Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Elk Hunting => Topic started by: deerhunter_98520 on September 08, 2013, 06:55:19 PM
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I've been in elk the last 2 days....the cows answer my cow calls and then the bull just grunts/chuckles and the cows shut up and that's the end of it.....I did get one calf to come in but the rest of the cows and the bull wouldn't commit....I got a couple wimpy bugles back from them and he chuckled a couple times but he was real quiet....I was under 60 yds and he was tearing a tree up...I mimicked him and raked a tree and he went silent.....any suggestions on what I should have done different to get him to show himself...and the wind was perfect in my face
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This happened to me last year. I felt like I blew my chance because I was waiting for the bull to walk out when I should have moved in.
I'm only speaking theoretically here but I've read you can sneak in while he's raking since he's too occupied to hear you maneuver. I read a book called "Radical Elk Hunting" that spoke about being more aggressive when you stalk.
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It would have been impossible to get any closer without being seen...we were only 40yds from the herd....here is where they were bedded.....we were on the right side just around the trees and the bull was to the left....what you can't see on the left is the tangled mess the bull was in...they were surrounded by a thinned out alder patch...I could barely climb through it....they didn't bust out of there so we backed out and came back the next day and someone else was already after them...I called him in :chuckle:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi799.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy275%2Fdeerhunter_98520%2FIMG_20130908_150659_296_zpsf70f4808.jpg&hash=82c729b1b76f51f3460e5cdde970b86a7e63f0d9)
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Get aggressive!! If he's cow'd up you have to pose a threat. The last bull I called in hung up 30 yards from the shooter and I broke every stick I could find. He wasn't bothered by the noise and was actually more responsive to raking than calling. I also throw rocks trying to steer them. Every situation is different but I've found aggression is rewarded. :twocents:
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I grabbed a big stick and raked a tree right after he tore up a tree and i did a challenge bugle and he could care less....i did everything except just walk right up to him that I could think of....I was just hoping to get a big cow to walk out but no luck...maybe another week and they will be more aggressive
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Ok i got a new situation......found a nice 6x7 and he has about 12 cows and at least one rag horn bull with him....he won't even look our way with cow calls and as soon as we get within 200 yds he jumps in reprod to thick to hunt....i don't want to push him out of this spot....has been here for over a week now... I got him to bugle twice sat evening...and Sunday I got the cows to mew 4 times then he grunted and they shut up and moved into the reprod again....not sure if I should go on during dark and try to get him riled up before sunup...or just try and put a stalk on jim...any suggestions?
