Call, Crawl, Charge, or Cower

[TommyH]

Last day. Only minutes before the thermals change, I'm silently barefoot crawling to get within effective range. Draw, anchor,  settle the pin. Slick trick does the rest. Now I wait with a enormous smile and-relive what just happened.

[Torrent50]

Okay, this is a completely theoretical answer since I don't have enough experience hunting these guys to know for sure, but I'll give it a whirl. 

My first thought was to see if I could circle around towards the bulls 12 o'clock and get within roughly the same range (maybe try for 50, but not knowing exactly where the cows are I'm not so sure), then wait to see if he makes a trip around the herd to scent check the cows.  If he doesn't, I would think that a bugle from that position would be less likely to have him take the cows and run because he wouldn't be between me and the cows and might think his 'challenger' is already in his bedroom.

So, to you more experienced hunters out there, does this make any sense or am I gonna be kicking rocks as I trudge off the mountain and go home to boil my tag?

[The scout]

don't forget last day of a 7 day hunt. you are going to smell worse than the rutted up bull is

[D-Rock425]

If i have some clear shooting lanes at 70 yards i wait until he steps into one.  If i have decent cover i may crawl 10 more yards if i think i can get away with it. 

[fishngamereaper]

Put your big boy pants on, put your 60yd pin high in the chest, and start walking at him. If I crawl I am not ready to shot and don't like to get busted laying down on the job. If I'm up on target, ready to shot at least I have a chance. Every step closes the distance. He looks occupied right now and I could gain a few yards before he figures out what's up.

[Bullkllr]

Maybe I'm just a bad caller, but I see more cowed up bulls disappear than not when they're bugled at in this situation. Especially if it's a heavily hunted area as most seem to be these days.

Agree on the sneak a few more yards (or a few more, depending) ideas.

[D-Rock425]

If you call from there i think that bull will pin you down while he's looking for the elk that just called.  Good luck drawing your bow now.

[lamrith]

Well, that picture looks alot closer than 70yrds so I guess we closed the distance!?    JK Phantom!

Last day solo, I am thinking you need to do something NOW so if you put splinter on hide you have time to let him sit AND get hauling dinner out tonight.

The concern I would have with trying to advance is the cover or more importantly seeming complete lack of for trying to close the distance much.  How vocal have the bulls/cows been?  This bull is fully relaxed as is the one cow in sight, a call might spook them and knock them out of their normal routine if they have not been making noise.  He might take 2 steps and lay down, or he might move 30yrds farther and snuggle in in the middle of the cows.

IF I was comfortable shooting 70yrds I would deploy my bow mounted decoy and starting looking around to see if I could eyeball the other cows briefly or where the bedded cow is facing (looks to be toward the bull).  Check footing/kneeling ground ahead and left and see if I can move forward at all quietly while he rakes the tree and use the trees on edge of shot as well as the decoy to mask approach from the cow.  If I cannot not move forward, check to right to see if I could lean shuffle 1-2ft to my right quietly to open up the lane more.  Thinking get those 3 trees in covering his shoulder to be more forward and covering the bones of his shoulder and leg (green).  Then draw behind the decoy and let it fly on the Red mark.

If I cannot move at all, then hold tight for a minute and see what he does finishing his rub.  He is pushing forward a good bit leaning into his rub with his back legs, he may rock back over his rear legs when he is done maybe opening the lane himself. But with my luck he would just take a step forward with his rear and keep the boiler room covered.

If I cannot shift right and he does not move I go with Yellow mark.  His angle I should get both lungs either shot if I am shooting true.  If possible time it when he is racking that defenseless twig.  Mask bow twang with his own movement and antler noise so less chance for him to duck the shot.  Trees will also protect from sticking the arrow into his leg and thus just wounding him.

Also verify with 20yrd pin that that branch over his back is not in the way, it looks borderline being a problem, that is where that new hotness, screaming fast bow comes in handy...

[Shawn Ryan]

Put your big boy pants on, put your 60yd pin high in the chest, and start walking at him. If I crawl I am not ready to shot and don't like to get busted laying down on the job. If I'm up on target, ready to shot at least I have a chance. Every step closes the distance. He looks occupied right now and I could gain a few yards before he figures out what's up.

Last day solo, I am thinking you need to do something NOW so if you put splinter on hide you have time to let him sit AND get hauling dinner out tonight.

The concern I would have with trying to advance is the cover or more importantly seeming complete lack of for trying to close the distance much.  How vocal have the bulls/cows been?  This bull is fully relaxed as is the one cow in sight, a call might spook them and knock them out of their normal routine if they have not been making noise.  He might take 2 steps and lay down, or he might move 30yrds farther and snuggle in in the middle of the cows.

