Post by: WapitiTalk1 on February 01, 2021, 03:01:37 PM
Season/Hunt: Archery, partner hunt
Time/Date/Location: 0830/Mid-September/in the Elk Woods
Camp/gear: Pack in backcountry hunt
Hunting journal: Mid September; archery elk partner hunt in (insert elk state here); day 3 of your 7 day hunt; bull only tag (3 PT or better). You "were" the caller in a cold calling setup. You and your buddy had set up and went through an advertising sequence for a bit over 20 minutes... nothing. No response, no detected movement, nothing for 20ish minutes..... until you see a ninja bull moving pretty quickly past your buddy to the position he is now. You have an arrow nocked (of course you do) with your bow leaning against a tree within reach; it happened very quickly as so often times it does. The bull moved past your buddy too quickly for him/her to shoot. Red arrow is buddy (original shooter) at around 30 yards; yellow arrow is you (original caller) at a bit over 20 yards; white arrow is wind direction. It's mid-morning.
Your move Hoss. What is this elk "team's" move to potentially get a shot? Could/should you have done anything different up to this point?
"UPDATE BELOW"!
Post by: Rainier10 on February 01, 2021, 03:07:39 PM
Post by: Dan-o on February 01, 2021, 03:27:46 PM
He came in fast and is moving.
Cow call to stop him... hopefully.
Post by: 7mmfan on February 01, 2021, 03:29:26 PM
Only thing I'd have done differently, is hold onto my bow. Then I might have been able to draw as he approached.
Post by: pd on February 01, 2021, 04:06:36 PM
Your move Hoss. What is this elk "team's" move to potentially get a shot? Could/should you have done anything different up to this point?
[/quote]
No time for "wouldda, shouldda." Season is still young, he is young, he is not in a good position to shoot even IF I had my bow in hand.
Sit out the fight, wait for a better chance. Maybe my younger partner to the left will have already shot him by now (he is a better shot anyway).
Post by: WapitiTalk1 on February 02, 2021, 12:33:19 PM
Now, with this additional info... what do you think your "team's" best move is to bring this bull home for dinner. Point of light to remember is that more often than not, a called in bull will oftentimes leave in the same direction they come in from.
An elk hunting partner, particularly during calling situations, has to be "all in" to the overall mission and possess a degree of humility. I've hunted with a few guys that seemingly went blank during these situations and forget that there are two hunters present (grin). The original shooter has to react to a changing situation and change tactics accordingly, sometimes becoming the caller to either stop/slow the bull so the original caller may have a shot opportunity (divert the bull's attention with a nervous grunt, needy cow mew, "rustle brush/thump ground", etc.). Don't sleep on having a few rocks handy to throw to draw an elk's attention away from the shooter. Each encounter is different and partner's have to be aware of each other's position, shooting lanes, prevailing winds, etc., etc., and be ready to change situational tactics as the encounter requires.
I know you folks probably know this. There are oftentimes not a single best/correct answer for these situational threads. I believe they serve their purpose by sparking some great situational discussion and potential courses of action that perhaps, folks can tuck away in their elk tool bags. As always, thanks for participating.
Post by: dvolmer on February 02, 2021, 02:31:30 PM
Post by: Shawn Ryan on February 03, 2021, 06:22:57 PM
Happy with my partner for calling--he tried to help me. He won't be happy that I was too lazy to have my bow in hand, but I've done it many times.