genesis273
Well-known member
...and it ALMOST worked!
Went on our annual elk hunt in MT, and were in elk everyday with no one in the entire drainage with us for the first couple days. Then on, I think, Tuesday, I hear the awfullest bugling that I've heard heading close to one of the bulls that we were after. My elk partner and I occasionally cow call, but never bugle. Yet I do know that it can be effective, but we have a different approach. We glass alot and make a plan from what we see a group doing, using the terrain to our advantage. We know this place like the back of our hand (30+ combined years tromping this place). The fellas bugling, ran said bull to the opposite side of the basin close to a mile away.
Next morning, we hear the bull again, in the same place as originally, which was high on a saddle between two mountain tops. Like clockwork, the same fellas, running over the mountain towards the bull screaming on their flutes. Result? Bull runs to the opposite side of the basin a mile away. We watch the entire shananigan from 500' higher than bugling buddies, laughing and shaking our heads.
Next morning, bull back in same area bugling, again, bugle boys back running over mountains screaming horribly on their pipe... however, I are set up at a pinch point waiting. We never made a sound and the bull again, silently, came down towards the pinch point 50 yards of me, but I misjudged by one trail and he slipped by, none the wiser that I was there. If we didn't have to pack up to head back to NC before this weather, I would have made the necessary adjustments needed for proper ambush yesterday morning. Our plan worked, but my execution was slightly off.
Such as is hunting public land. If you can't beat your fellow hunters, use them to your advantage! But I can't for the life of me understand how you can continually do the same thing and expect different results when for two mornings it was obvious that your calling was to no avail, so you try it a third time!? Sometimes less is more!
I guess they watch way too much elk hunting on YouTube where constant bugling almost always work.
Anyway, it's all part of the challenge of chasing elk on public land. TRY to outsmart the elk and others.
They were really nice guys though!
I'm reminded of this partial quote! "...God has not seen fit to distribute evenly the gift of intelligence."
Went on our annual elk hunt in MT, and were in elk everyday with no one in the entire drainage with us for the first couple days. Then on, I think, Tuesday, I hear the awfullest bugling that I've heard heading close to one of the bulls that we were after. My elk partner and I occasionally cow call, but never bugle. Yet I do know that it can be effective, but we have a different approach. We glass alot and make a plan from what we see a group doing, using the terrain to our advantage. We know this place like the back of our hand (30+ combined years tromping this place). The fellas bugling, ran said bull to the opposite side of the basin close to a mile away.
Next morning, we hear the bull again, in the same place as originally, which was high on a saddle between two mountain tops. Like clockwork, the same fellas, running over the mountain towards the bull screaming on their flutes. Result? Bull runs to the opposite side of the basin a mile away. We watch the entire shananigan from 500' higher than bugling buddies, laughing and shaking our heads.
Next morning, bull back in same area bugling, again, bugle boys back running over mountains screaming horribly on their pipe... however, I are set up at a pinch point waiting. We never made a sound and the bull again, silently, came down towards the pinch point 50 yards of me, but I misjudged by one trail and he slipped by, none the wiser that I was there. If we didn't have to pack up to head back to NC before this weather, I would have made the necessary adjustments needed for proper ambush yesterday morning. Our plan worked, but my execution was slightly off.
Such as is hunting public land. If you can't beat your fellow hunters, use them to your advantage! But I can't for the life of me understand how you can continually do the same thing and expect different results when for two mornings it was obvious that your calling was to no avail, so you try it a third time!? Sometimes less is more!
I guess they watch way too much elk hunting on YouTube where constant bugling almost always work.Anyway, it's all part of the challenge of chasing elk on public land. TRY to outsmart the elk and others.
They were really nice guys though!
I'm reminded of this partial quote! "...God has not seen fit to distribute evenly the gift of intelligence."
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