What would you do?

[olympushunt]

I'm curious to hear what y'all might do/try for this situation. My hunting buddy and I tried and failed and I wish we had the situation over again to try what I think we might should have. Obviously we will never know if trying something else would have worked but that is elk hunting right? So here ya go....let me know what you would have tried.
It's early in the archery elk season....late August. It is Thursday of the opening week in the evening time when the winds are predictably going down hill. You and your buddy are walking an old skid road to head up to some clear cuts. You hope to find elk coming out to feed into them for the evening. You guys are minding your own business when you come around a corner in the old road deck and eeeeeeerrrrrrrch! Elk! You see half a dozen cows up ahead. They are feeding and oblivious to your presence. Sweeeeet. They are up hill from you in the bottom of a clear cut only 150 yards away! You get down and scan around and see a shooter bull is with them and just inside the timber's edge. He is feeding too, head down and not aware of your presence either. This is no big bull but he is legal. It is a small 4 to 5 point. It is difficult to tell exactly because of the timber but he is for sure legal. It is 3 pt or better in this unit, no cows are legal. Since it is early in the season their interest in calling is only so so. A few days prior, in a similar situation you had another small bull leave some cows he was around and come to your cow call only to seemingly lose interest and wander off. You also know these elk have been tooted at some as this is an OTC unit with decent hunting pressure. Another thing you know is there is a whopper bull around somewhere. You have not had the pleasure of seeing him but you have seen rubs that make your knees weak.
You have been talking with felllow hunters who have been bringing in eager bulls in this age class with cow calls and passing on them in hopes of a big bull. Wanting to put some meat in the freezer you see this bull up ahead of you will taste just fine. Looking around you see putting on a stalk might work but in the last 70 or so yards the old road deck cuts under them and would leave you with no cover. If you hustled and were able to cut across it when they were not looking you would be golden. They you would be in shooting range. You could try cow calling and bringing him down to you. This is ideal as they tend to be more eager coming down to you rather than pulling him up hill to you. You have great cover where you are at now and a cow call with you that on opening day sucked a spike in that you almost could touch. These elk seem to be feeding at a good clip too and if you wait or stalk you might risk them moving out. They are moving and grazing so if you decided to cut around and "head them off" it would just be a guess as to where they are going to be in 30 mins. So what's the plan? The two best options seemed at the time to let one guy slip in and see if he can't close the distance staying dead silent. The other is to leave your buddy right there directly down from them and back down further to cow call sucking him right down into your buddies lap. What will it be??????? After some replies I will let you know what we tried and what happened.

[WapitiTalk1]

You've spotted em, now stalk em! This early in the season, you're "probably" not gonna pull the youngster (bull) off the cows unless you're right on top of them. There were probably no cows in the group hitting their first estrus cycle (very early in the rut cycle) so the coveting/excitement/combative levels of the little bull are not close to peaking yet. Not sure what you decided but I probably would have dumped over the bank, worked my way to a point below the feeding group, and spread out myself and buddy and either lay in wait for a possible shot opportunity as the group fed in our direction, or, if the terrain/cover allow, move up towards the group (probably just one of the hunters if crawling in). You may or may not need a nervous/popping grunt to stop the little bull for a shot.

[Swede]

I don't know what you did; but I probably would have one of you back off and call while the other set up for an ambush. If they don't respond to the calling, nothing lost. Go with RJ's suggestion.

[Tigger]

I think I would sneak to the last 70 yards and then do some light cow calling.

[six]

I always try to get as close as possible with a stalk early season. I have called to bulls 75 yards away that were feeding in the opposite direction and out of nowhere got busted by a cow. You can always call if you can't get any closer, but pretty hard to stalk after you start calling.

I'm definitely no expert tho.

[Trumkin the Dwarf]

Draw straws for the shot, then both stalk forward, with shooter 30 yards in front. The caller shouldn't make any noise until it is apparent that the last 70 yards aren't stalkable. If the shooter runs out of cover, and can't close the gap, then the caller can try to pull the bull in, while still in the thicker cover.

[Swede]

I may have read too much into this situation, but Oly and friend must have been exposed where they were. They could plainly see the elk and they crouched down to avoid being seen. In that situation Oly said they could slip in to within about 70 yards. Calling from a location where the elk can see your location, and determine that there is no real elk there is a sure loser. If the shooter can move into 70 yards, by all means do so. Still don't call from an exposed position. If you can find good cover close by, then go there, but understand, the bull will try to look for you by walking back and forth. If he sees nothing and knows he should, the game is over.

