What did I do wrong?

[idrookie]

This is my first year out and this week I and my hunting partner had two separate encounters with what I believe was the same herd. I'm still trying to figure out where exactly I went wrong in both cases. Keep in mind we're not trophy hunters - we'll shoot the first elk we see. 3 days ago, we had a bull answer our cow calls and we made our way over to him. When we got close, we could just see glimpses of the herd through the thick brush. They were close, but we had no shot. We were all set up, but the bull would not come to us - he wanted us to come to him, and he was getting impatient. After a few minutes, he'd had enough, and they took off.

Today I'm pretty sure we got into the same herd. This time I thought I'd try an immature bugle to try to get him to come in for a fight. It started off with him answering my bugle and I started to move toward him. When I first saw him, it was through some trees at maybe 50 or 60 yards. Now I could see he was a large 6 point, and needless to say, my heart was racing. My rangefinder wasn't working in the rain, and I didn't really have a clear shot at him, so I needed to close the distance. So I crept up a little farther and spotted him again. They must have been moving away from me because he was still maybe 50 yards. I could just see his head, and he was looking around for me. I bugled again, and when he answered, I let out a scream right on top of him. He just looked in my direction and didn't budge. I was frozen and partially hidden, but he just kept looking at me, and after about a minute, he must have either seen me or caught the wind on me (or one of his cows did), and they were out of there. I met back up with my hunting partner and called it a day.

I'm extremely disappointed, but I'm trying to learn from it. I keep replaying it over and over in my mind, trying to think what I can do differently next time (if there is a next time - I'm afraid I spooked them out of that area for good). I have an acquaintance that's hunted this area for years, and he claims that this year they're way more skittish than normal, and that he's hardly heard any satellites, something we've observed too. He says it's the wolves, which wouldn't surprise me. I did catch one on my trail cam chasing a spike. So, I don't know if that has something to do with it or not. Any thoughts or advice for this newby would be much appreciated. Thanks for reading.

idrookie

[Indian Summer]

First welcome to Elknut Forums. Glad you found your way here. I think if you'd have been on board earlier in the year you'd have had a few more tricks up your sleeve to consider.

First.. all situations are different so any time elk move away from you don't assume you did something wrong. cnelk said something the other day that is worth mentioning:

"Too many times I see/hear guys trying to call elk where the elk have already been.
That is tough to do most times."

It sounds like they were just doing there thing and you were a step behind. Turning elk around can be impossible sometimes.

One thing that stands out in my mind is that you said he was looking around for you. Yes he was... and often if elk don't get a visual confirmation they will just decide to move along. Not necessarily run but just keep heading the way they were. Now if they did wind you that is definitely a different story. They'll be GONE.

Speaking of gone: Don't assume they ran 20 miles to another county. Elk herds bolt because a few animals were spooked. The rest just follow cue and relocate with the herd. Half the herd has no idea why they even ran. They may only go to the next ridge or hole before stopping to listen. If nothing pursues they may very well go back to business as usual.

Last: Yes... wolves can do more than just eat your elk. They can make them very wary and tight lipped. Hesitant to come to calls because wolves go to calls. I've watched packs move in on bulls bugling back and forth. They'll either get eaten eventually or they learn to keep fairly quiet. If there are wolves where you hunt well.... that means there are elk. I learned to hunt where wolves live. But I did go hunt other places because of them too.

Personally I'd relocate because you have no time invested in the area. Think about that.... every time you are out you should be paying attention to everything and really learning the lay of the land and how the elk use it. Why learn an area with problems? Use time wisely and learn somewhere that you know you'll go back to year after year. But if it's convenient for you because it's close to home ok. You are into elk so just stick with it and eventually you'll connect. Plus sticking around here can never hurt.

I have to tell you how lucky you were just to have such close encounters on your first elk hunt ever. You are surely doing more things right than wrong. Good luck.

[idrookie]

Thanks Indian Summer, I really appreciate the feedback. A lot of good points to consider there. It makes sense that they were probably just moving through their daily pattern and were not necessarily moving away from me. Both times I wished so bad that we could have gotten ahead of them instead of trailing them like we were, but it's a good 45 minute hike just to get there, and we started in the dark. It was just how things played out. I was telling my hunting partner that it would be great if we could camp up on top of the mountain, away from the elk, and meet them there from the opposite direction at first light.

This mountain is actually one we've scouted extensively - we just haven't had a lot of days to hunt this year due to work. We've pretty much figured out what their general daily movements are, I think we just need to start hiking way before light, because both times we ended up behind them, trying to catch up. As cnelk said, that is tough to do -- take it from me!

I agree that there's no point learning an area with problems, this area just seemed really good, based on the amount of sign, and trail cam photos, etc. The wolves are everywhere here in ID, there's really no getting away from them. But regardless we are moving to another area tomorrow morning, where we've seen/heard elk and haven't hunted in a few weeks.

Thanks for giving me some perspective. You're right that I'm lucky to have such close encounters my first year. I did put in a ton of work scouting and learning elk behavior, so it's nice that it's paid off in some form. It's also fun to at least be able to experience rutting elk at such close range, even if I do end up getting skunked.

idrookie

[Indian Summer]

Remember... archery elk success rates are in the single digits. So 90 or so hunters out of every 100 is walking off the mountain without an elk. So make sure you are enjoying your time out there even when you're not killing... or even interacting with elk. That's important if you want to keep at it. If/when you do make a mistake look at it in a positive light: What a great chance to learn something right. In a nutshell... be patient.

Sounds like you're willing to work for them. Go have fun and the next thing you know you'll be standing over one saying oh man now the work begins.

Have you looked at any of Paul's videos in the store? If not I'd highly recommend it. Also get a copy of the Playbook. it will run through various scenarios... some like the ones you were in, and give you an idea of what to do. Like I said... you're in the right place to get your elk act together.

Do you have everything you need to quarter and pack out your elk?

[idrookie]

You're right, the odds are definitely stacked against us. It's just hard when you get that close to walk away with all the "coulda woulda shoulda's" going through your mind. I actually do have some of Paul's DVD's and it's been enormously helpful in knowing what they are saying and how to respond. I need to watch them again for a refresher. I don't think I could have gotten as close as I did my first season without what I learned from Paul about elk language and behavior.

My hunting partner has the equipment for quartering it, and I have a frame pack. So we're covered in the event we do get one down. And, we both were fortunate enough to draw a special tag this year that allows us to hunt the full rifle season too. So it's not over yet.

Thanks again.

idrookie

[Broken arrow]

x2 on what Indian summer said. Be where they are going not where they've been. I'm a rookie that scored my first year out and I can tell you knowing where they are going not where they are is key.