Allright men..... Charge!!!

[WapitiTalk1]

Just curious.. Who has ran into a herd and what was your particular end result. This could happen for a variety of situational reasons. I've been there... in scenarios where it doesn't appear that bullwinkle has any intention of leaving his harem... You've got the wind, you've offered most everything in your arsenal to dislodge the beast and have him come visit for tea and crumpets (and a sharp broadhead).. All to no avail. It's early morning on a WA/CO/MT/ID/UT/NM/WY hillside, you're within 80ish yards, and you figure at any time the lead cow (or the herd bull) will figure it's time to start moving on to bedding area, or, one of the group will figure out the calls coming their way are a bit suspicious. Have you ever tried the "charge/scatter the herd" technique and what was the outcome... RJ

[T/H]

i unknowingly ran charged into a herd a couple years ago in CO. i'll set the stage.it was around the 14th of CO and getting cold at night and the bulls fired up. there was a bull right above camp screamin and carrying on all nite so in the morning me and my buddies nephew "charged" up the mountain and Ryan called him out only i did not see him because of where i was set up so as the bull started to leave i decided i would charge into the tree line and try to get in for a shot only he was moving further away. it was at this moment i went "all in" and hauled azz towards that bull. i charged him but still couldnt keep up with him but.........as i came to a halt, to my left was a few cows and a spike 10 yards away from me, as they started to bolt after staring at me briefly the forest thundered under my feet and all around me as it sounded like the forest was falling down with all the elk scattering in every direction. i had been so focused on catching up with that bull that i was not paying attention to what was really goin on. it was quite a rush when i think about how fast that all happened. i should have killed an elk that morning but because of my focus on that bull i blew an opportunity big time to kill a cow and or that bull. it was a heart pounding experience to say the least.

[easeup]

no, not me.........................................yet

[foxvalley]

I've charged them and chased them,all before the playbook, and with very poor results.

First, you have to sound like a cow or bull to plant the seed of what is coming at him.(First mistake I made)
Second, you need cover, very thick cover. Trust me, he ain,t moving, he will let you run right up to him,right up to where he gets a good eyefull.(Second mistake)
It's so easy for an elk to pick out movement,and what that movement is. You need to be bent over so they can't see your upright form.(third mistake)
Ok, you do all this, he hears you coming and he hides,or is hidden. If he doesn't want to be seen, you will never see him,even when he is just a few yards away. All you will hear is a "Whooossshhhhh"..... and he is gone. I have been so close to some truly huge bulls,huge bodies,huge racks, and if they don't want to be seen, you won't.
However, done right, I think this is a great way to get real close to a bull,and if he wants to be seen, you will kill him, and I can't wait to try this again with all the ammo Paul has supplied me with.

[>>>---WW---->]

I've heard stories of busting the cows up and then doing lost cow calls in hopes that the bull will come looking for you. Only problem is, he has a bunch of other cows to worry about so your chances could be slim to none.

Instead of busting them up, try this. Slip into a bedded herd. Try to get into shooting range of a cow and just sit still. Ever so often through out the day the bull will get up and check his cows out, probably for signs of estrus. When he gets around to your cow you are already in range and have a good chance of putting him down. This could be a long waiting game but it works.

[BowElkDwn]

First I would have to say that this is one of those techniques that only works in the perfect situation. Here is the first one I remember us using this on.

It was early in September and we got a bull answering back to a cow call. We continued to cow call toward the bull and he wasn't getting any closer to us but we were to him. We were slowly sneeking and were about to that 80 yard mark when we spotted a few cows. They were looking in our direction seeing how we had just cow called. We were stuck. We sat there for a bit and knew that this was that bulls herd. We also knew with those cow there we could not get any closer and the bull wasn't coming toward us. We had a tree picked out that was between us and the bull that we were trying to get to. About that time one of the cows gave us that popping/nervous grunt. We knew it was about over. My dad told me to just run up to that tree that we had picked out and just blow those cows out of there. Well that's excactly what I did and when I broke out into the open those cows scattered and ran everywhere. About the time I got to the tree my dad let out a scream of a bugle. Before he was done that bull was screaming right back over the top of him. I knew right then that he thought another bull had snuck in there and tried to steal his herd. Well before I could think another thought I herd thundering footsteps (this time coming toward me). I spotted the bull at about 50 yards and he was running as fast as he could right toward me. I remember seeing dirt just flying off the back of his hooves. He got to 15 yards and slammed on the brakes. (I was already at full draw) He was looking down toward my dad I swear I could see red in his eyes and steam coming out his ears and nose. (I was only about 16 then though could have just been the adrenaline ) When the bull had stopped he was facing me and a little quartered away. He ripped out a bugle that I will never forget. It sent chills down my back. Somehow I was able to calm my nerves and settle my pin right on him. He fell over in sight.

[WapitiTalk1]

First I would have to say that this is one of those techniques that only works in the perfect situation. Here is the first one I remember us using this on.

It was early in September and we got a bull answering back to a cow call. We continued to cow call toward the bull and he wasn't getting any closer to us but we were to him. We were slowly sneeking and were about to that 80 yard mark when we spotted a few cows. They were looking in our direction seeing how we had just cow called. We were stuck. We sat there for a bit and knew that this was that bulls herd. We also knew with those cow there we could not get any closer and the bull wasn't coming toward us. We had a tree picked out that was between us and the bull that we were trying to get to. About that time one of the cows gave us that popping/nervous grunt. We knew it was about over. My dad told me to just run up to that tree that we had picked out and just blow those cows out of there. Well that's excactly what I did and when I broke out into the open those cows scattered and ran everywhere. About the time I got to the tree my dad let out a scream of a bugle. Before he was done that bull was screaming right back over the top of him. I knew right then that he thought another bull had snuck in there and tried to steal his herd. Well before I could think another thought I herd thundering footsteps (this time coming toward me). I spotted the bull at about 50 yards and he was running as fast as he could right toward me. I remember seeing dirt just flying off the back of his hooves. He got to 15 yards and slammed on the brakes. (I was already at full draw) He was looking down toward my dad I swear I could see red in his eyes and steam coming out his ears and nose. (I was only about 16 then though could have just been the adrenaline ) When the bull had stopped he was facing me and a little quartered away. He ripped out a bugle that I will never forget. It sent chills down my back. Somehow I was able to calm my nerves and settle my pin right on him. He fell over in sight.

Great adventure BowElkDwn! Thanks for sharing such a descriptive acount of that day.... Felt like I was there on that Idaho mountain side!

[elkmtngear]

I can think of a perfect instance when I should have done this on my last hunt in Colorado. If it happens again, I'm going kamikaze on them, with my decoy out front!

[Swede]

Great story Bowelkdown. That would make a great magazine article for anyone, especially a 16 year old. I have busted up herds, but never intentionally. The results ahve never beed good for me. It always turned out great for the elk.