Yeti GOBOX Collection

Shakeout / Scout Hunt

ammo

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N CO
Going on a 10-day hunt starting this Thurs night, but this past weekend I went on a little solo outing from last Thurs eve - Sat afternoon. My aunt and uncle live near the unit we're hunting this year but alas, after 20 years they are moving out of the high country so Sat/Sun I said goodbye to the small mountain town (got married there in fact) that was my introduction to Colorado and spent some time with two wonderful people I have appreciated having in such a special place out here.

Anyway onto my hunting adventure and looking for some analysis on working a bull.

  • Thursday night I got to the TH around ~1030 and slept decently in the truck.
  • Friday morning (445) I chugged some cold brew and started walking uphill. The shit was thick. Willow wrestling: 103453, Ammo: 0
  • Around 7am I got to a high point and threw a bugle. ~15 seconds later high up and right I heard a loud rock slide, like an animal scrambling out somewhere.
  • I kept going up, but at the base of the cliffs I didn't find the animal but had a hunch it was a bull on the move. (poop, tracks, etc the whole way up).
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  • The bulk of the rest of the day I wanted to find a way to get up high - this mission was part hunting part scouting. Found a sneaky 'green' run up the side of the mountain and got to the N side at 10,600 - surprised to find NOTHING! Dry, no sign. Low had lots of sign (1-2 days old, poop, tracks). So, I high tailed it back down the hill.
IMG_5283 2.JPG
  • Around 530pm I scared 2 elk while moving downhill. I didn't get a visual but 100% know these were elk on the run. They were feeding below the steep rocky slopes in a mix of aspen and scree. Weirdly, they divided. (One traversed skiers left, one went straight downhill). I followed the one that went downhill (traverse boi ran through some thick shit and #wind).
  • I started picking up fresh tracks and low down I encountered one of the elk. At first I thought it was a cow, but I was pretty far (in trees, boulder field between us, elk was moving into another patch of trees). In the willow wrestling I had lost my bugle tub so I started cow calling at the elk. The elk gave me a low bark back. At first I thought this was a cow, but given the events of the following morning I think it was a bull. Low chuff-y barks and cow calls continued for about 5-10 minutes. Wind was not in my favor (gusting across) so I quickly moved down hill.
  • At this point I was 110% trashed and it was about 15 minutes to end of shooting light, so I decided to camp near the stream and go after the elk in the morning.
  • Around 3am something was high up and lookers right moving along the bottom of the cliff knocking rocks down.
  • The next morning I woke up (after a night of realizing my sleeping pad had a hole in it - hooray for the solo quick trip shakedown) and at first light started moving up towards the elk. At some point during the bushwhack I heard a bull bugling from waaaaay down (steep drop about 1500’ into a stream). I let out my loudest cow calls, bugles came back. I kept moving and eventually found the fresh bull’s trail winding down the slope (presumably the same thing that had made the noise around 3am).
  • I’ll wrap it up because this is getting long but basically the bull got farther and farther away and eventually I had to turn around because I was meeting my aunt and uncle on the trail.
  • Anyway, learned a lot about the zone we’re hunting this weekend/next week into the rut. I hope the weather cools! The only other time I had an interaction with a bull like this (‘bark’ ‘call’ ‘bark’ ‘call’) was with a spike a few years ago. Without a bugle tube my options were limited but any thoughts on how to play this guy? Move in underneath? Be more of a ‘horny cow’? Give up, he just isn’t into you?
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This looks like it will shape up to be a great adventure this week for you. Sounds like you are getting into elk and that's half the battle. As far as the bull goes, it sounds like he is content to respond to you and let you know where he is but won't commit to coming into cow calls from relatively far away. I think a good strategy would be to locate him (cow call or bugle) then keep completely quiet until you are in real close to his last known location. If you can get a visual without a sound- go for it. If not, once you are within the 100 yard range or so, get set up and then hit the cow call. You might have more luck once you are in close.
 
If you got a bark back to your cow all the elk probably didn't like something and wanted you to show yourself, usually for me that happens when the elk sees something but can't confirm it with the wind, FWIW I've never had any luck getting one at that level of alert to come closer.

As to the next morning, as said above, you were likely too far away for the bull to come in. In general, I have a pretty hard rule that I won't cow call from farther than 100 yards out or bugle from farther than 200, and closer is better. Once they start moving away, it's pretty hard to get them interested again, I think maybe once or twice I've called one in that didn't start my direction in the first 5 minutes of calling, usually if they are coming in they are going to do it pretty quick, best to get in real close before making a sound and be ready when you do make a call if at all possible.

the other play would be to get close to where you think the bull is hanging out and just do a long slow sequence, like 2+ hours, calling every 5-30 minutes, and just trusting that a bull is in earshot and will eventually come look, I usually manage to blow it when I do get a bull to come look this way by not being ready when one does show up, but it can work surprisingly well when things are slow...
 
I'd say this weekend and next will be better for calling, but at least you got some of the wrinkles out of your gear and system.
 
If you got a bark back to your cow all the elk probably didn't like something and wanted you to show yourself, usually for me that happens when the elk sees something but can't confirm it with the wind, FWIW I've never had any luck getting one at that level of alert to come closer.

I actually got a positive response once by barking back at a bull every time he did it, kind of like a "no, YOU show yourself situation"
 
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