Elk Tactics 101 - Episode #7

[WapitiTalk1]

Date/Time: 14 September/5:30 PM
Location: Somewhere in the elk woods
Hunt Pressure Status: Minimal
Tag: Archery season; branched bull only

Man, it happens fast sometimes! You've chosen to hunt from your pre-established tree stand this fine Elktember afternoon/evening. This is a narrow saddle that sets between two major draws and possesses well used, intersecting trails on it (trails crossing the saddle between the draws, and, running up and down the ridge). It's a nice area to sit as elk use this saddle quite often to move back and forth between the two major draws. Your stand is 20' up the tree, just off the saddle (about 25 yards straight line to the tree from the bull, and, to the bull's 2 to 3 o'clock). You've heard a few bugles coming from both draws for the past 1/2 hour but you have been quiet (no calls) since you climbed up in your stand at 4:45 PM. At 5:30 you decide to just let out a few soft cow calls. You hear and see immediate movement from up the ridge to your right and within seconds, this beast rumbles down the trail shown in red and slows to check ground scent where he is now. He is walking very slow with his snout to the ground, quartering to his left. Within seconds of the bull appearing, you hear a smaller sounding bugle coming directly behind you down on the draw side hill (the second bull may be coming in to your cow calls). Your move. What do you do now? If shooting at the visible bull, show us where.

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.

[Swede]

Elk%20-%20TS%20Scenario.jpg (175.65 KiB) Viewed 4360 times

I am shooting him where he stands. Forget the bull in the brush. I know the shot placement looks high, but being 20 feet up a tree means the arrow will be going downward. The picture is not a great representation of what you see from a stand, so I compensated a little. It does not matter that he is quartering too me a little. I can still cut plenty of blood vessels to shorten his life to history in a hurry.

[ishy]

I'm holding for a little better angle...with the other bull sounding off it will hopefully distract this one and keep him preoccupied and close while I get that perfect shot, and hopefully those dang antlers move farther out of the way in the process.

[DBLGBL]

One in the hand is always better than two in the bush. I'm shooting a tad higher and a tad further back.

2gbl

[huntnfolk]

I know the picture shows the bull quartering to us from our position in front of the screen. However, based on Phantom's description and the the yellow pointing back and to the right, I think the bull is actually quartering away from the shooter. And at a 2-3 o'clock position that looks like it would be a very hard quartering away. Good news though. Phantom said he is quartering to his left as he is walking and scent checking. With that bull bugling behind me it gives me a chance to give a whiny cow mew. Sequence would be to draw my bow, give that cow call and wait for the bull to turn to his left to either give me a decent quartering away shot or maybe even a broadside shot.

I wouldn't wait to see what the other bull is. Have a nice bull in front of me, and the second bull is coming from behind me and will probably catch my wind before I see him anyway.

[lamrith]

Yeah this one I think is more of a challenge getting your head around where you are as a hunter than it is about if take the shot or where to put it. Many are so used to Phantoms ground based scenarios that we go on autopilot with the hunter location indicators.

This is what I am taking from the set-up, Phantom correct me if I have the scene wrong...
In this one his yellow arrow is a Vertical axis reference, not a horizontal one like normal. He says in his post we are 2-3:00 to the bull from the given perspective so perfect broadside to slightly quartering away shot right into the boiler room. From the BULL'S point of view we are at HIS (8-9:00) as we are on his left side. Then 25yrds away and 20ftup, the Yellow arrow shows is shot vertical angle.

I threw together add a horizontal shot angle on the ground under the bull to try and help in the attached image.

[lamrith]

So we are in the stand, bulls screaming and this chuklehead comes running in and slows to get a scent. Leg forward (though not important on near side given angle). If he comes to a stop at all, I am taking the shot and never giving a single sound. Bull in the freezer over bull in the bush any day.

He does not have any reason for alarm yet, ear is back but he is not focused on your location, no reason to make a call to make him spin both eyes and ears your way and have him jittery before you take the shot. Total surprise shot and sound so he does not see your movement or even have a great indication of anything amiss or where you are before your arrows hits its mark.

Put a combination of lines here to try and show where/why on placement for me. Blue is ground axis, yellow vertical. My goal here is to hit both lungs at minimum, and top of heart if possible, then with a low far side exit wound for good blood trail if I get passthru. Worst case I may hit far leg bones and not get passthru, but then I tear up that leg and the arrow is still in there doing work as the bull runs off, making him drop quickly. Time to Call phantom so we can get those backstraps back to camp and on the fire!

[Swede]

RJ: I think we need your help to understand the shot situation. I thought I was seeing the bull shown pretty much as is, except to compensate for the 20 foot height, I had put the angle equal to what the shot indicator arrow shows. I set my dot to match the angle, but left everything else as is shown.

[ishy]

I thought ts hunter meant that Swede was in that tree behind that yellow arrow! I better be shooting.

[WapitiTalk1]

Elk can't tell time and don't know what an o'clock is :0. The 2 to 3 o'clock I meant is from the Bulls position, not from his perspective . TS Hunter is up to the right of the bull as shown with the yellow arrow. You're shooting (if shooting) down at the quartering, left side of this critter. Swede, Lamrith you're both tracking with what I was trying to depict.

[Swede]

Elk can't tell time and don't know what an o'clock is :0.

That may be true, but the elk in the area I hunt sure seem to know the hunting regulations and the calendar. I say that because of how punctual they are at jumping the fence onto the ranch the evening before hunting season opens. My wife and I watched as about 150 did that a few years ago. They sure seem to understand a "No Trespassing" sign and its implications too.

[lamrith]

Elk can't tell time and don't know what an o'clock is :0.

That may be true, but the elk in the area I hunt sure seem to know the hunting regulations and the calendar. I say that because of how punctual they are at jumping the fence onto the ranch the evening before hunting season opens. My wife and I watched as about 150 did that a few years ago. They sure seem to understand a "No Trespassing" sign and its implications too.

Ok yah cheeky bugger. I'm with Swede on this one..

I think they and deer know the exact date and time. No other way how to explain when they come out 5min after legal light and vanish the night before the season starts. Just like they know exactly where you need to put an arrow and conveniently hide said area behind bushes and trees.

Thanks for the confirmation on shooter location though, I never was good at reading comprehension in school so I could have thought we were shooting from straight in front of the bull..