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What do you do?

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What do you do?

Postby Elkhunttoo » 04 28, 2018 •  [Post 1]

Last year while hunting I had a situation and as soon as I saw the bull my first thought was all of RJs "situational" write ups, here it is...(short version)
September 16
About 11am...There are some smaller fingers that feed into a meadow at the bottom with a little water in it. You get to the meadow and through out a location bugle...wait...nothing. You have hunted this same spot 3 different afternoons this week and there is a lot of fresh elk sign. You have seen some in the distance, but haven't heard a peep, they don't seem to be responding to any calls or set ups. Most of the sign that you have been getting into is on the back side of the top that these fingers run up to and that is your desired destination. You start working up the middle finger, it is mainly broken sage about knee high with some willows and a few pines in the draws on both sides. About half way up you look to your right and there is a 6pt bull right in the bottom of the draw feeding by some willows. (Only about 250 yards from the bottom where you just bugled). Instantly you drop to your knees,nothing but broken sage between you and the bull. He has not seen you, range finder says 109 yards.... wind is perfect for the moment but is swirling ... what do you do to put this bull in your freezer... your move...
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Re: What do you do?

Postby Swede » 04 28, 2018 •  [Post 2]

With nothing between me and the bull, and the wind swirling; I would back out quietly and carefully. Since he is likely feeding on his way to his bedding area, try to get ahead and ambush him. I would not call from where you are located as you have no good cover. If he hears an elk, he will expect to see one.
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Re: What do you do?

Postby Tigger » 04 30, 2018 •  [Post 3]

Yeah, what Swede said. Although if he is still feeding, can you get back to some cover and get around him with cover in your favor while monitoring the wind? At 11 am you might be entering into a time of consistent thermals....then again the wind may wreak havoc with the thermals.

One last thought....109 yards. Can you belly crawl 60 yards? That would be a 50 yard shot. Rise up and drill him. That would be the aggressive move. You stated 3 different afternoons, so you have been there awhile and your hunt might be coming to an end and you have to be aggressive.
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Re: What do you do?

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 04 30, 2018 •  [Post 4]

Almost sounds like the elk are feeding at/around the meadow at night then heading up, perhaps over, to bed (where you had seen the majority of the sign). The bull you saw "should" have been around a group of elk on 16 September, or, I spose he could have been a dejected SAT that was in between herds? That bull seems very callable to me in either situation but you mentioned he didn't say a peep when you locate bugled earlier. That may have been attributed to the time of day (sometimes they don't say much during the period they're in bed time mode). Oftentimes you have to get right on them to have one spout off. Back on your topic..... As open as it seems by your scenario, and with the wind in full switch/swirl mode, I most likely would have backed out and thought about a better, more concealed (perhaps an adjoining finger ridge draw) to stealth up, get higher than the bull gaining wind advantage after it completely shifted, and try to get a shot on homer (doing this you may have gained some additional intel, i.e., are there cows present). Did you every go back to that location during the season and hunt it differently; perhaps trying to be at the meadow right at daylight before moving up that sidehill?
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Re: What do you do?

Postby Elkhunttoo » 04 30, 2018 •  [Post 5]

Would of loved to go in the mornings but with work mornings are almost impossible...went back only one more time to this spot and there were hunters everywhere

Here we go...

I sat and watched the bull for about two minutes trying to come up with a game plan. I decided with the wind good for the moment I would be slightly aggressive. I backed down the hill (it looked like the bull was feeding down the draw, if you go down the draw about 75 yards below where he was and then over the opposite way from me there is a timbered finger that I was guessing he was working towards to bed) I went about 50 yards. Then as quit as I could is started towards the draw hoping to set up and have him feed down by me...I was about thirty yards from where I needed to be with the wind perfect the entire time... then, as it always does for about 45 seconds it swirled and went straight at him... I dropped to the ground hoping to brake up my scent as best as possible (because we all know that works :roll: ) then the rest of the time it was perfect... I got to the bottom of the draw and set up. I hadn't heard him blow out of there so I was holding out some hope, waited about 10-15 minutes, did a couple of soft cow calls, nothing... I waited for a while just in case but knew the opportunity was gone for this one. After I while I made my way up to where I had seen him and he had just climbed up the ridge and disappeared.....

