I hunted the Yakima herd in open cow/spike units and bulls were bugling and chasing cows. Most had cows with them. I called in one bull that came running after he was flopping around in a wallow. He didn't bugle but gave a two short grunt like steals. I think they do this when they are rounding up the girls. I broke a couple twigs in response and he trotted right in. He was just a young 5 or 6 point bull. I found elk every time I set foot in the woods and was surprised the locker was already full of animals when I took mine in on Monday morning. I found my animals close to water and dark timber adjacent to feeding areas. The morning I shot mine I snuck into a herd and had them bead down around me at 8:30 am. I was hoping to have one walk past me but instead had to put the Indian on them and shot one out of bed. As far as it being dry that has never bothered me. I use it to my advantage. If I'm out searching for animals I will typically periodically cow call glass and move forward then cow call again. I have found when I'm moving it will provoke single elk to jump out of bed to try and catch up with me. When I call I always make sure I'm ready to shoot and have some kind of cover behind me to break up my outline. If I'm not seeing much sign I'm running and gunning much faster till I find good sign. Once I find what I'm looking for I change my walking pattern to match the cadence of a 2-3 elk feeding along. You will find by doing this elk will let you walk right into the herd. I think they are very confident that they have good security. If I get busted I typically will give a bugle and few excited cow calls this tends to calm the rest of the herd or at least confuse them. The one or two that made me might run off a little ways but the majority of the herd will stay put. Let them relax a little and sneak in a different direction. Cooler weather definitely helps and they stay more active through the morning and afternoon. If you are not seeing sign or hearing any activity move. Don't hunt the same area hoping they are going to move into "your" area. Go explore something new. Good luck!!!
