What Should You Do 2018; Scenario 1

[WapitiTalk1]

It's the last day of your archery elk hunt... September 25, 20??. The night before (after dark) you received a response to your locator bugle above a skid road you'd walked in on approximately 1/4 of a mile. As you walk in before daylight on the last morning of your 7 day hunt, you hear the same bull above you on the side hill of an east/west flowing basin. As it starts to get light and the bugling persists, you've decided you'll move as close to the bull as you can before making a peep. He continues to sound off as you move to within 100 yards of where he's singing. Four, five, seven bugles echo throughout the basin from the same bull and you hear cow mews as you get closer. Nobody seems alarmed. It appears the elk are moving from feed to bed right after daylight hit. The thermals are flowing steadily down and you smell elk! As you're hunting alone, you throw out a couple of subtle cow calls and move rapidly up/downwind and toward the elk immediately after you call. As you set up and wait for an indicator, something, anything..... you hear and see movement above you. There is an elk, possibly "the" bull, standing with his head completely covered with Fir bows less than 30 yards up the slope broadside. It's a bull (3 point or better) area. You draw back, drop the pin in the "V" and let off (you don't touch off the arrow). You're not sure of the target (legal animal) so you do the right thing and let off. Less than seconds later, a very nice, thick beamed 5 point moves away from the fir and walks (not bolts) back uphill to what you assume are his cows. At this point, what do you do? The cover is relatively thick but is littered with elk trails. Do you:

a. Stay put and continue cow calling hoping the bull comes back down?

b. Figure the bull is not leaving his cows again and move rapidly (as quietly as possible), planning an intercept route to get a better angle on the herd that you figure is heading to bed?

c. Have a smashed PB&J sandwich and take in the mountain side scenery, enjoying your last day of the year in the elk woods?

d. Charge uphill into the elk, attempting to scatter them, causing confusion and scream a challenge bugle trying to tick off the herd bull?   

e. Other?

f. Wonder why RJ posts these silly threads. 

What say you elk hunters?

[Duckgtr]

With my very few years of elk hunting, I would do my absolute best to sneak up on him and try to get a shot after making sure it was the legal bull if I lost sight of him for even a second. Worst case I don't get a shot and the elk leave. I just spent 7 days away from everything and enjoyed it. So pretty much B

[pianoman9701]

I'd do some more cow and calf calls while making noise, moving up the hill. Don't try to be sneaky. Sound big like an elk. Break some smaller stuff. That'll stop 'em or at least slow him down waiting for you.

[The scout]

I would try to call him back down with some cow calls. If he has surrounded himself with his cows good luck sneaking up on him. You would have a 50/50 on the challenge bugle but in my experience if you are that close and haven’t made any bull sounds once you torch off a bugle there’s a good chance he would round up his cows and bail. I would try something for sure not just eat my sandwich, there will be time for that after you screw it up or kill him.

[W_Ellison2011]

I'm going E and F. LOL! throw out some cow calls and if he doesn't budge then like another gentleman said cow call and work your way up towards the elk while making some noise. If it doesn't work.. well at least you have that PB&J!

[Jonathan_S]

Stomp up the hill purposefully keeping to cover, trying to stay on his trail.  My guess is he comes back down the same trail.  If I can get within 75 yards of the perceived herd I'm letting off a bull-to-cow bugle, a fluctuating and sputtering bugle not real loud. 

Immediately after that bugle I'm breaking branches and throwing a stick so the last noise is a crash 10-15 yards away from me.  I like to throw things in the elk woods.  Sometimes it doesn't work out though

[Stein]

Roundup bugle, then shoot him when he comes crashing down the hill.

[Shawn Ryan]

A mix of D and what P-man, Jonathan, and Stein said.  An aggressive approach has worked for me and its super fun, but I'm slow to use it on the last day--maybe I'm a wuss.  I did once on the last morning (similar scenario, except gained the high ground first because thermals had switched with the rising sun), the cows scattered immediately at my bugle, I thought the gig was up, let my guard down, and stumbled into the bull who was waiting to see what bull had dared to challenge him and steal his ladies. I figured he had run off with his cows. Wrong. Some days I'm a better elk hunter than others.  Should have kept hunting him.

[Shawn Ryan]

RJ:  IMO, these are the best threads on the forum. Keep 'em coming.