Wapiti Talk | Elk Hunting Forum | Elk Hunting Tips
 

Sometimes You Get Lucky!

Moderators: Swede, Tigger, Lefty, Indian Summer, WapitiTalk1

Sometimes You Get Lucky!

Postby ElkNut1 » 01 15, 2018 •  [Post 1]

I showed a photo about this story a while back but here's the story how it unfolded! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If you elk hunt long enough you will come across many "First Time Occurrences", it must have been my turn this year! (grin) This encounter was one that was crazy for a while, I still can't believe how it turned out it could easily have been a heart breaker! It couldn't have been scripted any better! (grin) Here's the story as it actually unfolded for my Son & I. It's an OTC DIY Idaho elk hunt.



My Son & I located a bull just after daylight with a location bugle, it happened to be a Full Moon so this bull was already in his bed! He bugled one time in response, we heard him while 350 yards away & he was aprox 200'-300' of elevation above us. Yes it was super steep country where he was well hidden! He was on a small bench above us the best we could guess. We headed his direction with no more calling, we were able to get to about 175 yards before we were concerned with being spotted if we called, we did not want him to get up & start looking for us even though it was thick timber & brush. We had partial concealment if we used it correctly & we intended to do just that.

The plan was to have my Son move up ahead of me 30 yards, I headed to a dead tree with lots of branches & concealment to setup to see if I could get this bull to an aggressive state, I knew that was going to be a challenge in itself with only one half hearted/lazy bugle to work with, he was not presently in an aggressive mood which isn't unusual early Sept. His bugle in response to mine was more in the category of advertising his presence in a non threatening manner! I decided to see if I could peak his interest with cow calling, I started with a few soft mews from near the same spot I had bugled from, I repeated after two minutes with 3-4 soft mews with no response from the bull. Basically he could care less, not uncommon pre-rut!



I continued with several more sets of mews & whines over the next 5 minutes, he finally bugled again but with little interest, it was as if he bugled because he wanted to but not in response to the cow calls. I decided to up the ante so injected a few Contact Buzzes which asks him to come my way, 4-6 of them a 1/2 second long each, I did 4-5 sets inside two minutes & the bulls next bugle had a bit more excitement to it but he still had not moved but is now showing interest! I did another set of Buzzes & he immediately bugled, I was ready for him & started to rake a tree & snap branches during his bugle. I raked for a solid minute & then panted 3 times through my bugle, he immediately bugled back & I cut him off with a Challenge bugle but not too intense, he instantly bugled over me! Awesome, I'm getting him fired up!

8- 10 minutes has passed since I started to work him up! I continue to rake & thrash around along with foot stomping & mid volume excited mews as I changed pitch. This enticed him to bugle with more intensity, I could tell he was now on his feet & had come 30-40 yards closer, no doubt he's looking down the mountain for these elk but my setup was good & it did not give him the luxury to see where the calling was coming from without coming much closer to my position which would hopefully pull him by my Son! I am now representing a defensive bull, to him this indicates I have a cow nearing estrus or in estrus & he's all for coming down to scent check her!


More in a bit! (grin)

ElkNut/Paul
ElkNut1
ElkNut/Paul
 
Posts: 4673
Joined: 05 11, 2012
Location: Idaho

Re: Sometimes You Get Lucky!

Postby ElkNut1 » 01 15, 2018 •  [Post 2]

#-2

The bull has now bugled every 30 seconds, he's trying to call the cow & intimidate the bull to stay back! (me) I continued to thrash & bugled over him with a Challenge several times. I now retreated about 15 yards as if pulling back a bit & continued to rake/thrash & a few contact buzzes, this retreating really fired him up! I could hear him coming down the mountain & now I can see glimpses of him moving through the trees/brush, he's still 80+ yards out from me so is aprox 40 yards or so from my son. I need to draw the bull closer to him as he's shooting a Longbow. I retreat another 10 yards without being seen, I stop rake dead branches on a standing tree & scream a Challenge bugle, he hammers me right back with a coarse bugle of his own. I now growl at him through my bugle tube followed by 3-4 grunts, he moves down the mountain closer & I see my son stiffen as he is waiting for the perfect time to draw & release.


There's no holding a 60# longbow at full draw & waiting for him to appear like you can a compound. I can see small glimpses through timber & willow brush of my son to my left & the bull to the right, they appear to be inside 30 yards from one another with sparse willows separating them, the bull is fixed on my calling & antics, he has no clue of my sons presence. Out of nowhere I hear the soft thud of the arrow released from his bow & the bull goes crashing through the willows & the dark timber. 25 minutes have passed since I started calling, this bull had me pulling out all the stops, he just didn't like the idea of coming off the bench out of his bed but we were fortunate that he did, I had displayed a defensive attitude & this planted the seed in his mind I had a hot cow present!


