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What would you do? - reloaded

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What would you do? - reloaded

Postby JohnFitzgerald » 05 18, 2013 •  [Post 1]

True Senerio - My team and I were working a satellite bull. We tried everything in our calling arsenal to get this bull to come in. He was a very vocal bull but wanted us to come to him. Well, we tried that but until he had a visual on use he kept moving further away. At one point we went silent and tried a stalk but that too didn't work. What would you do next?

The tactic we used gave us a nice 40 yard broadside shot.
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Re: What would you do? - reloaded

Postby bnsafe » 05 18, 2013 •  [Post 2]

try an circle the bull to get to where he wants to go, then possibly have somebody stay on the same side to keep calling and kinda driving the bull towards the other hunter? just a thought
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Re: What would you do? - reloaded

Postby >>>---WW----> » 05 18, 2013 •  [Post 3]

Sounds like there were at least two of you hunting a very vocal bull. In that case, you could have had one guy hang back and just keep the bull talking while your partner sneaks in silently for the kill.
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Re: What would you do? - reloaded

Postby cnelk » 05 18, 2013 •  [Post 4]

Sometimes these elk dont play fair.
And these days like described above are what makes them fun to hunt.

What Im saying is that sometimes, no matter what you do, it just dont work :)
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Re: What would you do? - reloaded

Postby ElkNut1 » 05 19, 2013 •  [Post 5]

Yep, more than one way to skin a cat. Several methods could have been OK there. Personally I want more details, did you call & the bull responded, was bull vocal on his own, how far was first bugle, if you called & he responded originally what sounds were you using, cow, bull, both, did you see him so assumed he was a satellite? Had you'd been seen or smelled at anytime? All these things considered form a theme as to what was happening, a method of choice would then be chosen according to the situation at hand.

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What would you do? - reloaded

Postby JohnFitzgerald » 05 19, 2013 •  [Post 6]

We initially picked him up with a location bugle at a distance of ~300 yards. We felt he was defiantly a satellite bull. Closed the gap to 100 yards before we started calling again. It was the end of the 3rd week in September and other bulls had started to heat up. Wind was in our favor but it is possible that he got a glimpse of our movement. He would respond to cow calls and would continuously attempt to bring use over. Terrain was a mixture of dense timber mixed with patches of open lodge pole. Every time we'd work in on him he'd reposition himself. We worked him for a long time and felt he would leave at any point. He never did. This was the dumbest smart bull I've ever encountered!
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Re: What would you do? - reloaded

Postby JJ Overkill » 05 19, 2013 •  [Post 7]

if it was me i would have left the shooter there and try to walk away cow calling giving him the image that she got bored and was leaving and see if that would bring him into to shooter. if that didnt work id try the cow bull switch. make him think another bull just slipped in and grabbed the cow.
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Re: What would you do? - reloaded

Postby ElkNut1 » 05 20, 2013 •  [Post 8]

John, thanks. Because he was a satellite 150yds-200yds is a better distance to pull him in with a "breeding sequence" -- Let the bull do all the moving in this situation if you're going to setup as you did. The other would be what WW mentioned, Call & Stalk! Caller keeps bull vocal as silent shooter slips in undetected. Choose the one that fits best in your specific situation!

Many may notice I recommend the breeding sequence on a regular basis, why, because it flat kicks butt during any phase of the rut, again, it is most likely to pull in satellites, spikes & cows first so we use specific spots for it & it's a persistent method that can have a caller busy for 30 straight minutes, bugling/chuckling is as important as the cow sounds used. My son (BowElkDwn) is a master with this technique! We do not use this sequence directly on Herd Bulls, odds are low in killing them with it!

There are many ways to call bulls, it's that some will give you better odds, this breeding sequence has been 90% effective!

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Re: What would you do? - reloaded

Postby JohnFitzgerald » 05 20, 2013 •  [Post 9]

These are really good tactics and I've used all of them. I like posting these "What would you do?" threads so others can get a broad look at many different strategies. Thanks guys for replying and sharing your wisdom.

Since this particular bull wasn't playing fair I decided to try something new. What I did next I don't particularly recommend for any bull. It must be a special situation.

I ran at the bull with cow call in hand, talking all the way and making as much noise as I could. My shooter was in front ready for the shot. We topped the knob 20 yards from the bull, he took of running so I hit him with a challenge scream as loud and as nasty as I could. The bull stopped at 40 yards and turned broad side to see what was happening. By that time, my shooter was at full draw.

All the other tactics stated on this thread could have worked as well. I just chose this one instead.

Just my 2-cents.
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Re: What would you do? - reloaded

Postby welka » 05 20, 2013 •  [Post 10]

Since not mentioned, may have also tried to just rake/stomp/break twigs after his last bugle if you thought you were within 100 yards. Raking might be enough aggression to pull him in without scaring him out of the area (since he's a sattelite). If you had a visual and saw him move/re-set up, might also try to go to his last "safe zone" and try to call him back. Good idea for scenario discussions.
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Re: What would you do? - reloaded

Postby JohnFitzgerald » 05 20, 2013 •  [Post 11]

Let me just add that it was not our intent to spook him. That would never be a good idea. We did force him into a decision on weather or not he wanted a cow. The peak-a-boo crap he had been playing was taken out of the picture. Once again, not a tactic that I'd recommend often. But I wanted to show everyone that sometimes you have to step outside the box. Do what it takes to get into bow range.
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Re: What would you do? - reloaded

Postby ElkNut1 » 05 21, 2013 •  [Post 12]

Heh, I perfected that move!!! (grin) Ha Ha, John I almost mentioned that as a means but I generally reserve it for herd bulls who call us to the group when we ignite them with cow sounds. You were fortunate to get on that satellite, so many times as you head towards them calling they are coming your way too & you can literally run right into one another, guys got to be careful with them sneaky satellites! (grin) Great job!!

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Re: What would you do? - reloaded

Postby JohnFitzgerald » 05 21, 2013 •  [Post 13]

ElkNut1 wrote:Heh, I perfected that move!!! (grin) Ha Ha, John I almost mentioned that as a means but I generally reserve it for herd bulls who call us to the group when we ignite them with cow sounds. You were fortunate to get on that satellite, so many times as you head towards them calling they are coming your way too & you can literally run right into one another, guys got to be careful with them sneaky satellites! (grin) Great job!!

ElkNut1

You not only perfected it, but you also taught it to me! :-)

Being a satellite it was gamble on my part because my rule of thumb is that I only use that strategy on herd bulls. In reality, I got tired of playing games with this bull so it was either going to happen or it wasn't. We had a couple distant bulls bugling and the itch was starting to get worse.

For me, these type of threads are what I really enjoy reading. I learn more thinking about real life situations. The strategy I post may not be the correct one. Heck, I've had more mistakes than success during some seasons. So I pose a request and a challenge to everyone, including lurkers. Post a pursuit on here but don't describe the outcome. Let use think about strategies that could work.

Just my 2-cents.

jf
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