[stringunner]

You said that calling has worked already on a few other Bulls. You have also said the elk are in plain sight. I would move off the road and try and get in front and as close as possible in cover and call.

[Lefty]

,... worked my way to a point below the feeding group, and spread out myself and buddy and either lay in wait for a possible shot opportunity,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.

I made an appropriate adjustment to to the quote!!

"A good elk hunter hunts where the elk are. A great elk hunter hunts where the elk are going to be"
Wayne Gretzky

[olympushunt]

Of all the replies I think RJ's idea is the one I wish we had tried. Swede was right in that when we came around the corner we were somewhat exposed going up to them. There was pretty good cover to be used between us until the last part where there was a VERY open stretch of the road deck area to cross with NO cover. Then once you got over the road you had adequate cover again. That concerned us being in the open for even the 20 seconds to scoot across. That many animals....one sure would be looking that direction. It was a tough call and not much time to make it as it looked as they would feed up hill covering ground pretty quickly. Who knows where they would feed out into that open cut. It would be pure luck guessing and trying to ambush....but it probably was the best bet. We chose to put my buddy up front just at that corner and out of view behind some small firs. He was hidden perfectly. I backed away and below my buddy. It looked perfect and I anticipated the bull acting like the bull we had coming the other day. I also had been hearing about some eager to play bulls in that area so I hoped this would draw him in. All set......I let out the cow call. I was laying down behind a log and could see just enough of them. I know for sure they didn't see either of us. Those cows all picked up their heads and looked down towards us scanning to see and immediately that bull bugles. Bingo! We are in business! Wrong. Those cows snapped to in perfect order and marched right to him and he gathered them up and headed OUT. UGH!!!! What the hail?! So....what happened? Did I stink or what?! Something I said? lol. I am wondering if that bull figured he had the better end of mother nature in that moment and had no interest in the cow that was down the draw because she and her friends had a boyfriend named Ike. Ike is the biggest dang bull in the woods and makes little 5 points his favorite Thursday night girlfriend. lol I dunno. I am speculating of course. But I sleep better thinking that rather than my cow call said GET OUT!!!!! THEY ARE TRYING TO KILL YOU! lol But like I said...I wish I had tried RJs idea. We had discussed it. Often times I preach the best smell in the woods is NO smell, the best noise in the woods is NO noise. We can get caught up in cover scents and calls and often times it is better not to. All you do is give them one of their senses to work with. Thoughts???

[Swede]

Oly, is it likely that after you called, the cows looked your way and concluded something was wrong since they saw no elk? I have had elk herds and singles leave when they could not see me and they knew exactly where the sound came from. One of the things I learned from Elknut is, it is critical that the elk is in shooting range before they see your calling location. Obviously having a shooter well out front helps. We have erred at times by being too close to each other in open country.

[Tigger]

" One of the things I learned from Elknut is, it is critical that the elk is in shooting range before they see your calling location."

Swede, that is a great point and right now, on October 26th, I am trying like heck to drill that into my head. However, I really worry that next September I am going to have to learn that the hard way. Can you send me a private message about the 10th of Sept reminding me to not make that mistake????

[olympushunt]

Oly, is it likely that after you called, the cows looked your way and concluded something was wrong since they saw no elk? I have had elk herds and singles leave when they could not see me and they knew exactly where the sound came from. One of the things I learned from Elknut is, it is critical that the elk is in shooting range before they see your calling location. Obviously having a shooter well out front helps. We have erred at times by being too close to each other in open country.

Positive. I've seen that where they get uncomfortable when looking for something that isn't there....that should be. I backed away to heavy cover and just below the lip on a knoll. The cows didn't pick up and leave, that bull got them going. The bull, a second after that cow call, reacted. There was no looking and getting uncomfortable...it was "I'm going." I think there is only two things that caused him to call his cows and leave ASAP. One he thought there was another bull coming....or two, he had been called recently by another hunter and knew that was not something he wanted part of either.

[Swede]

Swede, that is a great point and right now, on October 26th, I am trying like heck to drill that into my head. However, I really worry that next September I am going to have to learn that the hard way. Can you send me a private message about the 10th of Sept reminding me to not make that mistake????

I don't know why, but this is always easier to preach than to practice. If there were no hang ups by skeptical bull elk, I doubt I would have ever discovered tree stand hunting.

[Dr. Rx]

I would get on their level..just climb up straight, get on their level and work towards them, otherwise, go down hill fast and work your way up to their level fromt the otherside..
... once in range, less than 75 yards and ALREADY SET UP FOR THE SHOOTER, then call...he will come right in...


Kris