I start bugling the second I hear the bull crash off in an effort to slow him down. I headed over to my son to find out what happened!!!! He has that 'Oh Crap' look on his face as I approach him?



He's sorta shaking his head in disgust! I'm like Uh Oh, I know that look & it's generally not good! He says on the last bit of calling when the bull committed & ran down to range he was getting ready to stop him with a nervous grunt as he cleared the last bit of brush but instead of clearing the brush patch the bull stopped just inside of the willows, he felt there was plenty of window to get a cedar shaft tipped with a Snuffer head through it as the bull was 100% broadside to him. 3/4's of the way to the bull he sees the arrow glance off a limb & hit the bull low, he thinks it may have been in the upper part of the leg but not sure?

More in a bit!


ElkNut/Paul
ElkNut1
ElkNut/Paul
 
Posts: 4673
Joined: 05 11, 2012
Location: Idaho

Re: Sometimes You Get Lucky!

Postby ElkNut1 » 01 15, 2018 •  [Post 3]

#-3

We sit & discuss at the spot he shot from for around 15 minutes giving it a bit of time but not having high hopes at all with the shot placement he described . At minimum we decide to look for his arrow & evaluate the situation with what we discover. After 5 minutes of pinpoint quiet looking & subtle whispering I find the shaft with no head & a few inches of cedar shaft missing. There is blood there so we commence tracking the bull, it's muscle blood for sure. (plain red blood) It's hit & miss, fortunately more hit than miss as we look over all clues! After tracking 10-15 minutes & going aprox 125 yards we hear a bugle 175 yards above us? By George it's him!! We easily recognize this bulls bugle, we look at each other & my son whispers to me, I guess we can eliminate he's not hit in the lungs! (grin) We weren't smiling but very disappointed but he did state a fact. We continue on the blood trail & the bull bugles again a few minutes later, he is well above us & feel he can hear us & wants to know what we are moving around below him. I don't feel from his bugle he is nervous, just curious!


Roughly 1/2 an hour to 45 min has passed from him being hit, we are still on his blood trail. Out of nowhere my son says do you hear that? I say what? My son hears a cow mew, then another & another, they are coming from the same spot as the bugling! At first I did not hear them but then listened closely & heard a couple more, the elk were still in their bedding area along with the wounded bull, it's crazy they didn't just leave the area! I looked at my son & smiled, I said I think I can call him back in, he looked at me like I was crazy! (grin) He was right too, calling a wounded bull back in is something I've never done, I've called many bulls back in for a 2nd shot but this would be a first attempt on a wounded bull. I have to try though with this new set of circumstances, there are cows present, in my opinion & experience that's advantage hunters! (grin)



We now know we are dealing with a herd bull that has several cows alongside him, that's a game changer & will now tailor my calling to this new situation! They are still in the bedding area as it's only about 9:30 a.m. We form a plan now to attempt to call his cows away, this can work but is risky because it's obvious there are no cows in Heat/Estrus because there are no other bulls around bugling for the cows attention. If there were our odds would be much higher for all intensive purposes. We have nothing to lose here being he's already hit so we go for it hoping for the best. We will know which way this is going to go with my first bugle but prepare with a positive attitude that this will work! I'm not going with the same calling scenario that was first used! This time I'm going to employ both a Lip Bawl & Challenge Bugle as needed, his response will dictate how I choose one over the other between the two, it could work! I will no doubt start with a coarse Lip Bawl Bugle to test his attitude & call to his cows!

The conclusion in a bit!

ElkNut/Paul
ElkNut1
ElkNut/Paul
 
Posts: 4673
Joined: 05 11, 2012
Location: Idaho

Re: Sometimes You Get Lucky!

Postby ElkNut1 » 01 15, 2018 •  [Post 4]

# 4



At this point we are still 175 yards under this group so are able to speak softly, wind is still coming towards us, we are on a north face so the sun hasn't peeked over our way quite yet. -- The plan is to have my son go to my left aprox 35 yards, if the bull bugles back to me instantly I'm going to head up the mountain to my right side to keep him to the left forcing him between us or right at him in hopes of giving my son another shot opportunity as I pressure him fast. Subtle calling is out the window at this stage so no cow calling needed, it's pure aggressive action in his face! I let my Son know to parallel me as I head towards the bull for as many setups as it takes in a slight rage as I call & rake fro0m these setup spots, the bull should cut the distance pretty quick if this works so be ready? -- I now wait for the bull to bugle & we are certain he will, when he does I will hit them with the Lip Bawl Bugle, a coarse one! This is calling his cows my way & telling him to back away. Fingers crossed that he Challenges me instantly or we could push him.