IF I was comfortable shooting 70yrds I would deploy my bow mounted decoy and starting looking around to see if I could eyeball the other cows briefly or where the bedded cow is facing (looks to be toward the bull).  Check footing/kneeling ground ahead and left and see if I can move forward at all quietly while he rakes the tree and use the trees on edge of shot as well as the decoy to mask approach from the cow.  If I cannot not move forward, check to right to see if I could lean shuffle 1-2ft to my right quietly to open up the lane more.  Thinking get those 3 trees in covering his shoulder to be more forward and covering the bones of his shoulder and leg (green).  Then draw behind the decoy and let it fly on the Red mark.

If I cannot move at all, then hold tight for a minute and see what he does finishing his rub.  He is pushing forward a good bit leaning into his rub with his back legs, he may rock back over his rear legs when he is done maybe opening the lane himself. But with my luck he would just take a step forward with his rear and keep the boiler room covered.

If I cannot shift right and he does not move I go with Yellow mark.  His angle I should get both lungs either shot if I am shooting true.  If possible time it when he is racking that defenseless twig.  Mask bow twang with his own movement and antler noise so less chance for him to duck the shot.  Trees will also protect from sticking the arrow into his leg and thus just wounding him.

Also verify with 20yrd pin that that branch over his back is not in the way, it looks borderline being a problem, that is where that new hotness, screaming fast bow comes in handy...

My aim point is slightly lower than lamrith's partly to avoid the twig above, but that twig appears close enough to the bull that I don't think its a problem and I'm holding closer to his red dot.   The main issues for me are closing 10 or so yards and getting busted by the cow in the photo or the cows I haven't seen, yet. Those unseen cows are usually the ones that bust me in the final approach.  Being the last day, makes my approach more aggressive (If I bump them out of their beds, oh, well, I'm not coming back tomorrow), but makes my shot more conservative (I may not have sufficient time to wait or track).

[LeviD1]

I would crawl if there was decent enough cover to do so I'm assuming hopefully another 10-20 yards keeping an eye out for other cows. Once I am 50-60 yards assess what elk I have the best shot on given its antlerless also. If I cant make a shot on the bull if he moved I take a cow. A cow elk is better than going home empty handed and eats all the same. Elk is elk.

[coachcw]

I have been in that situation before , those cows bedded will bust you . id verify my range and take my time with the shot . after being sure of my breath id bubble up and send the arrow . the ground looks crunchy and moving in those conditions with shifting wind are about a ten percent chance of closing that gap . tall grass or steep slope id make the sneak .

[WapitiTalk1]

Great discussion on this one folks! This is one of those "I've gotten to this point, now whadda I do" situations. At least you've put yourself in a position where you have options and a potential chance at an elk which is the goal in each outing. The wind is "probably" shifting so you could back off a bit, swing back down under to the left of your position, and see if you can get closer to the elk in the diretion the bull is facing (just guessing on which way the wind/thermals are gonna shift as they transition from downhill to uphill). At that point/position, pretty much on the elk's elevation, perhaps wait it out a bit and see if bullwinkle comes your way making a bed check round (this is a common occurrence with bedded elk with a tending bull). Of course, this is all dependent on terrain, available cover, and just how many cow eyes/ears are tuned into your movement/sound. Who knows, you may have a second or two to draw and get a shot.  Torrent50 mentioned something very similar to this plan/tactic in an earlier post.  As a lone hunter, I don't think calling would be your best bet from your current position (hey, I'm right here elk) but as Elknut mentioned on this same titled thread over in the Elknut Forum "If moving on the cow to get closer as the bull paced off & she saw me & was getting ready to blow it all I'd scream a bugle calling her to me in an instant, this should get that bull back there pronto", would certainly be a viable option if the elk were getting ready to bust. I'm not a confident, long shot guy so I have to come up with a plan to get closer, or, set myself up so the bull comes closer to me.
As always, thanks for chiming in on these folks... just trying to keep the elky thoughts flowing.   

[TommyH]

Ya, I'll stick to my orginal post. + call at the ready to possibly slow down or stop surprised elk.

[coachcw]

If you crawled closer and got a cows attention and bugled at her she would expect to see a bull at that close of range ... at that point id expect to hear a bark and see elk ass fading into the woods at which point flanking them and hauling ass around them may be your only chance. if your not ok with the distance id drop back and circle around to get the shifting wind right even if that means a half mile , let them get settled in for a nap slip in from the top at 100 yards or so give the bull a few cow meows and then flank to the most down wind side of where you called from twenty yards ... he may come take a peek .