Last 3 days of the season and ZERO bugles

[AKBowman]

Well I just got back from 9 days in the field. We had a great time and had a great camp, man am I exhausted. Only took 3 half days off and was in the field from well before dark until after dark.

Not sure if it was the additional pressure in our area due to adjacent permit holders using the vehicle access to access the backside and drive in or the weather but the bulls were just not talking like they have been in the 3 previous years I've hunted. We hunted really hard and only had two chances in 9 days. My hands and face are scratched and cut up from diving into the suck holes.

We had some decent action last Sat, Sun and Mon (my hunting partner had a rag horn dead in the deep timber at 30 yards but shoots a long bow and didnt have a great angle so passed) after that it really got slow for us and we covered some serious ground. I had one chance on a bull that sounded real nice and came into 10 yards but not shot and that was it for me. Mostly hunting the timber and or finding timber strips that would lead us down into the Suck holes and listening and calling into the pockets. It seemed the further we rode into the country the more people we would see. We hunted anywhere from ~8 miles deep to near the gate.

I ended up pulling out on Friday and hunting another area a ways away hoping that the bulls would be more talkative but it only got worse as i hunted hard the last 2-1/2 days and never heard another bull bugle. I know there were 2 or 3 bulls killed in the general area but most guys we spoke to were seeing the same things as us.

Its tough going 3 years without getting an elk and hunting 9 days without ever drawing my bow. uuuugggghh not sure where to go from here.

[rtspring]

Better than being at work, good luck in the future..


RTSPRING

[AKBowman]

Thats for sure. The toughest pill to swallow is talking to some of the guys who were successful and listening to their terrible calling, knowing we were working much harder and smarter but just not getting the results. It sucks having an empty freezer, I dont even want to check the Roosie threads although I am glad others were successful.

[Harborhunter]

Too bad you didn't have more action, but that's why they call it hunting!

[firedog]

We had similar results, I hunted everyday of season. 13 long hard days, started out the first half of season daylight till dark. last half took a few hours each afternoon because I was wore out. Had a bull working on opening day coming into my wifes uncle and the wind shifted and we got busted. Had a bull going good on the first sunday and when we moved in closre he shut up. Only two bulls we had going all season, heard only a couple other bugles the whole time. had bulls in the area because we still hunted in on them but could not get a bull to answer any kind of call. Was a tough season but Still had a great time and would have loved to have killed a bull but it didn't work out that way. Did over 150 miles mostly on my feet, some on my bike. Still have late season here in WA and an Oregon Rifle tag so all is not lost.

Will say I am extremely proud of my 8 year old son, he hiked 9 miles with us on the first sat and was with us the next day when i had that second bull bugling. We ended up hiking 5 that day because I didn't want to push him to hard for the weekend. He had a blast and the kid will be a great hunter, wanted to be in the timber the whole time. Would get mad at me anytume we spent walking from one area to the next on a road.

[CavemantheHunter]

Same story here, hunted 9 hard days in the blazing heat. Got into elk every day, but it was just so hot and dry that it was like walking on rice crispies. They weren't being vocal either, finally heard two bugles yesterday, but it was too late. They definitely weren't rutting down where I was at. It was great seeing a lot of elk, but frustrating to never be able to close the distance without them spooking.

[deerhunter_98520]

It was the exact opposite for me this year....i hunted 7 days and 6 of those days i had bulls bugling....most of the time they would just chuckle at me...and would only answer when i did a real deep intimidating bugle..for one reason or another we just couldnt close the deal..theres always late season

[AKBowman]

It was the exact opposite for me this year....i hunted 7 days and 6 of those days i had bulls bugling....most of the time they would just chuckle at me...and would only answer when i did a real deep intimidating bugle..for one reason or another we just couldnt close the deal..theres always late season

Yeah we had bulls bugling the first 3 days (first wknd, then Mon) then it went really spotty from there with the last chuckle being heard on Friday morning. One bull we were able to get a cow interested in our bugling and came in to us and the bull came in to cut her off from the intruder but I set up on the wrong trail and no shot. We almost gave up on that bull as they were moving up the steep canyon into a tucked away cut to feed for the night so we bugled about 10 times in 10 minutes and that turned them in our direction. Generally I like to listen and let the bulls lite up on their own, if not than use light locater bugles get them to respond then make my move...I think I should have been more aggressive this yr or at least tried some higher level bugling in order to try to get them to respond.

Its tough to talk yourself in to dropping into a suck hole without hearing a bull bugle first.

[shadowless_nite]

I had the same thing happen this year. It seems all our little spots that would normally produce at least some action of some sort seemed as though they were deserted. Or maybe they just changed traveling patterns. But what I do know is that this years early season had to be one of the most uneventful for our group. We had one shot opportunity in our whole group and our guy that had the shot misranged it at 90 yds on a sleeping bull when it turned out to only be 62yds. which is very much doable for his shot abilities.