Now for the 20/20

I really wish I would of taken advantage of this golden opportunity differently.... the belly crawl for 60 yards that I initially thought was out of the question might not of been impossible. I would of had to of been really patient but he didn't seem to be in any big hurry. Also if I would of stayed up at his level when the wind switched my scent might of stayed above him...if I was to drop back down I wish I would of went about down to the meadow, in hindsight maybe he had heard my bugle and had turned that direction and was just moving slowly...I wish I would of tried the crawl or dropped down by the meadow and tried raking a tree. Needless to say, I hope he is bigger this year :D
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Re: What do you do?

Postby Trumkin the Dwarf » 05 01, 2018 •  [Post 6]

Smoke yourself in a smudge fire, then get aggressive. I say it over and over, smoke works on elk. The bull in my avatar was downwind of me at one point, as well as 30 other elk in their little bedding ground. the wind switched constantly in there that day!

Get real smokey with the fresh sage and go after him! The crawl is how I would have done it, cause I don't like losing track of animals once I find them.
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Re: What do you do?

Postby Wyo67 » 05 01, 2018 •  [Post 7]

I don't know what smudge fire is, but I'm with Trumkin on this one. I'd have to be aggressive. The bull is not responding to your calls for whatever reason. Maybe its still too early to get him fired up, you might not be close enough, might not be in the mood, who knows... That said, I agree with Swede and would not call again in case he does take notice and tries to spot the elk he just heard. He's feeding which means he's probably relaxed may be there for the needed time (15-20 minutes?) to belly crawl to close the distance. Wind is good but swirling (but when isn't it when you're into elk :lol: ). Depending on the terrain and cover, I think your choices are to go right at him or loop around to get on his elevation and come in from the side to minimize the effect of the wind/thermals. I'd gamble and go right at him. Drop the pack, get low and use the available broken sage or other available cover to close the distance to your comfort zone yardage-wise and drop the hammer.
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Re: What do you do?

Postby Elkhunttoo » 05 01, 2018 •  [Post 8]

I really wish I would of tried the crawl
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Re: What do you do?

Postby Joe Schmo » 05 01, 2018 •  [Post 9]

It’s called huntin :) I’m tempted to post some of the mistakes I’ve made over the years...they are many but looking back most of em just make me smile.
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Re: What do you do?

Postby Beendare » 05 01, 2018 •  [Post 10]

I probably would do something like Swede.....

2 comments you made that are key here.....

Caught out in the open......always tough
11AM....get up early bro

If you can back out into cover and make a big loop to where you want to be- gives you good odds. I have crawled up to 1/2 mile through the sage on mulies...it works....but takes some time to do it right and odds are the bull moves before you can get in position...but worth a try.
“It takes no more time to see the good side of life.... than to see the bad.”
― Jimmy Buffett

"Everybody has a plan....until they get punched in the mouth" Mike Tyson




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Re: What do you do?

Postby Elkhunttoo » 05 01, 2018 •  [Post 11]

I would love to hunt the mornings but my work schedule won't allow for it...I work every morning 7 days a week and so to be to the mountain and a few miles into the hike by 11, means I woke up earlier then 99% of the fortunate guys that get to hunt full days ;)

And as for being caught out in the open, yep, when you are climbing up a big sage brush ridge I haven't found any other way to do it.
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Re: What do you do?

Postby Heartwood » 05 01, 2018 •  [Post 12]

Option A: If I decide to use calling, I'm going to back over the ridge and make him go into search mode.(use the terrain as your cover along with any available trees) I will call this time with only cow sounds. We already suspect he won't respond to bugles right now. If this doesn't work I may work up to a Breeding sequence to make him think there is a hot cow.

Option B: Make an educated guess where he is headed with his feeding and try to intercept if the wind will allow. We hunt country that is sometimes open sage and also thicker timber depending on where in the unit we are. Sometimes we won't work a bull until he is in cover where we have the advantage, which is usually darker timber or younger growth "Christmas Trees". That said, we also have called bulls into range using only the lay of the terrain. Make the setup so that he has to be in bow range before he can see where the call came from.
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