An Elk in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush?

[WapitiTalk1]

Situational decision. You decide to stay in an area until well after dark, 2/12 miles by pack trail away from your bivy camp, to locate bugle something for a morning hunt. You get a very good herd bullish answer 500 yards below you on a sidehill that you know pretty well. It's more than likely the nice 6X you glassed a few nights ago. Additionally, as you throw your pack on and get ready for the trek back to camp, you hear an additional bull that sounds a bit closer but smaller.. So, there's at least two bulls on the sidehill you'll target for the next morning's hunt. All is well in the elk woods

Back to camp, rack out, and up early the next morning after a night of dreaming about calling in and shooting that big 6X. You head back up the pack trail in the morning darkness. About half way to the spot you heard the bulls the night before, you hear an unsolicited bugle down in a deep draw to your left. Standing in the darkness, you tell yourself "OK, I'll throw a locater back at him and see how he responds".. You belt out a nice two note locater bugle and the bull comes unglued and screams back even before your notes stop echoing below you .

What do you do? Wait 1/2 hour till daylight and head down after this bull or continue on with plan A, where you know there are probably two bulls still lurking on that sidehill 1 1/2 miles up the trail?

[stringunner]

for me the size of the bulls though unknown, still doesn't matter(meaning I wouldn't say, "oh there is a bigger bull up the trail, I'm going there instead). I will stay with the first bull I heard that morning and see what happens....if it doesn't work out, I still know of 2 other bulls further up the trail. Other hunting pressure known in the area may change my decision, but non was stated in the scenario

[foxvalley]

Even though there is no mention of grunts on the end of the bugle,I"m on him like flys on stink. I'm not even waiting the half hour,your above him and the thermals are going down. Sounds like a big herd bull telling me to piss off! I would try to get on the same plane as him, sneak in close, then wait till the first second of shooting light before I say or do anything.(What other 2 bulls)

[Swede]

In this case I would stay with the bull close by. If nothing else he will be an easier pack out. I know that is counting my chickens before they hatch, but it is thinking too.

Normally I stay with my plan. Maybe I do it too much. I have passed by good bucks on my way to where I was elk hunting. I am not deer hunting. I am elk hunting. It drives my brother mad when he watches a situation like that. He is no hunter, but likes to go along sometimes. I have sat in my stand and had a nearby herd bull going crazy driving off a satellite bull or two. I suspect a situation like I had would have been dangerous for someone like Elknut. I was about 30 feet up the tree when that herd bull was going beserk. Elknut would have bailed out of the stand so fast he would have forgot to carefully descend down the ladder. Flying out of that stand he would have broken both legs, but in the excitement he also forgot to unfasten his safety harness which jerked him back into his seat. Don't worry Elknut was safe even in this story, I don't know how the bull would have fared.

[ctdad]

I'd hunt the bull in front of me at that time. I would assume the other two elk are 1.5 miles up the trail, but I know this elk is right here, right now.

[easeup]

I am hanging right where I stopped. I cant see my pins and he is close enough to go play. I need daylight at this point and I do not need my scent to blow his way. If he is gonna talk, 15 minutes should not change anything.
I am waiting.......or moving to keep my scent out of the arena.

It is OK to tell me why I am wrong......lets hear it.

[elkohalic]

I would go with the closest bull at the time and if that doesn't work out there are 2 more elk up the trail to work on.

[ElkNut1]

I'd go right at the bull you just located & work my way down towards him with good wind as fast as I could. I'd do my best to get to or under 80yds. You will not have to call again to get his position as he will most likely call on his own wanting to know the where abouts of the bull he just heard! Once I had him pegged & I knew he was close I'd try to slip in unannounced. If not possible I'd challenge him hot & heavy right in his face with an arrow already nocked! From past experience doing this on several occasions this bull would be in my lap! (grin)

If two hunters leave one up on top & send a shooter after that bull. The caller stays up top & keeps the bull vocal every 5-10 minutes which will give the shooter the needed direction to get on this vocal bull.

ElkNut1

[horseshoe]

this bull IS in front of you.the other two were there last night, "probably" still there, but might not be! i'd go with the sure thing...especially since it might end up being my 1st bull!

[WapitiTalk1]

I'm diving off in the dark (terrain permitting) bowhunting brothers.. "An elk in the hand", well, you know the rest. As foxvalley said, it's more than likely a herd bull telling me to "piss off" as he bugled right over the top of me.. With the thermals going down, I'm not dumping straight off above the bull.. I'll probably backtrack just a bit and try to move down on a south side of a finger ridge keeping my scent from blowing directly down on the bull. Once I've gotten to where I figured I was as close as possible to being less than 100 yards (as Elknut mentioned, the bull will likely blow back a time or two to ask you to reveal yourself..allowing me to keep track of the bull w/o saying a peep).....keeping track of where I think he is (either by his location bugles or just best guess at the contour he was bellowing from), I'd set up as soon as I could see my pins and light him up. If it didn't work out, I"m crawling back up the sidehill as I"ve done so many times before to see if I can catch the two bulls from the previous night before they've moved to bedding areas.

[Ridgernr]

The bull in front of you could be 1 of the bulls from the night before, in search of cows or already has some. I would work him until he felt the business end of an arrow or he shuts down.