Bowsite.com

"How do you close the distance?"

A little background info.

I mainly hunt the Missouri Breaks here in Montana. Open country, often times . . . steep Breaks/Draws, some areas of ponderosa pine and cedar "thickets" see picture). In my opinion (IMO), there is a fair amount of hunting pressure during most of the archery season. I don't bugle and seldom cow call. In the past, I have bugled on to get no real reaction or to have them move off (I guess it could be I am not a good "caller"). IMO, I think the elk are pretty educated and when calling the bulls and/or cows want to see the elk doing the calling.

It seems to me (over the years) that "bird dogging" or "shadowing" the herd or bull works best. I am able to get within 100 - 200 yards, but getting within bow range (say 50 yards or less) is the challenge. How do you close the distance? Reading what Dan said (in the other thread), "move at a snail's pace". I guess I have to better at "gauging/reading the mood of the bull or the herd" on whether to move in or be patient.

Any other good adivse about closing the distance?

Thanks.

Show them what they want to see!

PM me for Bowsite Discounts

Best of Luck, Jeff (Bowsite Sponsor)

what is the attitude of the herd. are they calm and feeding and moving or is the bull tending the herd with lots of chaos?

get up and stay to the side if they are on the move while feeding. you will rarely get a shot if you continued to shadow behind the direction they are headed. constantly test thermals and always keep track of them, and move accordingly. move in, move back, circle ahead etc. if you are up to the side of them and know which lane they will move through find a shooting lane and wait. don't hide behind bushes that will prevent a shot. Big tree trunks are ok as you can draw behind them then step to the side and shoot.

Its the ultimate cat and mouse game. and 9 of ten times the elk will win. But it still is a lot of fun.

good luck!

At that point, you either picked a good spot or you didn't. If I picked the wrong spot I don't try to get any closer unless a really good opportunity presents itself. Otherwise I stay put, wait until the elk leave then run to get back in front of the herd to setup up again. Basically, classic herd dogging. The elk will stay pretty predictable as long as you don't spook them. If you do spook them it is most likely game over.

Like Ermine said, you would be amazed how much noise you can get away with as long as the wind is in your favor.

I think one of the hardest parts for some bowhunters to accept is, you don't always get the shot. You might have the bull of a lifetime at 20 yards for an hour and never get a good shot. That's okay. Its part of the charm of bowhunting. As a good friend of mine once said,"Going hunting with a bow is a pretty good excuse for coming home empty handed."

Of course if you don't know how to hunt you can always use tradmt's technique.

ALWAYS obey the wind. If it switches, you have to back off and go around the herd then do it.

Another big thing is stay on em. If you put em to bed. Come back in the dark and you will be amazed how many times the game starts right back up.

I put 15 days on a big bull around West Yellowstone. I took naps within 100 yards of herd many times. That big bull is still out there.

Blistered Hooves makes a good point. This is why it helps to know your hunting area.

One example comes to mind: In the spot I hunt there are about one or two square miles of very old illuvial fan, I think that is what it is called. It is all dark timber now, but if it got logged, the ground would look like very rough ocean waves. This has been a great spot for us. It is a prime ambush spot. If we think the elk are headed there, we skip other setups and get to that spot.

One thing to keep in mind-Repeatedly bumping a herd is NOT dogging a herd. If you are doing it right, the herd will never know you are there.

This scenario is probably the toughest there is and I know for a fact my strategies do not come close to working all the time...

One thing to consider, there are other ways to get a shot at that bull.... you don't always have to call the herd bull to get him to come by you. If you can get the cows coming your way- the herd bull will follow.

consider my hunt last year; big bull with about 15 cows on a wide open hillside. I was trying to get closer in the dark but stumbling through steep burned timber didn't work too good without a light- the elk knew I was there.

I did my super secret calling routine sitting next to my Deke...and though the elk were moving out...I hooked a spike in the herd, he ran in front of the herd and sucked them right past me- dead 7x8...all due to a stupid spike

AWESOME BULL!