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Early Season Calling

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Early Season Calling

Postby LDriver » 09 01, 2021 •  [Post 1]

Hey all, with the CO archery season opening tomorrow I will be out this weekend and I know typically the bulls are quiet in the early season, but I typically use a location bugle to locate elk later in archery season. Question I have is will elk still respond to a location bugle in the early days of Sept?
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Re: Early Season Calling

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 09 01, 2021 •  [Post 2]

Hey LD, good question. The answer is absolutely yes. I have never hunted Colorado but, of the states I have hunted the elk behave the same for the most part. Early September is a great time to be in the elk woods. The bachelor bulls have left their bachelor pads and are gravitating toward the cows. They certainly spend a great deal of time locating to see who and what is in the hood they frequent. Bulls are called in and put down in every elk state, in early September.. you can bank on that. Here's a tech tip for ya. Have a few vantage/listening spots that you quietly move in to right after dark. Just sit and listen. If you hear an unsolicited bugle, or, any elk noise for that matter, you've got your spot to hunt in the morning. No need to make any elk sounds of your own, right? If you don't hear anything after sitting there till you get a bit chilled (or bored), sure.. go ahead an throw that canyon banging two note locator out. If you hear something this time, then same as I mentioned before... you've got your hunt in the morning. No need to answer back. I'm not gonna put a percentage on it but more often than not, those elk will be really close to where you heard them the night before come the butt crack of dawn (no correlation to the Tony Orlando group of the 70s). Where you heard them at last night is at the local Dennys and they will be very close to that spot in the morning. How to hunt them? Look at your maps, On-X, whatever and figure out how you will start your morning hunt underneath them. Here's where it gets fun. A lot of times, you'll hear them (vocalizations or just their big butts moving up to bed; elk are not quiet in a herd). If you are close to them, you can try to pull the herd, or even a satellite bull off the herd while they're moving but chances are, you won't. I very seldom make any elk sounds when I'm keeping track of a moving bull and cows. They are on a mission to get to their bedding area. Contrary to popular belief, many.. many.. bulls are killed close to their bedding area. Get in close once they've reached the Super 8, perhaps work in to a spot on the same elevation with the thermals still in our favor, set up, and ................ Let me know if you want me to continue :D.
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Re: Early Season Calling

Postby Elkhunttoo » 09 01, 2021 •  [Post 3]

Go wapititalk go!!! You were just getting to the good part… ;)
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Re: Early Season Calling

Postby LDriver » 09 02, 2021 •  [Post 4]

WapitiTalk1 wrote:Hey LD, good question. The answer is absolutely yes. I have never hunted Colorado but, of the states I have hunted the elk behave the same for the most part. Early September is a great time to be in the elk woods. The bachelor bulls have left their bachelor pads and are gravitating toward the cows. They certainly spend a great deal of time locating to see who and what is in the hood they frequent. Bulls are called in and put down in every elk state, bar none. Here's a tech tip for ya. Have a few vantage/listening spots that you quietly move in to right after dark. Just sit and listen. If you hear an unsolicited bugle, or, any elk noise for that matter, you've got your spot to hunt in the morning. No need to make any elk sounds of your own, right? If you don't hear anything after sitting there till you get a bit chilled (or bored), sure.. go ahead an throw that canyon banging two note locator. If you hear something this time, then same as I mentioned before... you've got your hunt in the morning. No need to answer back. I'm not gonna put a percentage on it but most often than not, those elk will be really close to where you heard them the night before come the butt crack of dawn (no correlation to the Tony Orland group of the 70s). Where you heard them at last night is the local Dennys and they will be very close to that spot in the morning. How to hunt them? Look at your maps, On-X, whatever and figure out how you will start your morning hunt underneath them. Here's where it gets fun. A lot of times, you'll hear them (vocalizations or just their big butts moving up to bed; elk are not quiet in a herd). If you are close to them, you can try to pull the herd, or even a satellite bull off the herd while they're moving but chances are, you won't. They are on a mission to get to their bedding area. Contrary to popular belief, many.. many.. bulls are killed close to their bedding area. Get in close once they've reached the Super 8, perhaps work in to a spot on the same elevation with the thermals still in our favor, set up, and ................ Let me know if you want me to continue :D.


By all means continue!!

I've got a couple of areas scouted out and have a good game plan to be able to come in under them in bedding areas in a couple of them, the other area is going to be a bit trickier to get under them, but I have a couple of options. Appreciate the insight, I was hoping what you said was the case and I've always got my Elknut app to assist me.
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Re: Early Season Calling

Postby saddlesore » 09 02, 2021 •  [Post 5]

Right now,it's all the wanna be elk callers warming up those tubes letting all the real elk know that the season is about to start
Here is my take on it.
Those early bugles ,the bulls are locating every other bull in the vicinity. When a hunter comes in and gives a few toots, it doesn't take long for the elk to figure out that toot isn't part of the clan. Usually the locator bugle after dark or midnight won't distract them too much though.

