sveltri]

The very first time I tried this sequence this year was on a lone bedded bull. I couldn't believe what was happening as the bull got excited and did exactly what Paul said he would. Unfortunately my buddies and I had a lack of communication and they freaked out thinking the bull was going to wind THEM. He had no idea they were in the area, he was coming to me. I was calling from the backside of a little hill in the complete open, they were staged at the top right between the bull and I. During the sequence I was getting into it pretty good and not focused on my buddies, when I did look up at them they were running down the hill!! Well, when people are running I guess I thought it was a good idea to do the same thing so I followed suit. As I was running to the next tree I bugled just to show that the bull was chasing the cow, when I got to the tree I turned around and standing (momentarily) at the tree my partners had just evacuated was the bull. He had great 4ths and pretty good splits.

 

[Coach529]

The first time we did it.....the bull came in so fast it caught us off guard and ended up winding us!!

 

[Moneyball]

Thanks guys. I know Paul always talks about having a great setup. Anything you guys would’ve changed about your setup going back? Minus the running away of course...


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[Still Hunter]

Leaving tomorrow morning for CO. I plan to "slow play" three different bedding areas in thick timber that are often used by elk that I generally avoid to keep from busting them out. I try to give them their "Sanctuary". If the wind is cooperating I going to try sneak in slowly to get to about 150-200 yards and start the show. Looks like I may have to wait a day or two due to the projected prevailing wind directions for two of the areas but I am certainly going to give it a shot. One location has bedding area about 300 yards from a set of wallows in really thick mixed timber and I am going to try this is the wallow area first and do some water thrashing too. Bulls will occasionally leave the cows and sneak down and hit the wallow mid day. This is my first spot to try.

 

[banded_drake]

Man this is some some solid information. As a new guy to this planning my trip to Colorado for 2020, it's nice to get all this explained in a manner that says when and why it works. Definitely going to learn it and put it in my bag of tricks to try

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[Moneyball]

Man this is some some solid information. As a new guy to this planning my trip to Colorado for 2020, it's nice to get all this explained in a manner that says when and why it works. Definitely going to learn it and put it in my bag of tricks to try

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I have no affiliation with ElkNut whatsoever. Having said that I would highly suggest you get the ElkNut App. I am by no means as accomplished of an elk hunter as others. The app has really helped me and even some of the guys that I hunt with who have been doing it 25+ years.

 

[bsills]

What great info, thanks for sharing. I just bought your app also.

 

[Hammer3332]

Tried the slow play on a bull across the fence in some private ground and we were on some BLM. The closest we could get to set up was around 250 yards based on where we heard him bugle from and needed to stay off the boundary line to allow space to shoot. The slow play worked and got him fired up but he seemed reluctant to leave his cows. It did sound like he closed the distance by 50-100 yards at one point but we couldn’t get him to commit. We were on the bull for an hour and he bugled 15-20 times but eventually stopped responding. I’m thinking I might have done something wrong like maybe getting too aggressive too quickly. We tried working the bull again the next morning and he was much less responsive and had also moved bedding locations and was closer to 400 yards away and across a drainage. If a bull gets slow played once and doesn’t come in, is it safe to assume he is much less likely to respond later on? We gave him a rest for a day and heard him and another bull in the same drainage this morning and waited for them to bed. We got down between the 2 bulls and tried the slow play at around 10am. It was crickets. I’m guessing I educated these elk.

 

[Phatfisher]

Tried the slow play on a bull across the fence in some private ground and we were on some BLM. The closest we could get to set up was around 250 yards based on where we heard him bugle from and needed to stay off the boundary line to allow space to shoot. The slow play worked and got him fired up but he seemed reluctant to leave his cows. It did sound like he closed the distance by 50-100 yards at one point but we couldn’t get him to commit. We were on the bull for an hour and he bugled 15-20 times but eventually stopped responding. I’m thinking I might have done something wrong like maybe getting too aggressive too quickly. We tried working the bull again the next morning and he was much less responsive and had also moved bedding locations and was closer to 400 yards away and across a drainage. If a bull gets slow played once and doesn’t come in, is it safe to assume he is much less likely to respond later on? We gave him a rest for a day and heard him and another bull in the same drainage this morning and waited for them to bed. We got down between the 2 bulls and tried the slow play at around 10am. It was crickets. I’m guessing I educated these elk.

Very hard to know what the right move to do here as there's a multitude of different factors that work into the scenario, and each scenario is different. Is it open country? Timbered? Foot hills? Broken country? Rut stage? ... etc.

Take this with a grain of salt and this response is just based off of the information you gave and MY interpretation.

"The slow play worked and got him fired up but he seemed reluctant to leave his cows. It did sound like he closed the distance by 50-100 yards at one point but we couldn’t get him to commit. We were on the bull for an hour and he bugled 15-20 times but eventually stopped responding. I’m thinking I might have done something wrong like maybe getting too aggressive too quickly."​

It's not that you messed up using the slow play, it worked and the bull came in... but being too far away from the bull / herd is the main issue (setup). But in this case there's a private line boundary, so you are physically limited to how close you can get to the herd as they were on private.

