Best sightings EVER + Question Paul

[Rick Seymour]

First post fella's.
I shoot a Recurve so I need to get relatively close. In 5 days here in CO I have seen probably 75 head AND 13 legal Bulls in the forest, not glassing distant slopes....by the way, all still moving. Ran out of food so came home last night about 10 p.m. w/ of cousre a question for Paul.
Yesterday after not getting a shot a 5x5 because of the inevitable leaning 7" diameter tree covering the vitals I am slow walking back on a Bovine trail. (Aspen leaves are even covering the Bovine trails so walking is iffy at best). I am walking a Mt side left to right and I see an Elk at 50 yards yeah that close before I saw HIM. He also is going left to right and is also downhill from me at app. 30 yards. This is a north facing slope it is about 9:30 a.m.. The tree's are a mixture of Aspen and some pines. The tree's are about 15' to 20' apart. I believe...
If I cow call this close he will have my location nailed and not see a cow. I see 2 cows below him about 80 yards and I know there are more. I make it along the trail paralleling him for 70' stopping at every tree of course to observe. Then all the forest comes alive and there are 20 Elk trotting away
What should I have done different? Oh yeah....see the Bull up above near the word Elknut...that was him.
Thanks

[POk3s]

I'm not Paul but I'll try to answer. Probably couldn't have done much if he's a big mature bull with 20 cows. Only thing you're gonna do from 50 yards away if you cow call is he's going to stop, look in your direction and walk off.

I would much rather just try to sneak in like you did.

If you're dead set on calling you have backed out to where you're just out of view and bugled. Either challenge him right away or play a scenario as if you're a young bull stealing one of his cows.

[ElkNut1]

Rick, welcome! It's tough to say you should do this or that without actually being there! (grin) Options are about the best I could offer! If the bull was close enough for a shot but he needed stopping I'd use a nervous grunt 100% of the time, this will anchor him!

Paralleling him & the herd with sparse cover will get us busted in nearly every case too the wind at 9:30am is starting to get swirly as thermals change. Stopping at sighting & backing off might have been an option & then doing your darndest to get around the herd & cutting them off in an ambush. This is easier done if you know the area well & their direction or destination? If you could have gotten between him & his cows then you have something as well. But there is no magic wand method to draw that bull to you without seeing or smelling you in limited cover! You have to be semi close with trad gear!!

Another option with the bulls bugling & all would have been to have a caller behind you keeping the herd bull vocal in moderation so you could slip around the group & know their aprox position as you lose sight of them while getting to an ambush point! To call him or threaten him or his harem requires good cover & commitment from the bull!

Other times a decoy can be used to get behind as a last ditch effort to close the distance needed, again, some cover is needed to pull this off too!

ElkNut1