[AKBowman]

Shadowless, I know people were killing a few bulls around us but it was real spotty in our area. I'm pretty sure we hunt within 20 miles of each other. I ended up running and gunning the last 2-1/2 days and hunting spots that I considered "different" down low near private and some out of the way gates that I know dont get hunted much. Talked to a few of the locals and they were saying the same things, definitely a decent amount of bulls being killed but they were not being very vocal.

My elk hunting experience is limited to 3 years so to be brutally honest if the elk arent talking much my chances get slim. Luckily my hunting partner is more expeerienced and a good caller so we were able to get on a few but we both agreed we hunted twice as hard and twice as long this yr for half the chances we got last year.

[kenjo]

Don't feel bad...I've been hearing and seeing bugling bulls here since before the season started but haven't seen too many hunters with anything on the meat pole (I'm on a fire lookout) and the hunters I've been watching worked pretty hard. Oh well.

[rosscrazyelk]

I was helping someone with their tag and overall the elk were quiet.. but we did have some chances. I called in a nice bull on monday to 30 yards but it just did not work out.  had others at 50 and 60 but no real oppurtunity.. I am sure the heat had a lot to do with it. On Monday when it was cool they came out at 4:30 that was a fun day..

[Holg3107]

Out in the Olympics for 4 days I heard 1 bugle and 2 sets of barks and mews from cows. The area had a lot of elk in it but they were spread out and not chatty like they usually are. It was a tough season on the calling end and made for some long days waiting for the elk to move, but that's all part of the hunt I guess. I think the Muzzy guys are going to have a great year this year if it cools down in a few weeks.

[canyelk48]

I intend on emailing WDFW and thanking them for the wonderful opportunity to hunt elk in early September when the fire danger is at its worst, where the temperatures ranged from the 70's to upper 80's, and to say that although I only saw a few elk, if I had been fortunate enough to bag one, some of the meat would more than likely spoiled in the heat before getting it out of the woods!  I will also ask them to seriously consider setting archery elk seasons to start on September 8th every year and to do away with the floating dates that they now use.  I'm pretty sure this won't do one bit of good, but hopefully more archers will do the same until they get the message.

[washelkhunter]

Man! Lotsa crying in the beer here.

[AKBowman]

Man! Lotsa crying in the beer here.

I'm only crying in the beer b/c I'm not good enough yet to kill elk when they arent talking 

I'm sure I'll get one in the late season!!!

[washelkhunter]

I hear ya. conditions are just awful right now. Comes around like this every 8-10 years. Time to pray for rain.

[bucklucky]

Every where I went I heard bugles and cow talk .....    (Me) 
 

[SemperFidelis97]

I was into elk almost daily during the first week.  Things really got interesting on monday, and tuesday with the cooler temps then it died off completely.  I didn't hear, or see an elk the rest of the season.  The deadfall from the icestorm really changed patterns this year for the spots I hunt, and also cost me allot of oppurtunities overall even though I didn't tag an elk I still had fun looking foreword to next september for sure.

[lagnar]

AKbowman, which unit were you in?? I found it pretty quite where I initially started... then I went lower..nothing,...and lower again into the riverbottoms, found elk way way low. seemed odd. Very little sign up high too, I was into naches area, had to get closer to the 410 to hear anything, and see sign.

[AKBowman]

I was hunting in SW WA. We got into elk high and low. Sounds like we didnt actually do all that bad after hearing what most people have to say. Fri-Monday of the first weekend were where we had our action as well.

I think its more of never having shot an elk. It seems mind boggling to try to get one of these things down. I sure have had PLENTY of chances!!

Thanks for the feedback everyone sounds like what I was hearing in the field when we ran into other hunters

[Dhoey07]

More for the smokpoles 

[kentrek]

I was hunting in SW WA. We got into elk high and low. Sounds like we didnt actually do all that bad after hearing what most people have to say. Fri-Monday of the first weekend were where we had our action as well.

I think its more of never having shot an elk. It seems mind boggling to try to get one of these things down. I sure have had PLENTY of chances!!

Thanks for the feedback everyone sounds like what I was hearing in the field when we ran into other hunters

i met up with my brother in sw wa after he had been spiked out for five days...he gave the same report..next morning useing my own custom cow calls we had em going crazy..all day  the next two days were pretty slow with the hot temps.. only calling in a couple bulls.. then i had to go back to college 

[Fullabull]

I think the ML hunters are going to have a heck of a season for calling elk... such is the way the state has changed our seasons....lots of time for the elk to settle into the rut before ML season....

I had a multi tag this year but tagged out on the second day. Was kind of looking forward to trying my luck during ML with my bow. Oh well, nice to have my freezer full after a couple years drought 

Good luck ML's