The slow play works best if you can get in close, close, and often closer than what you think is close enough. Many people feel like they don't want to push too close in fear of busting the elk out (obviously use some sense here). But It often leads to this exact scenario of the bull being interested and pulling towards your direction, but never making it making it into your bow range because you felt like you were too close. The biggest thing I would take away from this encounter is, what if there wasn't a private line boundary? How would you have setup? You know that the bull came 50-100 yards towards you, so make sure you setup next time accordingly such that when a bull pulls towards you, it's in your bow range. Great lessons can be learned, when things don't work out.

"We tried working the bull again the next morning and he was much less responsive and had also moved bedding locations and was closer to 400 yards away and across a drainage. If a bull gets slow played once and doesn’t come in, is it safe to assume he is much less likely to respond later on? We gave him a rest for a day and heard him and another bull in the same drainage this morning and waited for them to bed. We got down between the 2 bulls and tried the slow play at around 10am. It was crickets. I’m guessing I educated these elk."​

Again, multitude of factors come into play. Elk move, they're wild animals, they're not going to just sit in the same spot every day. While pressure can play a role in where they go, for the most part bulls are going to follow / go where the cows are.

It is still fairly early in the season. Remember it is ONLY Sept. 6th, we are still in pre-rut stages, it's hot out with it being 90+ degrees in many areas, many of the bulls are just establishing their harems. Often many of the bulls running with the cows this early will be smaller bulls, but a LOT of bulls will be coming in and out to check out the cows and leave since they know nothing is in heat yet. Or they'll hang around and bugle to attract other cows to join the harem. Do you want to be yelling outside when it's 90+ degrees out mid day and nothing is happening? Same with the elk. Once it reaches higher temperatures they just want to stay cool and bed, which is typically around 10/11 am. I wouldn't say you educated them, maybe they just know nothing is happening and aren't willing to move? Maybe you weren't close enough to either bull and they did come in? But sometimes the elk don't come into the slow play, *SURPRISE* they're wild animals... If it worked every time, wouldn't everyone kill and elk every year?

Regardless, sounds like you're having a great start to the season! Keep putting yourself out there and learn from opportunities that didn't pan out accordingly and you'll eventually get it done. It's only going to get better from here on out! Cheers to a great September and chasing elk!

*PS*
I hope all is well @ElkNut1! Hoping to hear from you soon and about your season!

 

[WyoKid]

Paul is the one and only True Elknut. I happened to to kill my best 6x6 bull a few years ago with the slow play. It wasn't the bugling that pulled the bull in but the other sounds of grunting, panting, raking and glunking as Paul instructed. I've watched most of Paul's videos, even the old ones from a decade ago, listened to his podcasts and signed up for his app. His knowledge and understanding of Elk is definitely beyond any others that say they know how to call Elk - Paul knows how to talk to them!

Thanks Paul for being generous with your time, knowledge and experience!

 

[trophyhill]

Very hard to know what the right move to do here as there's a multitude of different factors that work into the scenario, and each scenario is different. Is it open country? Timbered? Foot hills? Broken country? Rut stage? ... etc.

Take this with a grain of salt and this response is just based off of the information you gave and MY interpretation.

"The slow play worked and got him fired up but he seemed reluctant to leave his cows. It did sound like he closed the distance by 50-100 yards at one point but we couldn’t get him to commit. We were on the bull for an hour and he bugled 15-20 times but eventually stopped responding. I’m thinking I might have done something wrong like maybe getting too aggressive too quickly."​

It's not that you messed up using the slow play, it worked and the bull came in... but being too far away from the bull / herd is the main issue (setup). But in this case there's a private line boundary, so you are physically limited to how close you can get to the herd as they were on private.

The slow play works best if you can get in close, close, and often closer than what you think is close enough. Many people feel like they don't want to push too close in fear of busting the elk out (obviously use some sense here). But It often leads to this exact scenario of the bull being interested and pulling towards your direction, but never making it making it into your bow range because you felt like you were too close. The biggest thing I would take away from this encounter is, what if there wasn't a private line boundary? How would you have setup? You know that the bull came 50-100 yards towards you, so make sure you setup next time accordingly such that when a bull pulls towards you, it's in your bow range. Great lessons can be learned, when things don't work out.

"We tried working the bull again the next morning and he was much less responsive and had also moved bedding locations and was closer to 400 yards away and across a drainage. If a bull gets slow played once and doesn’t come in, is it safe to assume he is much less likely to respond later on? We gave him a rest for a day and heard him and another bull in the same drainage this morning and waited for them to bed. We got down between the 2 bulls and tried the slow play at around 10am. It was crickets. I’m guessing I educated these elk."​

Again, multitude of factors come into play. Elk move, they're wild animals, they're not going to just sit in the same spot every day. While pressure can play a role in where they go, for the most part bulls are going to follow / go where the cows are.

