Elk hunting blunders

[LDriver]

Ok, so I'm sure there are a ton of these out there, one of mine from this last season, and I had several, guess it's part of the learning process.

Here goes:

I was easing up through an area I know elk are bedding in, just not sure exactly where, altitude, benches, etc. As I am easing through, I head by a seep/wallow and find a cattle trail that is heavily used. Ground so torn up you make zero sound walking for almost 100 yards. I hear a bugle off a ways, maybe 1/4 - 3/8 of a mile away. A pretty good distance and it is in the direction of the cattle trail. So bow in hand (no arrow nocked) I ease up the trail and get to a small rise, wind is good, directly in my face. The trail is starting to spiderweb out so I have to be more careful about where I place my feet trying to be somewhat quiet. I'm moving at a decent pace, not going really fast, but not nearly as slow as I probably should have been. I look down to make sure that I'm not going to step on a twig and when I look back up there's a cow elk standing there about 15 feet away staring at me. Me being an apparent idiot, my first thought is, why is there a cow decoy out here in the middle of the timber? ( I know, I know, dipsh!t) So that thought lasted about .5 seconds and I obviously realize it's not a decoy but a cow standing there. She looks at me for all of a second and a half and blows out of there, and all her 5-7 girlfriends leave too. So I slightly panic and grab an arrow and nock it (little late at this point), but I look to my left and I see another elk stand up, definitely a bull (way bigger body), but I couldn't see antlers. I could see from about mid back to his rump due to a couple of trees blocking his forward portion. I estimate he is no more than 20 yards away, but I'm in a 4 point area for bulls and don't want to take the chance that he is smaller. I stand there trying to figure out the best way to determine how to see antlers when he decides he's going to go the way of his girlfriends and he heads up the mountainside. As he goes I hear one of his antlers smack into a tree, so definitely had some mass to them, it sounded like a wooden baseball bat smacking a tree. So there's a couple of my harder lessons learned:

1. Always be hunting, you never know when you're literally going to stumble into animals incidentally
2. Take your time, even if you think that there's nothing in between where you are and where you are going...you never know what's out there
3. Laugh at your own mistakes, learn from them, but you have to be able to laugh at yourself...if not then it's too serious

Hope you enjoyed this weeks session of lessons learned the hard way by L. Driver...

[hibernation]

Man, I must've been using your playbook because I did the exact same thing on the last evening of archery season (and plenty of other times). Heard a bugle about an hour before sunset near an area I'd seen them the day before, so I figure they're out feeding again on the same steep slope about 1/4mi away. I hustle along the ridge to get closer and make a plan, and then bam, cow staring me down. The rest of the herd was still probably 200-300 yards away and off the ridge, but she had wandered up on her own and started feeding in the timber. She peeled off and spooked the rest of the group down the hill. I was able to circle around and almost catch up to them, but closest I got was maybe 80yds to the bull while he was moving away.

All in all, it was a fun way to end the season, but I really need to internalize the lessons you mentioned. That time of day, I should've known he was where he wanted to be and I had the time to go slow. I definitely rush it when I'm moving towards a "known" elk and think I'm safe, when I need to move cautiously and not get busted by the elk lurking on the fringes.

[Billy Goat]

been there done that!

one of my lessons learned from many years ago: ALWAYS HAVE ARROW NOCKED (so long as it is safe to do so)

walking on trailhead back to truck at mid-day (was a half day hunt)
trailhead parallels a small creek
top a small knoll only to find a cow + calf drinking water from creek, appx 15 yards. cow doesnt see me but calf does. I'm able to grab an arrow and nock it without spooking the calf, but drawing the bow is just too much motion. calf bolts + takes momma in tow.

always be hunting. always.

and don't be surprised when you encounter elk in the mountains!

there's always next year.

[Billy Goat]

also..... welcome to the forum. I'm a bit of a newby here myself. good folks on here, and we're glad to have you.

[Elkhunttoo]

Been there and done that.

100 ish yards from a bull from the sound of his bugle. I call a few more times and then move forward 30 ish yards into the trees. ..wait for it, wait for it, I see nothing...think think think, I got it, one more real whiny short bugle and move forward towards the edge of the trees... as I start my bugle I see his left ear and his left horn and left hip 50 yards away right behind a tree ... game over

[Swede]

LDriver; I am curious about the trail that was beat to dust. It is common for well used trails to fan out where smaller trails come together. Is this spot at the other end of the trail at the spring/wallow you refer to in another thread? If this trail is being used regularly, why aren't you there to greet them? If you had left them alone, would they have come down the trail to water? If I am putting things together right, it sounds like you have elk that want to be be killed.

[Swede]

Where I hunt now, elk come through about every ten days. Sometimes I get tired and lazy. I think I will sleep in, or leave a little early since I have not seen hide or hair of elk an in over a week. Big mistake.

[LDriver]

LDriver; I am curious about the trail that was beat to dust. It is common for well used trails to fan out where smaller trails come together. Is this spot at the other end of the trail at the spring/wallow you refer to in another thread? If this trail is being used regularly, why aren't you there to greet them? If you had left them alone, would they have come down the trail to water? If I am putting things together right, it sounds like you have elk that want to be be killed.

Swede, you are absolutely correct about the trail, the closer to the spring/wallow the more beat down it is. This spring is a spot where I found a really large moose this year as well, I had him at 68 yards with the capability to sneak in closer, just no moose tag.

[Lefty]

I haven't had any elk hunting blunders,.. since yesterday.

Driving in yesterday morning, two cows and calve , at 55 yards, Buried gun in the back of the truck. Ah didnt want to shoot one close to the road anyway

Wednesday, deep snow, putting in a wonderful sneak in a downpour of snow. couldnt see 50 yards for a while.
I hadnt capped the nipple for safety. Slipped in the snow even fell.. I got to a point I thought I better put a cap on, Looked up and had a stare down with a cow at 17 yards.
Lost opportunity.
Short distance further a cow stopped to look at me, 65 yards,
A nice trigger squeeze, and she bounded off,.. what the heck ,..followed her for 450 yards, clean miss,
Then I noticed where my rear sight was. At 13 yards the gun was 5 3/4 " high.

I dont want to hog the show,.. but we have lots of "experience"

Spoke to a fellow we see hunting the area regularly I know they use my truck to locate elk he had 3 wet caps that didnt fire then a hang fire. his buddy had a cap mis-fire

[hibernation]

Thanks billy goat! Been digging through old posts and finding tons of good info for a relatively new elk hunter, figured it was time to quit lurking and make an account.

[Lefty]

Lurkes: now is a great time to share your "experiences"

[Tigger]

blunders? How much bandwith does this site have anyway?

Griz country. Bull and about 25 cows. Feeding in a meadow just before dark. We sneak in and I am the caller. Like an idiot, I didn't start out with a cow call. What I did do was start lightly raking a tree. If I would have started out with an elk sound, I think that bull would have came right to me. Stampede!

Then there was the time we had to sneak forward on a bull that was coming in due to terrain. I didn't realize my shooters had stopped and got too close to them.

Indecision. One time we had 3 bulls answering calls and we pingponged back and forth. Should have just stuck to one.

I will stop there. I don't want to further embarrass myself!