Strategy Scenario #3

[WapitiTalk1]

Carrying on with Tigger's format, here's one for you cats to chew on.

Date/Time: Sept 21st/0945
Location: SE Idaho, about 1.5 miles up the mountain from base camp
Pressure: Minimal
Terrain: Steep and pretty thick (10' high alder/huckleberry brush), some timbered areas, scattered game trails with a few well used trails in the area, a few natural wet meadows, and some nice saddles and benches
Tag: Bull tag, archery
Situation:

You and your partner have climbed up from base camp on the old pack trail marked in red from the south. On the way up, you worked a lone bull that was talking up off the trail but was not able to get a shot before he headed to parts unknown. Once you hit the top of the climb, you decided to crawl up the side hill to the knob where you sit now (X Hunters) and do some glassing. You see a group of cows with a nice 6 point (and one rag horn paralleling them) to your NW at about 10 o'clock. They are leaving the wet meadow, just above the wallow, and heading NE to the saddle between the two hilltops. You further are able to watch/see them cross the saddle and head down the hill side to their NW to a known bedding area. You're probably a 30 to 40 minute hike away from the bedding area. Weather is relatively calm with only the daily thermals doing their business.

Now, what's the game plan to try and bring one of the bulls home for dinner?

Reminder that if you save the image to your desktop and then open it up in MS Paint, you can mark it up with your travel routes, set up location (caller/shooter), etc., save it back to a JPG, and then add it to your post.

SETUP SCENARIO 1.png (534.58 KiB) Viewed 3158 times

[Shawn Ryan]

Swing clock-wise around the wallow. Put the shooter (red path and X) a bit uphill and forward with the caller (blue path and X) back and down a bit. Start the calling by facing the wallow, eventually turning the sound more towards the beds. Start with a locator bugle just to see if one of the bulls responds. I'm trying to make them think another bull is in the wallow area and I want the "bedded" bulls to sound off to say "stay away; we're over here" or to come over for a quick peek. Its 9/21 so I don't think cow calls are bringing a bull in and a threat from this distance will push the elk away. Probably not have the caller make any sound from there that is "too close." If the distance, cover, terrain are different than I'm thinking, I'd want the caller to be closer to the wallow. I have him near the ridge to make sure his calls can be heard, but just barely, from the beds.

When I decide that strategy hasn't worked, plan B would be for both of us to slip west and down, very slowly hoping to sneak into their beds, but hoping one of the bulls is up, walking around and walks into us.

[WapitiTalk1]

I like your thinking Shawn. You're moving on a pretty quick line, using the prevailing thermals at that time of day to your advantage, to get into position and see if you can bring a bull home for dinner. If the big guy dislodges quickly to an intruder (you), he's probably going to move to a position to get the scent of the upstart bull (and him moving slightly uphill to do this is always a plus... bulls seem to like being uphill, certainly when it's facilitated by scent reasons) . Any thoughts about "initially" giving some very soft cow sounds to pull that lonely satellite over your shooter, or, to get the big guy sounding off with some "get over here now" chuckles? Anybody else wish to chime in on this one? Good stuff.

[Swede]

It is going to take my long enough to get into position for the thermals to be consistent uphill. If I was calling, the shooter would carefully move in above the bedded elk. I would want him within 50 yards if vegetation and terrain permitted him to get that close. I would stay back and start with a cow call, then wait. I would expect the herd bull to try to call me in. I would cow call a bit more and see it the satellite came nosing around. Hopefully the shooter can get a shot at him. If after 15 minutes nothing has happened then I would cow call again, and if the bull tried again to call me in, I would give out a loud bugle with grunts and start thrashing a tree or something.

[Shawn Ryan]

I'm in Idaho, so the satellite probably gets a pass this early in the year and with a bigger bull nearby. I've eaten tags with that type thinking, so I can't say its wise. And my wife would roll her eyes at me!

I considered the light cow talk, and that might be the best move. Though, by 9/21, I think cow talk is not as useful on the bull who already has cows. Might be exactly what draws that satellite in though!

[cohunter]

If I get over to the location indicated by Shawn and receive no response from the elk, I'm backing out and waiting to sit the saddle in the later afternoon or evening. Judging by the terrain, I would not be surprised to see them come back out near the same path they went in. At any rate, I'd probably not just give up if I heard no response.

[Mike_Parson]

i think i might take a slightly different approach. i would travel a little bit further around the south side of the bedded elk and come around the side from the west and get above them. then split and try to get the caller to use cow sounds to maybe help the shooter sneak down to the bedded elk. or draw the bull up towards the top past the shooter with some bull sounds. with the afternoon winds traveling upward i think this is the best way to sneak in and not get busted by thermals as the elk are on the NE side of the slope and the thermals are not a concern from the west and then NW side of the slope.

[Tigger]

Mike,
why not go over the saddle? I like your thinking but was just wondering why the big loop. I admit it I sometimes don't loop around enough and tend to go right at elk in the name of quickness (unless the wind is bad obviously).

Man, I love these, it really makes a person realize there are so many ways to tackle these scenarios.

[Mike_Parson]

i would take the big loop to avoid any updraft that could occur by going right up from the wallow and over the top. if the elk are close to the top then the thermal might draw the scent up and over the top to them. by making a big loop it assures that any over the top thermal keeps my scent to the west of the herd as long as the thermals are playing true to nature.

at least that is how i think. lol

[Lefty]

I would like to know wh ere there are 10 foot tall huckleberries in SE Idaho