Elk Tactics 101 - Scenario #2

[WapitiTalk1]

Date/Time: 24 SEPT/7:30 AM
Location: Somewhere in the elk woods
Hunt Pressure Status: Minimal
Terrain: Timbered ridge tops (including the one you're on) and a large stand of fir towards head end of wet draw; the rest is sporadic pecker poles (lodge pole pine) and tall alder/huckleberry choked side hills with game trail systems throughout the area
Tag: Cow or branched antler bull

Working your way slowly up the semi-flat ridge with your buddy, you hear an unsolicited bugle coming from your two o'clock (across and up the draw to your right) perhaps 500 yards away as the crow flies (green star on topo map). As you pause a minute to listen and look, you catch a glimpse of several feeding cows in the timber, in the direction you're heading, maybe 250ish yards up the ridge (green arrow on top map) . They appear to be feeding to east and are undisturbed.

What do you do here to maximize an opportunity to bring an elk home for dinner? What's the next move?

Elk Tactics #2.png (503.79 KiB) Viewed 4680 times

[2MANY]

If I cared about shooting a cow:
I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed but I would get my buddy between the elk.
I would then head up the ridge to where the cows were. Of course it all depends on wind direction.
Once behind the cows I would cow call. If the bull answered I would bugle over him hoping to keep him fired up long enough for my buddy to get in and kill him. Regardless the cows will be between us and could end up in the smoker.

If I only wanted the bull I would get as close to him as possible but between him and his potential cows.
I would cow call, stomp, and rake.
If he sounded off I would bugle over him.
My partner would be slightly down wind of me and ahead of me.

I would be betting that he knows those cows are there and they are who he is talking to.
I'm simply playing the neighbor guy hoping to catch him away at work.

[bald9eagle]

Since I'm not yet an elk hunter I'll apply a turkey hunting thought. Assuming that the wind is in your face I would slip down the draw and quickly try to cut in between the bull and cows. I am assuming here that the bull is alone and as is the custom of turkeys that he is telling the cows to come to him. I believe that the cows will be moving to him.

I would move on the side of the hill closest to the bull while giving some soft cow calls. If I bump him I just bump him. The target here is meat. When I feel that I am between the two I have my buddy further behind me in the draw give a bugle. My hope is to draw the bull down to the cows. At the same time I hope to get the cows to believe that there are 2 separate bulls vying for their affections.

Again this is throwing my turkey hunting knowledge in to the scenario. I always try to get between a gobbler and his hens. The natural order of turkeys is for the tom to attract hens with his gobbles. I am making the assumption that elk act like turkeys here.

Am I close?

[WapitiTalk1]

Scenario thoughts:

I'm assuming that the moving elk are approximately 250+ yards away from where you heard the bull bugle on the ridge/saddle area to the east (which is a pretty vast distance in this type of terrain). I will say that on 24 SEPT, the vast majority of the cows are herded up. I wouldn't be so sure that the moving cows you caught a glimpse of do not have a bull with them. Does this change your tactics/thoughts? And yes, thermals in the early morning in the western states are notorious for coming downslope at least until late/mid morning. Carry on

[bald9eagle]

The thick side hills bother me but I'm not sure what that even looks like. Too thick for a decent shot?

Would it even be possible to cut the cows off? If they are that close to the bull and traversing the draw is going to be tough you might have a hard time with it.

One other thing I might try (again, just a turkey hunter talking) is for one of us to stay right where we were and the other move toward the bull. Have the guy calling give a bugle. The hope would be to find out if the bugle came from a herd or satellite bull. If the shooter is in the bottom of the draw maybe you can draw the cows and the bull down.

I guess you could also cross the draw and get on the same ridge with the bull and draw him to you.

[Lefty]

Im going after the bull;
Im paralleling the cows then following the ridge in towards the bull .Dropping down then back up to the ridge Maybe those are 10 foot elevation lines
I figure I can move faster without the cows detecting me. then once on the ridge work towards the bull.

