Your Move, Episode 2

[WapitiTalk1]

Hunting journal: Mid September; archery elk partner hunt in the Evergreen State; day 3 of your 7 day hunt; bull only tag (3 PT or better). You "were" the caller in a cold calling setup. You and your buddy had set up and went through an advertising sequence for a bit over 20 minutes... nothing. No response, no detected movement, nothing for 20ish minutes..... until you see a ninja bull moving pretty quickly past your buddy to the position he is now. You have an arrow nocked (of course you do) with your bow leaning against a tree within reach; it happened very quickly as so often times it does. The bull moved past your buddy too quickly for him/her to shoot. Red arrow is buddy (original shooter) at around 30 yards; yellow arrow is you (original caller) at a bit over 20 yards; white arrow is wind direction. It's mid morning.

Your move. What is this elk "team's" move to potentially get a shot?

Silent Paint.jpg (28.1 KiB) Viewed 4068 times

Reminder that if you save the picture to your desktop and open in MS Paint, you'll be able to place a spot, X, or whatever on the critter before you save it back to a jpg and add the marked up pic with your post (if you decide to shoot).

[easeup]

It is obvious to shoot the bull now...........so that must mean that I don't have a bow in hand and that reaching for it will spook him?

[Elkduds]

Looking right at you.

[flystrait]

I would have put my face in the dirt as I was the original caller and use my reed to make some cow mews, now he will probable get nervous when he goes to turn around the way he came from and most do. The original shooter will draw and shoot him as I mew again to stop him. Has happened before, remember most bulls will tend to go back the same direction they came from.

[Bow4me]

Ole turkey hunters rule is never call unless you're ready to shoot. All you can do now is hope for some luck. Something else gets his attention and frees you up to move.

[Toby]

Wait, let him make a move,pick up your bow when he isn't looking, obviously. If you try to do anything right now, you risk spooking him. Lesson learned, if you call keep your bow ready or you can loose an opportunity. Guess how I know this.

[ishy]

You move now he's gone. Gotta wait till he's where he can't see you get your bow.

[razorback]

I'm froze. Wind is in my favor so no worries there. He appears to be walking right to left and one tree in his path that may obscure his visibility somewhat. If so I may make a move for my bow. He's only 20 yards so he has to walk a ways to get out of bow range. I'm hoping he continues to on his path, looks away and allows me to secure my bow. If so, it looks like the angle is going to be great and my buddy and I are going to be packing quarters and horns!

[Bowhunter]

What Razorback said. And if I was the original shooter I would have no problem with him taking the shot. You can't pass up any opprotunity. We will be packing meat today.

[WapitiTalk1]

Update/additional info: You've obviously chosen your elk hunting partner well as he/she really "gets it". As the ninja bull moved too quickly into the setup and past the original shooter, your partner realized that he/she had no shot (bull moving too fast towards the caller and from his/her position, lost shooting lane visibility) and immediately assumed the caller role. Your partner (original shooter) hammers out a nervous grunt and the bull slams on the brakes, right where he is standing now looking back over his shoulder from where the sound came from (partner's position).

Now, with this additional info... what do you think your "team's" best move is to bring this bull home for dinner. Remember flystrait's note about how bull's "normally" leave in the same direction they come in from.

An elk hunting partner, particularly during calling situations, has to be "all in" to the overall mission and possess a degree of humility. I've hunted with a few guys that seemingly went blank during these situations and forget that there are two hunters present (grin). The original shooter has to react to a changing situation and change tactics accordingly, sometimes becoming the caller to either stop/slow the bull so the original caller may have a shot opportunity (divert the bull's attention with a nervous grunt, needy cow mew, "rustle brush/thump ground", etc.). Don't sleep on having a few rocks handy to throw to draw an elk's attention away from the shooter. Each encounter is different and partner's have to be aware of each other's position, shooting lanes, prevailing winds, etc., etc., and be ready to change situational tactics as the encounter requires.

I know you folks probably know this. There are oftentimes not a single best/correct answer for these situational threads. I believe they serve their purpose by sparking some great situational discussion and potential courses of action that perhaps, folks can tuck away in their elk tool bags. As always, thanks for participating.

[Bowhunter]

Thank the original shooter for stopping the bull and SHOOT.

[razorback]

Okay assuming his attention is turned to my partner, I know he's in the game. Still froze though, got to have something obscure his sight so I can get my bow. One thing that makes this situation a little more pressing is the wind. Time will be limited here. I'm hoping the bull thinks he's walked passed the cow and turns. When that happens, I'm slowly making my move assuming he's focussed on my partner. Walking left to right should present a good angle so when and if I get the opportunity, I'm shooting rather quickly. If there's not an opportunity to secure my bow and draw, I'm hoping my partner can get the shot and I'll hit the calls to assit him on the kill.

[Tigger]

Did anyone say they would slowly put their knife blade between their teeth, shuck their pack, and attempt to run him down? Cuz that's always an option.

I wait. Go for the bow as soon as I can without being made and hope my partner plays it right. Be ready to switch back to caller if need be.

[Trumkin the Dwarf]

I don't understand this talk about reaching for the bow... who sets their bow aside while calling? I for one always have it in hand or in my lap. Anyways, the nervous grunt kinda gets you into trouble, as he may leave real quickly if he doesn't see an elk where your partner is at. If you haven't already drawn, he may be gone before you can do anything.

I guess I'd just prepare to grab the bow, draw, and hit him with a followup nervous grunt. As soon as he turns to leave I'd do all three things, and hope it stops him a second time. Hopefully my hunting partner knows to draw and let me be the one to stop the bull on the second go round.

[Rizzy]

Oops busted! This sounds like one of those situations where the Bull looks around and then gives a nervous grunt after about 30 seconds and bails.