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Game Plan 2020 – Episode #2

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Game Plan 2020 – Episode #2

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 01 17, 2020 •  [Post 1]

Tag: Bull tag
Season/Hunt: Smokepole/Solo Hunt
Time/Date/Location: Early October; 8:30ish AM, in an elk state
Camp/gear: Base camp/truck camp

7 October, early/mid-morning on a side hill in (insert elk state). You've worked in close to a bull with cows...within 80 yards. You've dogged the vocal bull with cows a 1/2 mile uphill in some pretty steep terrain, off to one side, as the thermals are coming down in an attempt to remain undetected by the multiple eyes, ears, and noses in the group. The bull had responded to your locater bugle a few times with menacing challenge bugles and grunts warning you to stay away. For the last 25 minutes, you've kept your mouth shut (not a peep on your diaphragm) as you've determined the bull or lead cow is moving the herd up the side hill away from you and to the Super 8 for their daytime siesta. The big guy has stopped a few times and knocked the snot out of some innocent trees and screamed back down the hill in an attempt to locate the bull he heard earlier. Let's say its 0840 now. You move quick when its open, walk on elk trails when available, and crawl in the thick stuff to get a bit closer and NOW, you detect movement above you... to the right... in the direction of where you think the bull and cows are. It's a cow and she has locked eyes on you. You freeze, knowing she has seen your movement, but you're in cover so she really is not too sure what you are. The cow "barks" at you no more than 40 yards away, turns and looks over her right shoulder uphill in the direction of the herd, and then looks back at you. You're pinned down for the most part. What should you do? Geez, I've never been here before.

I know it's tough to answer without being there and knowing all the variables but again, it's just a medium to share ideas and offer suggestions. Back on topic.... You're close to the herd with a bull/cows and a cow (perhaps a sentry) has kind of pinned you down. What should you do with the information provided to try to bring that bull home for dinner?
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Re: Game Plan 2020 – Episode #2

Postby Swede » 01 17, 2020 •  [Post 2]

If you do nothing the cow will stay nervous then take the herd out of the area in a hurry. It would have been better to get in a little closer, but that is water over the dam now. Stay down and let out the biggest and meanest bull scream with a growl you can. Make the herd bull think you, the competition, are right up with him and threatening to take his cows.
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Re: Game Plan 2020 – Episode #2

Postby Tigger » 01 17, 2020 •  [Post 3]

Here is a gutsy move....do the same thing Swede suggested....scream a challenge bugle and get up and run right at her. The bull won't know that she turned herself inside out because of a human and will think it is the other bull. Should this work, things are going to happen at warp speed. You better hope he and the rest of the cows are close and you better skid to a stop by some cover and all but pull back the string cuz if he comes, he is gonna be there quick and he will have a plan to shishkabob the maker of that challenge bugle!
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Re: Game Plan 2020 – Episode #2

Postby 7mmfan » 01 17, 2020 •  [Post 4]

Both of those sound like a lot of fun. I'd do that.
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Re: Game Plan 2020 – Episode #2

Postby Indian Summer » 01 17, 2020 •  [Post 5]

Elk can handle movement. The wind is right. She’s already heard the “bull” below. I’m staying as still as a statue. That isn’t a good date for a second rut so I don’t think the bull is worried about a hot cow. I need her to simmer down and rejoin the herd so I can continue to dog them and try to lay eyes on the bull. Thick stuff doesn’t last forever. You can’t win em all but I’m a deadly stalker so I’ll hope to end up in the right place at the right time. So far so good. My smokepole is deadly accurate so if I see him he’s in serious trouble.
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Re: Game Plan 2020 – Episode #2

Postby Swede » 01 17, 2020 •  [Post 6]

WapitiTalk1 wrote:It's a cow and she has locked eyes on you.
WapitiTalk1 wrote:The cow "barks" at you no more than 40 yards away,


At the point we find ourselves in the above scenario, all of the elk are on the alert. The bull is expecting another bull. You can make him believe you are a bull presenting an eminent threat to him, or you give him the opportunity to move his cows out of there.
After the bark all of the elk are looking for you. The cow that has locked eyes on you turns to see that they have not all left. That is what is going to happen soon if you don't act fast.
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Re: Game Plan 2020 – Episode #2

Postby Indian Summer » 01 17, 2020 •  [Post 7]

Last season I was sitting in a marrow strip of open grass running uphill from me eating some pistachios. Not really paying attention when all of the sudden eeeoww! A cow bark from behind me. I turned my head and there she was at less than 10 yards. She stared at me for only about 30 seconds and turned to her left veering off of the trail she was on. She walked casually uphill then turned right to continue on in the direction she had originally been walking. There were two other cows behind her and they followed right along. They crossed the opening about 20 yards above “the feeding whatever it was” without a care in the world. Often times cows will bark as if to say hold up a second. Sometimes they do it to entice whatever is moving to move again to show itself. I don’t think that a cow barking means mayday mayday red alert. So just like with deer if you are good enough at being as still as a statue they will dismiss their concerns and go back to whatever it is they were doing. Unless of course they smell you.
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Re: Game Plan 2020 – Episode #2

Postby Lefty » 01 17, 2020 •  [Post 8]

When that cow turned her head I may drop to the ground and dont move. The other cows will get bored of Miss spotted me. And she will quit starring t0o,.. it my take an 1/2 hour but they do forget soon enough.