If the cows are moving too fast,.. I might follow them, get above them, use some lost calf sounds,.. Oh wait,.. that didnt work at all last time , they just left with the bull

[Tigger]

I think I would get between them and stay low. Once between them, I would let out some soft cow calls. Herd talk. If that didn't elicit a response, I would increase the need and make some whiny, impatient cow calls. I would stay away from bull sounds unless either I move or the elk move to within 60 yards or so (depending on cover density). I am afraid with all the water between the bull and the cows that it will be choked with dense underbrush, but I will deal with that when I get there and I see it. There is a chance we have a herd bull and a satellite in this situation. If I can convince either of them that I am a cow that got away from the herd bull (or a new cow), they both may want to come a courtin' my buddy and I. A little artificial competition! I would be careful with the wind as always. the setup may be tricky as we need to be prepared for either bull coming in from completely different directions.

So lets say I get plaintive and whiny. If I can get a bull to respond, I may let him call us right to him. A good setup between the two is quite likely to lead to an encounter. Looking forward to others view on this one.

[Old school]

I take a hard right turn (my 3:00) and try to get at least even (probably higher than the bull is currently so by the time I get over there I'm just under him or even with him) with where I believe the bull is and then I take a sharp left (my 9:00) and head straight for him (my 12:00) as quick as I can go without calling. When I get to where I believe I'm within 75 yards I would start raking a tree and give a challenge bugle - hoping to either draw the bull down to me or the herd of cows over to me (I'd assume they would already be close as they were moving in that direction earlier.) just my 2 cents. Hope I made sense.

--Mitch

[Swede]

I don't know how fast and how far the herd is going, but I would immediately run up the creek to try to intercept them. If I can get in ahead of them, I just might stay quiet.
If I am behind, then I would try to move up toward the herd. My first objective is to get close, and not be smelled or seen.
I would think on Sept. 24, there is a bull with the herd, unless RJ was in ahead of me and has shot it. If there is a herd bull, he is not going to the bugler. If RJ has the herd bull shot, and we are behind the herd when we get to where they crossed the creek, I would try some raspy bugles from a point the X bull has to come within good shooting range to find me and the shooter would be out front.

[cohunter]

Like Swede said, I'm moving quickly as I can into close range of those cows I saw (500 yards is a LONG ways in an alder jungle), betting there's a bull with them near the end of September. I'd try to stay out of the thickest jungle, but be sure I kept the wind in my favor at all costs. My bet would be they're heading for water or grazing to bed, either on the ridge top or in the firs at the head of the draw. If I can slip in close, I may give a couple of soft cow calls. If a bull invites me in, I'm betting it would be best to approach aggressively. If he hangs up or isn't moving my way, maybe set the scene with a bull struggling to keep his cows (me) contained and to prevent them from running any closer to the real elk. Really, the calling piece is pretty new for me. But I've been reading up on my elk nut playbook. Did I get it right? The one thing from personal experience is that I'm going to try to find a good spot to set up... I've been within 20 yards without any kind of shot far too many times!

[cohunter14]

I would check the wind and, if necessary, drop some altitude to make sure I have the wind in my face via the thermals. Then I am going to do my best to sneak into the cows undetected. No need for calling as there hasn't been one call made by me yet. No one knows I'm there. If I am somehow busted by that herd, I have a bull I can go hunt on the other ridge.

[WapitiTalk1]

Great discussion folks! The bull has told you where he is, and, you have had a visual on a handful of cows moving in the general direction of the vocal bull. As others have mentioned, there is really no need to make any elk sounds at this point. Calling to moving elk, or, a distant vocal elk oftentimes doesn't end well for the hunter. Get closer and either work an ambush, call a SAT off the herd with quiet/whiny cow sounds, or pose a threat as an intruder bull. I would drop into the wet draw to the E of the hunter's current position and work my way on existing game trails towards the saddle between the two knobs S of where the unsolicited bugle came from. I'm pretty certain the thermals will be flowing from N to S on the bull's ridge at least for the next hour or so. From there, slowly move up that flat ridge (eyeballs peeled/ears on full alert) and work my way to the elongated saddle below the bull. Now I'm probably going to be pretty close to being on the level of the vocal bull, and I'm guessing, the elk that were moving from E to W. I'm further guessing that there may be a bedding area either where the vocal bull called from or perhaps a bit down that E slope in the next draw. Will have to see how the situation develops as I get closer and see what can be done about killing one of the bulls (I'm guessing there are at least two bulls in the area). Fun times!

[Swede]

I found myself guessing a lot with this situation, but isn't that often what elk hunting is all about?

[WapitiTalk1]

I found myself guessing a lot with this situation, but isn't that often what elk hunting is all about?

Yes sir, no absolutes. Great discussion folks.