But satellite bulls are fairly easy to call in, even with lots of hunting pressure, so long as you don't sound like every other guy in the woods who sits on a log and rhythmically calls with the same cow call over and over.
I do much more herd sounds, creating the illusion that a small herd has moved into the area, and the bull finally can't stand it and has to come look. Usually takes 20-30 minutes for them to make up their minds and sneak in, almost always silently.
Last year I called-in 14 bulls that way in a heavily hunted unit. All but one came in silently. The biggest one made one little whine about 70 yards away in the timber, and he was a big herd bull called in early, before he got cows. Just a little too far for my recurve when he hung up.
As Lou points out, it's much easier to call in smaller bulls than herd bulls, but you can also get lucky with the big guys. My biggest bull had 20-25 cows with him. I just kept pestering him for an hour and a half until he finally got pi$$ed enough to come over to kick my behind.
Calling early in the season can also pay off, but you MUST be patient. Most, if not all, will come in silent...you won't have a clue they're there, until they're there. One afternoon I had three bulls come in to investigate, and not one of them made a peep.
Once in a while, I'll hit a locator bugle early in the morning, but I do that very seldom. More times than not, the only thing you'll do is draw in other hunters. I use mainly mews as I'm going through the timber, and bugle only if I think it's necessary. Once I get a bull in close, if I need to bugle I will. I figure even if it draws someone else in, I'm close enough to seal the deal before they stumble in and screw things up. I'll always try to get as tight to the bull as I dare, before I make a sound. I don't want him to know I even exist until I'm close enough to make him make a decision...either come check me out, or head to parts unknown. Sometimes you win, most times you lose. Just keep plugging along till you find the one that wants to play.
I've also hunted exclusively out of a treestand in the evenings for a dozen years or so, due to the squirrely afternoon/evening winds in the area I hunt. Again, using mews almost exclusively, I've called in and killed a half-dozen bulls out of the same tree.
I know Bigdan will think I'm being sacrilegious, but mews have been the demise of many an elk!
Fact is, in hard hunted areas, the number of mature herd bulls is mighty small. Fact is, most don't live long enough to grow to the size we all dream about.
Back when I was happy to kill any bull, my success rate was 100%. Now that I've gotten a little picky, my success rate has taken a hit. Unless one has killed lots of elk, one would be making a big mistake passing up any legal bull.
Sounds a lot like fishing in heavy fished trophy waters where the giant trout are seen but rarely hooked because they have seen everything.
Once in a while someone gets lucky...
Rob, being picky can teach us a lot about hunting elk, but sometimes when we get down to the wire the freezer ends up empty. After passing up many last year and then having my setups go haywire during the last couple days, I'm going to be much less discriminating this season!
Lou, you and I are on the same page! I'm running low on sausage meat, so this year, if he's close to a road, he's in trouble...regardless of size! lol! Best of luck to you, my friend!
Otherwise the bulls running the herds ranged from 230-270, mostly. But we both hunt in fairly heavily hunted areas not far from each other, except in different states.
Most of the bulls I've called in on the ground I've been very close to before I called them in.
I always hear the guys out squawking, moving from ridge to ridge. And the elk's reaction is total silence.
You've got to realize, it's not just elk you might be calling in if it's a crowded unit.
Best of Luck, Jeff
As Jeff alludes to, I always use the least aggressive call (mew), then amp it up to a small bull squeal, then all-out bugle, tree raking , grunting, etc, if I have to. I'll let the bull decide what I need to do next. I'll ALWAYS use the least aggressive calling first. I don't want to blow him out if he's the least bit tentative, which is the rule, rather than the exception, in a hard hunted area.
Solo, the bulk of my bulls have either been lightly called to with a Deke or sneak....
