Towards the end of the hunt hunting pressure was minimal and the bulls were getting very vocal. I had gotten within 30 yards of a 330ish bull and was waiting to get a clean shot when another bull bugled down the mountain. This bull went nuts and started tearing up a small tree. Both of them started bugling and the one bull came up the mountain at a run screaming all the way. It was pretty awesome!
My question is in a pressured area would it be better to avoid cow calls, use bugles or nothing at all?
What works in one area doesn't always work in another.
Hunt smart refers to watching the wind 100% of the time, do not allow elk to wind you! Do not call to elk that can see you or see no elk because of sparse cover where your calling is coming from. This can raise a Red Flag in their eyes especially in pressured areas. This is the # 1 issue hunters have problems with. They see elk so they call & when the elk don't come trotting their way they think something isn't right.
Calling smart stems from being confident in your calling. Have a good idea what sound represents what message to the elk you are trying to talk to. Call from good spots, call to locate. Once located hunt them smart! Get over to them in an effort to ambush or use a call to finish the deal but don't call your way to them in more open sage brush type country or the possibility of being busted raises dramatically!
Practice your calling a bunch before your hunt & be believable in your sounds!
ElkNut1
For me personally, I try to get a feel for what the elk are doing when I arrive in my hunting area, knowing that their mood will probably change if I am able to hunt long enough.
If the elk are bugling on their own, there is no need to call until you get very close, if you need to call at all. If they are not talking on their own, then some type of locator calls, I like to bugle, but a few cow calls, may work as well.
What I am trying to say is that there are a lot of ways to be a successful elk hunter. Become familiar with the various techniques and apply them at the appropriate time, that's half the fun.
You're getting some sound advice here (above) and I would add that the season dates vary in AZ from year-to-year...because the season always opens on a Friday for many game animals, elk among the rest. This year it's Friday the 9th of September. Not too bad, but later in the month is usually a bit better in terms of elk vocalization. So expect it to be somewhat quiet at the beginning of your hunt and more vocal toward the end. Thus the comment by Charlie Rehor to hunt the entire season if your schedule can afford the time off from work, etc.
Secondly, I would recommend you also consider some treestand hunting on some of the evenings over water. There are many tanks (small water ponds) in both of the units you may have drawn, and some will have stands of pine and oak close enough to the shoreline to have a close range shot at bulls coming to water late in the evening.
If your goal is to take your bull from the ground while calling, then I realize this suggestion will not be welcome. But if your goal is to kill a bull elk and gain valuable experience while seeing lots of animals, then consider ground hunting while calling in the mornings...then do some treestand hunting over water in the afternoon/evenings. The days are really long in September and the nights are short. It can be an exhausting schedule to keep up, day after day, and the evening treestand hunting would also give your body a chance to recover physically a bit from the miles of hiking you will certainly be doing each morning pursuing bulls on the ground. Archery only, AZ bull elk tags can be hard to come by...especially for a non-resident (took me 9 years to draw my AZ bull elk tag)...so I'd highly recommend trying everything you know how to do...to increase your odds of success.
If you do decide to try some treestand hunting, also be sure to setup with the wind in your favor and play the thermals for the late evening when the temps will drop rapidly and draw your scent down the drainage from your stand and away from the tank the elk would be using to drink.
Hope some of this info helps, and I wish you the best of luck on your hunt!
Thanks again. It's all appreciated.
