Roosevelt Question

[colockumelk]

I talked to a wildlife bioligist recently and he said that the only pure bred Roosevelt herds left in the state are on the Olympic penninsula and far SW Washington.  Most of the rest of the herds especially in the western cascades/foothills are mostly half breeds. Rosie/Rocky Mountain crosses.  Kind of like most of the deer in Central Washington are Black Tail/Muley crosses. 

[spin05]

I talked to a wildlife bioligist recently and he said that the only pure bred Roosevelt herds left in the state are on the Olympic penninsula and far SW Washington.  Most of the rest of the herds especially in the western cascades/foothills are mostly half breeds. Rosie/Rocky Mountain crosses.  Kind of like most of the deer in Central Washington are Black Tail/Muley crosses. 

I concour......

[WAPITIHUNTER]

So I guess we have been hunting "BENCH BULLS" this whole time.

[colockumelk]

 Might not be all bad especially if they have the body size of a Roosevelt and the antler size of a Rocky Mountain elk.  That would be a good combo.  More meat and more rack for the money.  We could call classify them as a new species of elk.  We could call them the Magnum Elk.  (Might have to work on the name a bit.)

[funkster]

The record book says anything west of I-5 is considered a Rosie! This season I did not get as much bugling action as last year down in the SW. I attribute this to a lot of people bugling at them while scouting before the season started. I came across more than a few guys doing this, all this does is teach the elk to not bugle when we need them to. There is absolutely no reason to blow your bugle at camp either, it's hard enough to hunt thees creatures than having yahoo's educating the animals we are trying to hunt. I know it is fun and exciting but it is more fun and exciting when you can actually shoot the animal that is coming to your call.

[WAPITIHUNTER]

I would agree 100%. Leave the calls at home while scouting. If I was having a hard time locating Elk I might go out the night before the opener and call all night and mark the location on a map for the morning but that's it. I would never go out and call prior to that.

[colockumelk]

I also agree.  People need to learn how to call.  WIth how calls are now-a-days anyone can be decent and for most people decent is enough.  The problem is, is that people take the time to practise to get good at quality calls but they don't take that time to learn when and when not to call. 

My advice for this is to go to a place that is permit only.  Such as the last three years I have educated many bull elk near where I live.  I go up into the Colockum where they give out a total of 6 permits a year and practise on those elk.  If I educate them who cares no one else is hunting them.  I don't ruin anyones hunting and every year I get better and better at calling.

When I scout I do sometimes call.  However I don't sit on a ridge and call and call and call.  If it's early morning or in the late evening just before the season I'll through out a locating bugle to see if I can get a response.  But on each ridge line I wont throw but one maybe two bugles out before moving on.  Some may disagree with me but I feel that one bugle late in the evening wont make them call shy.  Especially if they didn't smell me or see me as a human.  Where they get educated is when they hear a call nearby and then all of a sudden they see or smell a human. 

[Houndhunter]

the only reason i would say they tend to seem more call shy is due to the weather......... and idians

[funkster]

That's good advice! I came across one fellow that was on the road bugling at a elk that looked like he just bolted across the road. The elk was stopped 20 or so yards and the man was in the middle of the road. He gave me ugly eyes when I didn't stop, as I went by I just shook my head and all I could say was WTF? I take myself as a nice guy but this just gets me mad. I no it has a lot to do with the amount of new archer's and they just do not no better,a guy could make a mint if he wrote a book called "elk bugling for dummies when, where, how and why".

[WAPITIHUNTER]

"elk bugling for dummies when, where, how and why".






Now that is pretty funny.

[colockumelk]

The good part is I like to mess with these guys.  Once it was mid-afternoon and I saw some guys about a two hundred yards below me so I started cow calling a bunch.  I mean like it was a gab fest.  (Would never really do that with elk.) Sure enough those two came walking as quick as they could up to me.  I let them get about 15 yards from me.  I was under a tree in the open enjoying the sun, and cow called.  They froze and made hand motions implying that they had heard elk.  I nodded and pointed up the hill and off they went.

A second time I was walking back to my truck with my friend and heard what was obviously a couple guys bugling.  Me and my friend joked they were probably sitting on their tail gait.  So we started bugling and cow calling and breaking trees.  Doing a real good impression of a group of elk.  This got them all excited and they started calling over and over again with their bugle.  And i do mean over and over.  We got tired of the game and sat down and had a chew and listened to their imitation of what must have been 1,000 elk.  When we got down to them they asked us if we'd seen anything we said no.  They said that they'd called in a really big 6x6 with 20 cows from where we came from but couldn't get a shot.  They couldn't believe that we hadn't seen all those "elk."  They must have thought that we were really stupid.  

[RUTNBULL1]

 Nice bulls guys, good job on your success. I have hunted WA. for 28 years now and love to hunt elk. I have hunted both rockies and rossies, mostly rossies until the last few years when I have been hunting out of state,( WY, Or. etc.). The Rocky Mt. elk seem to be a little more vocal, and aggressive, not just in this state but others as well, becuase I think it has alot to do with our weather. The rossies can be just as vocal during certain times of the rut,you have to hit it right. Not to beat my own drum, but have taken 10 rossie archery bulls in a row in this state (WA), and One in OR. two years ago and one in WY., in 2008. Enough of my history, I have been studying my local herds for a long time during the season and off-season, and it seems to me that our flucuation in our barometric pressure effects their behavior and rutting activity as much as anything. I have to agree with not bringing the calls out of the pack, especially in heavily pressured areas. To many people are calling excessively and not making the right call's at the right time (maybe inexperience). But not all these callers are archery hunters, hunters, or hunters at all. Last fall the Kenniwick Paper had a article from a Blue Mt. region biologist saying Elk are call shy. He was stating that not just hunters were calling during the rut, many none hunters and such were calling to listen to the elk or to disturb them, hoping to cause them to go silent, which in-return disturbing our hunting oppertunities. Wish all Eastside and Westside stick slingers good luck in 2009.

[colockumelk]

What is this "luck" that you speak of and how to you go about getting some?

[RUTNBULL1]

Yeah, I suppose every time you set forth into the woods there is some luck involved. I have made it my passion to hunt elk and figure out their habits in the wild. All that I can say that it is getting harder and harder within all states with call shy elk, the farther you can get back into the wilderness and away from pressure the better off you are. Also calm under pressure to close the deal when it counts. Another perspective is go out to enjoy your hunt and the wildlife not just to harvest an animal and it seems to calm your nerves under pressure, don't get me wrong I still seek the thrill and excitement of big screeming Sept. bulls. Good Luck.

[mossback91]

HOLY SH!T theres another mossback!