During peak rut all bets are off as the bulls lose a lot their sense of caution .

As for bedding area, i's great to get them going in or coming out of bedding areas. However,if you get into their bedroom proper and bust them. Most likely they will head for the next drainage. Same with camping too close.

I hunted New Mexico for ten years and now as a Colorado resident, this year 's season will be my 47th year with out missing a season. In Colorado elk tend to be really call shy due to the number of hunters and pressure. You will l do ok if no other hunters are present though. I hunt mainly ML season now, but hunted rifle and guided archery hunters also. If you give the wrong call or bugle at the wrong time the most you will see is a butt moving off thru the timber or over the ridge. What I offer is my experiences hunting elk.
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Re: Early Season Calling

Postby LDriver » 09 02, 2021 •  [Post 6]

saddlesore wrote:Right now,it's all the wanna be elk callers warming up those tubes letting all the real elk know that the season is about to start
Here is my take on it.
Those early bugles ,the bulls are locating every other bull in the vicinity. When a hunter comes in and gives a few toots, it doesn't take long for the elk to figure out that toot isn't part of the clan. Usually the locator bugle after dark or midnight won't distract them too much though.

During peak rut all bets are off as the bulls lose a lot their sense of caution .

As for bedding area, i's great to get them going in or coming out of bedding areas. However,if you get into their bedroom proper and bust them. Most likely they will head for the next drainage. Same with camping too close.

I hunted New Mexico for ten years and now as a Colorado resident, this year 's season will be my 47th year with out missing a season. In Colorado elk tend to be really call shy due to the number of hunters and pressure. You will l do ok if no other hunters are present though. I hunt mainly ML season now, but hunted rifle and guided archery hunters also. If you give the wrong call or bugle at the wrong time the most you will see is a butt moving off thru the timber or over the ridge. What I offer is my experiences hunting elk.


Saddlesore,

Appreciate the insight as well. I'm trying a new area this weekend, scouted it mid-Aug, seen a couple of bulls early morning feeding, and found some fresh scat near where I thought a bedding area would be. However, it all looked to be bull associated, so not sure if I found an area where bachelor herds were hanging out. I guess we'll see what I can blunder into this weekend. Best of luck in the ML woods.
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Re: Early Season Calling

Postby Lefty » 09 03, 2021 •  [Post 7]

Our experience last night.
We set up and sat below a general bedding area.
I gave a toot .
We were running out of shooting time, the cows were convince to come our way.
We don't know where the bulls came from. But Two interceptors ( bulls) horned in on our action.

We had a cow on my daughters plan. Certainly not a bugle fest. Right after sunset two bulls convinced the ladies to follow them. We ran out of shooting time and backed out.
The thermals and wind is now our challenge.

But back to this time of year. We haven't seen any other elk hunters, moo-Cows invading on the 31st our one pasture sent the game packing.

Elk are easier to pattern. Bulls are tougher to find.
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Re: Early Season Calling

Postby Thegreatwapiti » 09 05, 2021 •  [Post 8]

Heard my first bugle this morning.
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Re: Early Season Calling

Postby Jhg » 09 15, 2021 •  [Post 9]

WapitiTalk1 wrote:... Early September is a great time to be in the elk woods....


Here is a small sample of my bull encounters as early as Sept 2 and all mentioned were before Sept 7.

1)I was moving camp with two Llamas carrying my gear and walked into a super nice 6x with cows at 11:30 in the morning. He made every vocalization I know of- glunks, chuckles, whines, huffs, tending bugles, round up bugles, growls everything. I set up the Llamas as decoys assuming he would walk down wind of them but he did the opposite.

2) I hiked ( bushwacked actually) up into a basin and found myself treated to a buglefest. There was one bull who thought he was king but not true I saw 3 bulls walking in a line across the scree- last one about 260, middle guy was 350 for certain unreal nice animal but first in line was as big an elk I have ever seen, pictures, films, in person or anywhere. The bulging guy I named Redtine and had my chance on him a day later.

3) Woke in the morning dark to a bulls roundup bugles right behind camp and they went around camp in the dark and into a draw below. I hunted down into the river bottom first light and thought I must have been dreaming the bugles up and took lunch under an old tall ponderosa. Wow, I thought to myself, this is just like in the movies: the tall pines, the grassy bench, the stream nearby whispering. All it needs is a bull elk. I took another bite of my sandwich and almost choked as a bugle ripped out of the pines behind me. I snuck a look around the tree I was leaning on and watched a nice 5x walk up to a Christmas tree and spend the next 5 minutes thrashing it.

4) Snuck in under a herd and caught them coming into their beds. Pics in meatpole thread.


And many others I will not bore you with but 1st week can be unreal for bulls if you play it right. I am not a run&gunner but I do call when I know whats going work. My main trick is knowing where I hunt like my own hand or hunting places I will understand well based on experience in areas that have similar traits.
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