The bull bugles as anticipated! Before he can finish I cut him off with the Lip Bawl, HE COMES UNGLUED, he is screaming a warning like I had not heard him do until now, what a sigh of relief, he's All In! I close the distance as quickly as I can by 30 yards to a tree which offers cover & something I can rake/thrash in an attempt to impress & draw his cows away. -- This is crazy as this is a wounded bull with a partial arrow in him!!! I push hard now as I get to the tree screaming as coarse a Lip Bawl as I can & rake like hell. He comes right towards us splitting the two of us to aprox 80 yards, I see a flash of him but just parts & pieces, I'm hoping my son has moved up as I did as I cannot see him at all, it's too thick! At the 80 yard spot the bull hits me with a single nervous grunt & a Round Up Bugle, this tells me to come on out, he wants to see me to size me up & settle this matter Now! I'm able to move up another 10 yards to the next tree, I quickly hit him with the same nervous grunt & a shorter version of the round up bugle showing intensity which insists for him to come over my way, he does just that & runs right towards me, he stops at 35 yards & I can now see him through the tree branches.


I see him sorta pacing in a 5 yard spurt left then right & he bugles a Challenge which seemed like it was right in my face, I Challenge him right back now that he is this close, good thing I have just enough cover to do so!! I'm quickly thinking where is my son? About that time I hear the arrow release & the solid impact as it contacts the bull, the bull blows out of there heading straight back to his cows, this time he didn't quite make it! As I hear the shot I bugle instantly to slow him. I now head towards where I think my son is & this time he's smiling! (grin) I get to him just in time as he points up the hill & I see the bull rolling down a short distance towards us but hangs up against a tree! I'm actually in disbelief that a 2nd shot opportunity took place inside an hour! This time the bull only traveled 45 yards uphill & was done!


We found the 1st arrow embedded high in his front leg wedged next to his leg bone! Man that had to be uncomfortable. As the bull came in the 2nd time he didn't have so much as gimp, it was as if nothing was wrong! We had a little lady luck shine on us that day! (grin) All in all it was an awesome hunt on OTC ID public land with my Son.

ElkNut/Paul
Attachments
2018 Paull II 5pt ID Bull.JPG
Longbow Idaho 2017 Bull.
2018 Paull II 5pt ID Bull.JPG (322.62 KiB) Viewed 3651 times
ElkNut1
ElkNut/Paul
 
Posts: 4673
Joined: 05 11, 2012
Location: Idaho

Re: Sometimes You Get Lucky!

Postby Lefty » 01 15, 2018 •  [Post 5]

Thanks for the story Paul!!!
User avatar
Lefty
Wapiti Hunting - Strategy and Tactics
 
Posts: 6926
Joined: 06 25, 2012
Location: Pocatello Idaho
First Name: Dennis
Last Name: H

Re: Sometimes You Get Lucky!

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 01 15, 2018 •  [Post 6]

Wow, what a hunt. Thanks for sharing it sir; felt like I was there when reading it!
User avatar
WapitiTalk1
 
Posts: 8732
Joined: 06 10, 2012
Location: WA State
First Name: RJ

Re: Sometimes You Get Lucky!

Postby Roosiebull » 01 16, 2018 •  [Post 7]

Excellent story!!!

lots to learn from that encounter you shared. it's fun reading detailed text of different encounters. sounds like a hunt that defines "elk hunting" thanks for sharing!
User avatar
Roosiebull
Rank: An Elk Nut
 
Posts: 1125
Joined: 02 27, 2017

Re: Sometimes You Get Lucky!

Postby T.B. » 01 16, 2018 •  [Post 8]

Another good one ! Your hunts are helping me get through the winter here in the Ohio river valley :D
T.B.
Rank: Spike
 
Posts: 148
Joined: 06 22, 2015
Location: West Virginia

Re: Sometimes You Get Lucky!

Postby ElkNut1 » 01 16, 2018 •  [Post 9]

Thanks for checking it out guys! I'll see about putting one together where we weren't so lucky! (grin)

ElkNut/Paul
ElkNut1
ElkNut/Paul
 
Posts: 4673
Joined: 05 11, 2012
Location: Idaho

Re: Sometimes You Get Lucky!

Postby Elkduds » 01 16, 2018 •  [Post 10]

Another great elkventure, well told. Thanks Paul.

The more you hunt, the luckier you become. You can't win if you don't play. The farther from the truck, the better the luck.
User avatar
Elkduds
Rank: An Elk Nut
 
Posts: 1536
Joined: 09 29, 2013
Location: Colorado Springs
First Name: Mark
Last Name: Scott