It is still fairly early in the season. Remember it is ONLY Sept. 6th, we are still in pre-rut stages, it's hot out with it being 90+ degrees in many areas, many of the bulls are just establishing their harems. Often many of the bulls running with the cows this early will be smaller bulls, but a LOT of bulls will be coming in and out to check out the cows and leave since they know nothing is in heat yet. Or they'll hang around and bugle to attract other cows to join the harem. Do you want to be yelling outside when it's 90+ degrees out mid day and nothing is happening? Same with the elk. Once it reaches higher temperatures they just want to stay cool and bed, which is typically around 10/11 am. I wouldn't say you educated them, maybe they just know nothing is happening and aren't willing to move? Maybe you weren't close enough to either bull and they did come in? But sometimes the elk don't come into the slow play, *SURPRISE* they're wild animals... If it worked every time, wouldn't everyone kill and elk every year?

Regardless, sounds like you're having a great start to the season! Keep putting yourself out there and learn from opportunities that didn't pan out accordingly and you'll eventually get it done. It's only going to get better from here on out! Cheers to a great September and chasing elk!

*PS*
I hope all is well @ElkNut1! Hoping to hear from you soon and about your season!

Agreed. Distance was the enemy. Not much you can do about the private land d obstacle

 

[Hammer3332]

Very hard to know what the right move to do here as there's a multitude of different factors that work into the scenario, and each scenario is different. Is it open country? Timbered? Foot hills? Broken country? Rut stage? ... etc.

Take this with a grain of salt and this response is just based off of the information you gave and MY interpretation.

"The slow play worked and got him fired up but he seemed reluctant to leave his cows. It did sound like he closed the distance by 50-100 yards at one point but we couldn’t get him to commit. We were on the bull for an hour and he bugled 15-20 times but eventually stopped responding. I’m thinking I might have done something wrong like maybe getting too aggressive too quickly."​

It's not that you messed up using the slow play, it worked and the bull came in... but being too far away from the bull / herd is the main issue (setup). But in this case there's a private line boundary, so you are physically limited to how close you can get to the herd as they were on private.

The slow play works best if you can get in close, close, and often closer than what you think is close enough. Many people feel like they don't want to push too close in fear of busting the elk out (obviously use some sense here). But It often leads to this exact scenario of the bull being interested and pulling towards your direction, but never making it making it into your bow range because you felt like you were too close. The biggest thing I would take away from this encounter is, what if there wasn't a private line boundary? How would you have setup? You know that the bull came 50-100 yards towards you, so make sure you setup next time accordingly such that when a bull pulls towards you, it's in your bow range. Great lessons can be learned, when things don't work out.

"We tried working the bull again the next morning and he was much less responsive and had also moved bedding locations and was closer to 400 yards away and across a drainage. If a bull gets slow played once and doesn’t come in, is it safe to assume he is much less likely to respond later on? We gave him a rest for a day and heard him and another bull in the same drainage this morning and waited for them to bed. We got down between the 2 bulls and tried the slow play at around 10am. It was crickets. I’m guessing I educated these elk."​

Again, multitude of factors come into play. Elk move, they're wild animals, they're not going to just sit in the same spot every day. While pressure can play a role in where they go, for the most part bulls are going to follow / go where the cows are.

It is still fairly early in the season. Remember it is ONLY Sept. 6th, we are still in pre-rut stages, it's hot out with it being 90+ degrees in many areas, many of the bulls are just establishing their harems. Often many of the bulls running with the cows this early will be smaller bulls, but a LOT of bulls will be coming in and out to check out the cows and leave since they know nothing is in heat yet. Or they'll hang around and bugle to attract other cows to join the harem. Do you want to be yelling outside when it's 90+ degrees out mid day and nothing is happening? Same with the elk. Once it reaches higher temperatures they just want to stay cool and bed, which is typically around 10/11 am. I wouldn't say you educated them, maybe they just know nothing is happening and aren't willing to move? Maybe you weren't close enough to either bull and they did come in? But sometimes the elk don't come into the slow play, *SURPRISE* they're wild animals... If it worked every time, wouldn't everyone kill and elk every year?

Regardless, sounds like you're having a great start to the season! Keep putting yourself out there and learn from opportunities that didn't pan out accordingly and you'll eventually get it done. It's only going to get better from here on out! Cheers to a great September and chasing elk!

*PS*
I hope all is well @ElkNut1! Hoping to hear from you soon and about your season!

Thank you for the response to my questions! This was my first attempt at the slow play and my third archery hunt otc in Colorado. I am now back in the Midwest, but it was by far the best hunt I’ve been on yet. We saw and heard lots of elk and either saw or heard them every day. I just didn’t know if the slow play could be effective after a bull has heard it once or like you eluded to, maybe the conditions weren’t right at 10 am. I did speak to a few other hunters in the same area and they also we struggling to find elk on public but saw a lot of elk on private after the opener. I learned a lot this week, appreciate the support and quick response!

 

[Hammer3332]

Agreed. Distance was the enemy. Not much you can do about the private land d obstacle

Thank you! I thought this might be the case the first attempt. He seemed like a wise old bull.

 

[Buffalo0922]

Wow. Literally came back to camp to research what is going wrong. Have had 4-5 close encounters (40-50 yards in thick timber) but can’t get the bulls to make that final approach . Wind was in my favor.

Most of these bulls have a few cows with them, but choose to run away with the cows when challenged.

will this still work in that scenario?