How Often Do Bulls Chase?

[hunt1up]

So we just returned from a great WY archery elk hunt. One evening we went into an area where we knew a good bull was hanging. We'd almost killed him twice. We were sitting in this small patch of trees in a meadow below where we knew the bull had been bedding. Around 5:30 we started hearing him bugle up the mountain, he was coming down as planned. I got in position where we expected him to come. All of a sudden, a really large 6x6(not the bull we were expecting) came busting down the mountain, hot on the trail of a lone cow. I couldn't get a shot, and had I stayed sitting on my afternoon rock I would have had a chip shot. Anyway, he was dogging this cow HARD. It was like watching a whitetail buck on a doe. He chased her for hundreds of yards, up the mountain on the other side of the meadow, and we heard him bugling a LONG way off shortly thereafter. He must have chased her well over 1/2 mile.

I'm a novice elk hunter, so how often to bulls chase this aggressively? In my limited experience and from my extensive research I never see much mentioned about true chasing? Was this uncommon? Or something that happens all the time?

 

[SteveE]

All the time. Every year from about sept 15 to oct. 15. You found a hot cow. Those are the ones that get the pot stirring.

Never refered to as chasing in the elk world. Just different terminalogy from different parts of the US imo

 

[hunt1up]

All the time. Every year from about sept 15 to oct. 15. You found a hot cow. Those are the ones that get the pot stirring.

Never refered to as chasing in the elk world. Just different terminalogy from different parts of the US imo

Thanks. Obviously they pursue cows, I guess I just never expected to see it for such a prolonged and aggressive length of time. Definitely a cool experience up close.