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What Should You Do? Scenario 2.

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What Should You Do? Scenario 2.

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 01 09, 2013 •  [Post 1]

Allright.. It's here. The fall elk season has finally came around! You've planned your trip, you're buddy bought in and is on board, the OTC tags have been purchased, you've driven the 2316.91 miles from (name your town) Alabama.. You've practiced your calling until you're pretty dang good with locater bugles, challenge screams, and you're feeling pretty good about your cow and calf sounds.. The drive out was painfull, dreaming about your first elk hunt and at long last, you've arrived... stepping into the elk woods for the first time. You and your buddy leave camp and hit the access trail and climb close to 2 miles before you take a hard right and stop on the finger ridge that looks down over the 1/4 mile wide (insert state here) basin you've looked at 100 times on Google earth on line and perused over the hard copy 7.5 minute USGS maps you've had for almost a year. You and your buddy stand there for a few minutes, that golden time right before the sun actually comes up over the eastern skyline, taking in what is truly God's country.. You throw out your first locator bugle and "holy crap".. a bull answers you with a locater back. At this time of the morning, the thermals are moving steadily down and will do so for the next several hours at a minimum. The bull seems to be directly below you on the sidehill several hundred yards. What's your initial plan of attack to get close enough to get a shot?
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Re: What Should You Do? Scenario 2.

Postby easeup » 01 10, 2013 •  [Post 2]

wow....this never happens!

first.....is my release on my wrist?
no coin flip on this one....I am the caller, the new guy gets to shoot and tell him the ground rules real quick.

we are heading down. eyes and ears open.
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Re: What Should You Do? Scenario 2.

Postby cnelk » 01 10, 2013 •  [Post 3]

First of all...
My experience is that if you are on top of the ridge, the thermals are drifting downslope in early mornings. They switch to upslope later toward noon.
If the elk is downhill of you you will be scented.

Get downhill so the thermals take your scent below the elk...
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Re: What Should You Do? Scenario 2.

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 01 10, 2013 •  [Post 4]

cnelk wrote:First of all...
My experience is that if you are on top of the ridge, the thermals are drifting downslope in early mornings. They switch to upslope later toward noon.
If the elk is downhill of you you will be scented.

Get downhill so the thermals take your scent below the elk...


Of course you're right. I've adjusted the scenario to more realistically portray the early morning thermals in our western states.
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Re: What Should You Do? Scenario 2.

Postby foxvalley » 01 10, 2013 •  [Post 5]

cnelk wrote:First of all...
My experience is that if you are on top of the ridge, the thermals are drifting downslope in early mornings. They switch to upslope later toward noon.
If the elk is downhill of you you will be scented.

Get downhill so the thermals take your scent below the elk...


Yes, the thermals will be going down! Even if the thermals were going up,dropping down right on top of them will get you nothing but frustrated.Sidehill a couple hundred yds.,get on the same plane,and move in.
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Re: What Should You Do? Scenario 2.

Postby otcWill » 01 10, 2013 •  [Post 6]

Not much info really to make a definite decision. I've had great luck getting shot opps by simply laying off and watching what the elk do one day and then putting together a plan for the next. I do realize that some otc guys only get one shot and it might sound ridiculous to just sit there and let 'em walk away and bed, but if the area is unpressured then he/they will likely do exactly the same thing the next morning. I have seen this play out time and again in my areas. Granted, I rarely if ever see another hunter so I've got little to no competition. I guess if I was worried about others beating me to the punch, I'd try to get on him. You are in about the worste possible position to make a move though as the thermals will be moving steadily down until close to 9 am. Sometimes though, you can keep them below you, just not directly below (downwind) and stay out of their sent cone as they move up and hopefully past you. I've had minimal success with this as compared to putting them to bed and devising a plan for evening or the next morning.
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Re: What Should You Do? Scenario 2.

Postby mandrroofing » 01 10, 2013 •  [Post 7]

So,if the thermals in the morning are going down then its best to always be at the bottom and hunt up?
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Re: What Should You Do? Scenario 2.

Postby >>>---WW----> » 01 10, 2013 •  [Post 8]

Okay, let's see if I have this straight. You are on the ridge line, the elk is directly below you and he is talking it up. Hope I didn't change your scenario too much.

The thermals in the early morning are still going downhill. So, if you peel over the hedge and go straight for him you're going to bust him out of their. But there's still a way to get to him. Remember, the thermals are going downhill but they are also going down the valley. So if you get on the downstream side of the valley from him before you peel over the edge, you can work your way down until you're either even with him are slightly below. Once there, you can close the gap on him. Remember, you probably don't want to make any calls while you're moving downhill. Get in as close as you can before you put the pressure on them. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
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Re: What Should You Do? Scenario 2.

Postby cnelk » 01 10, 2013 •  [Post 9]

mandrroofing wrote:So,if the thermals in the morning are going down then its best to always be at the bottom and hunt up?


That's what i do... I have hiked miles out of my way to get in position to hunt the thermals
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Re: What Should You Do? Scenario 2.

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 01 10, 2013 •  [Post 10]

mandrroofing wrote:So,if the thermals in the morning are going down then its best to always be at the bottom and hunt up?


Ideally, yes but not always possible for many various reasons. When possible, I try to hunt up in the morning, take a mid day break on a high vantage point area, and hunt down in the afternoon/evening. The key is to always work with the wind/thermals in your favor. If you are hunting high in the morning, due to camp location, jump off spot from access trail, etc., sidehilling through your hunting area may be a good bet until you spot elk, get an answer, or smell them and respond by determining prevailing thermals/wind and sweep downwind before making any kind of a move towards the elk.

I agree 100% with WW and cnelk's points.. Both are on the mark.
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Re: What Should You Do? Scenario 2.

Postby ElkNut1 » 01 12, 2013 •  [Post 11]

It's early here near Sept 1st I assume? One bugle that early needs a 2nd one 1 minute later. If he responds a 2nd time is he in the same spot or is he on the move from feeding area, if so which way, up, left, right. If no response there's a good chance he's just hanging around below, this is a callable bull & possibly more than one bull. Most likely a younger guy at that. I will most likely call him in with light hearted bugles & soft chuckling, light raking in a repetitious manner, this is non intimidating & introducing yourself. Above the elk, below the elk or on same level as the elk doesn't matter to me at all. Once elk is located you have to get the wind in your favor and approach accordingly.

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