Shoot or No Shot 2019 - Episode #3

[WapitiTalk1]

Location: Somewhere in the elk woods
Hunt Pressure Status: Marginal
Hunt: Partner Hunt
Tag: Archery; 3 PT or better bull

You're on your very first elk hunt and have wisely, hung out on WapitiTalk and have learned a few tips/tricks from the indigenous population/members. You and your partner heard an unsolicited bugle at zero dark thirty and wisely, not made a peep on your own. You instead, work the prevailing morning thermals and decide to dump into the draw and work "up" on the bull you heard in an attempt to get close, really close, to where you think he and his gals may be heading before you make a decision on call or not call. This took you and your buddy a long time and NOW, the thermals are getting ready to change in the late morning....oh hell, they already are! Once in close, within what you think is 70ish yards or less of the beast (you've followed his vocalizations throughout the morning and stop at what you think just may be the bench he and his harem is/are bedding down on) and decide now is the time....... You position yourself on the bench/same elevation as the vocal bull, move a bit more across the bench, check the wind and see that it is starting to switch to going uphill and set/drop your partner/shooter and retreat to your calling location...... You quickly decide you're close enough to post a "threat" (one of Elknut's coined methods) which is/are several distressed whiny cow calls over your shoulder and almost in the same breath you throw out your biggest, baddest, not ready for prime time, SCREAM/challenge/I've got your cow mister bugle, directly at the unseen bull and in the next 5 seconds the response comes quick and it is both verbal and physical......HE'S COMING AND COMING/ FAST! Your partner may or may not have a shot from his angle but you're already at full draw and the bull is less than 20 yards from where you kneel.......... Shoot or no shot for the caller at this point in time?

If you're shooting, save the picture to your desktop and open in MS Paint, then place a spot, X, or whatever on the critter before you save it back to a jpg or png and add the marked up pic with your post.

[saddlesore]

Don't need to post a picture, I see no shot with an arrow. You would have to traverse thru the shoulder to get to any vitals .Even with a rifle you had best be using a stout deep penetrating bullet.

Trying to slip one just in front of the leading shoulder and you only have a few inches, small margin of error . If he is moving,less yet. If the shot goes to the left and it's a wounded shoulder. If the shot goes little right and you might severe the esophagus which is long slow death to the bulls.

But I bet 75% + of the responders will say they take the shot.

[Lsb]

Bad angle just like saddlesore points out. No shot for me. Hopefully he turns and stops. I'll throw in there he's moving too, 20 yards on a trot, no way. Even with a rifle I'd wait for a better angle. Probably why I don't kill more elk, I tend to error on the side of waiting for the shot I want rather than forcing the, imo, marginal shot I have. Learned that the hard way.

[Swede]

I see no shot for the caller.

[Elkhunttoo]

Looks like a poor angle to me, I'm holding and hoping.... super nice bull

[Indian Summer]

No shot. Ready to rock though because at this distance he’s gotta turn sooner or later. The wind sucks though so I’m well aware that he may spin and be gone in a flash. I wish I had my rifle because he’s a nice mature bull.

[Elkhntr08]

Hold at full draw and pray he turns a little either way. No great odds, but sometimes ya have to roll the dice.

[Tigger]

No shot. I am ready with a nervous grunt though as I might need to stop him. I stay at full draw as something is going to happen and happen fast.

There is another option. If you drop your bow real fast and pick up your lasso, I think he will be in range of the rope shortly. Get that noose over his horns and hold on, knife in your teeth ready for hand-to-beast combat.

[Lefty]

I had to re-read. because with a rifle I'm shooting through the top back of his heart and wreck a bit of meat.

Ok so archery. I would think if hes charging in fast and hard hes headed for the caller. He is going to turn and give me the shooter a perfect broadside shot at 13 yards. He is going to turn ! Isnt he? and face the call? If he stops a few steps closer as the shooter I may have a good frontal shot,
September 8th We had this same thing happen to my daughter, but 3 bulls, The smallest bull gave her that shot at 8 yards. Another bull was right behind the first . And a big bull was still fighting his way in the thickets at 20 yards in front of me. What the heck a bull wasnt suppose to go there!
I may have blown it too!.I was watching my daughter and the biggest bull maybe gave me a closer clear shot that I didnt see

[Lefty]

No shot. I am ready with a nervous grunt ,,, .

Yep when they charge in, some sort of nervous noise come out of me.
I (Sept 20?) messed with a bull this year. After an hour I tried all sorts of elk sounds: started out with a locate, then breeding sequence, then just cow calf we played tag for a couple hours most of the time 40-100 plus yards apart ( I needed Paul on this one)what an adrenaline rush. He also may have seen me early on
the bull was too old to want a fight for a girl friend, yet he kept demanding that I show myself and bugling back I changed tactics and ran ahead a hundred yards on a skid trail, as I was moving past he was in a thicket of laural at 30 yards. Again how and why was he in that thick stuff He really had to work to get out?,.., he saw me and trotted off The old fart had to stop 100 yards out and catch his breath.After he caught his breath he gave out this lazy bugle walked up the hill , stood again then trotted side hill for a hundred yards, stopped bugled again them continued walking. Im sure if he could have mounted a cow he would have died of a heart attack .
I hope someone got him this fall he wasn't going to make it through the winter unless he moved in with a bunch of cattle