Has This Happened to You?

[Swede]

You have seen and heard a bull out in front of you and it has no idea you are there. From the sounds you hear, you are certain the bull is trailing a herd with a herd bull nearby. The winds are in your favor, so you move in aways and set up a decoy. You get off to the side about 10 yards in some brush and make a short two note bugle. Nothing happens for a few minutes, so you call again. You call a little more and this situation stays the same for about 15 minutes, then suddenly the bull you observed comes in and walks back and forth in front of you about 60 yards out. The bull can see your decoy tied between a large bush and a tree. He cannot see or scent you as you have a good setup. After sizing things up the bull turns back and returns to where he came from.
The bull saw the decoy but then left the area for the herd he was following. Why was identifying what he thought was a small bull enough for the real satellite bull? Why did I not use a cow call to entice the bull in the first place?

[Lefty]

Yep my early years, way too many times, a bull came in to bugles , Saw the decoy and I made a bugle when I should have been making cow sound

Strating the end of the first week of September, I believe there will often be more than one elk around Sometimes nearby 100 yards or a 1/2 mile.