Maybe the bull will make his way around to my side eventually,..and maybe Ive snuck in 20 more yards
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Re: Game Plan 2020 – Episode #2

Postby Swede » 01 17, 2020 •  [Post 9]

Apparently some here believe they can duck down and just continue sneaking in closer, and the elk will forget or not detect you. I assumed I was detected due to inadequate cover. If ducking down was the answer, I would think it would have done that before a person was seen.
To be up front with everyone, I have never encountered RJ's exact situation. I have had many elk bark at me. They have never come in closer after barking. No doubt, not all barks are the same even though to my ears they sound the same.
I waited hours hoping one would come closer the year I hunted with RJ and his friend. I just did not happen. In 2018 I waited in a tree while a large bull barked at a bear nearby. The elk turned aside and left. Like the elk in RJ story, they don't stay put long when they are up and going somewhere. I have been on the ground and had elk bark at my movement and stare, but they were soon moving along. If positive identification was made the bark came and the hooves were beating a path out of the area.
I have never had elk forget me. They have stopped and repeated their barks several times, but they always move away. I know other hunters have different experiences, but that is mine.
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Re: Game Plan 2020 – Episode #2

Postby >>>---WW----> » 01 18, 2020 •  [Post 10]

RJ said it was 8:40 AM. You can bet your boots the herd is headed for the bedding area if nothing else has caused them to move. When the cow barked, you should freeze right where you are. If she only barked once, she has seen movement and doesn't know exactly what you are. Now she has two choices. She can stare you down or after a short time she can move on to catch up with the rest of the herd. I'm betting her instinct to rejoin the herd will eventually cause her to loose interest in you so long as you have remained motionless. Once she has moved on, give it a few minutes and re-engage. Once you are within 100 yards or closer of the herd, you can let out a few cow mews. Wait a minute or so and do a couple of more mews with a slight amount of urgency inflicted into the mews. follow this with some brush thrashing and a short young bull bugle or squeal.

What you are trying to do here is make the herd bull think you have picked off that cow that has been straggling behind and he isn't going to like that. Keep your eyes open. He could come hard and fast or most likely he will come sneaking in to size you up.

If that plan fails, here is your next option. This will take a lot of time and patients on your part. And not everyone can pull it off. You need to slowly sneak in close to the bedded herd. Once you are within shooting range of the first cow you see stay put! Sooner or later the bull will get up and check out all of his cows. When he comes to check the one you are setup on, it's game over. :D
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Re: Game Plan 2020 – Episode #2

Postby lamrith » 01 23, 2020 •  [Post 11]

You have been caught, like it or not you are going to have to do something to try and save the encounter, or if you are really worried about spooking them out of the unit you just hold tight and let them go.

However you have done the hard part and gotten yourself into viable shot range. 80yrds is close and he will cover that in seconds if you are suddenly in his bedroom.

Time to use the cow against him. Get ready for a point blank, in your face encounter. ML ready and pointed where you think bull is, and knife between your teeth because it might get hand to horn! Full blown cow stealing threat sequence. She may bust but make it sound like you are a bull that scared her and you have another cow that you are stealing away. Breaking branches, stomping around, bugles, whiny cow call like a bull is forcing her away. If you move locations I would only do so while going thru the sequence and to get yourself better shooting lanes. <80yrds, he should come straight at you.

I will tell you, for anyone that has not done it before, it is absolutely amazing when you get a bull wound up and thinking only with his shorty and curly's. RJ had me help on his OIL hunt a few years back and set us up in the bulls wallow, close enough that when I threw out a whiny cow call the bull came straight at us beating every alder brush it could while on it's way to get some tail. That really gets the blood pumping for the 1st encounter of the morning!
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Re: Game Plan 2020 – Episode #2

Postby ishy » 01 25, 2020 •  [Post 12]

My go after being barked at is as soon as I can get out of sight by moving or ducking while she looks away is to bark back and add chuckles immediately after. It usually confuses them, and you can see the alert almost disappear and curiosity take over. They will hang around forever and usually will continue to bark, but will move closer attempting more to see you than run away. The last bull I killed was within easy hearing range 1/3-1/2 mile away from a cow barking and I would respond with a bark followed with chuckles for 20 minutes before I closed the distance to 150 yards from the bull and he came in on a string.
This is one of those hard calls to do the first time, but once you see the elks reaction I don't hesitate to ever use it now.
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