This tactic is very aggressive & works awesome on those herded up bulls with a hot cow present! You'll know there's a hot cow present with multiple bulls bugling at a close distance from one another. So many times we hear & read that it's nearly impossible to pull a herd bull from his cows, it is if you have little experience & little success to date! This is a Right Time Right Bull Situation. Using this tactic on a herd bull with no hot cows is not nearly as effective, I use a different strategy on those bulls to raise my odds of success!
In this Tactic, for best results it takes 2 hunters & even 3 can be utilized if practiced beforehand so all are on the same page. I love this tactic & it's one of my all time favorites! It's so simple you'll wonder why you haven't tried it before!
When faced with multiple bulls bugling within a close proximity, listen closely & you will be able to pick out the more mature bull. (Herd Bull) Since our target here is the herd bull here's a plan that has worked for years. We move towards the buglers no matter the distance, we are heading to what we believe is the herd bull, he will be the defensive one. We have chosen who will be our Bugler & who's the cow caller/shooter. As we get to a destination aprox 150 yards we wait to hear the herd bull bugle, when he does we cow call to him, if satellites answer first or at anytime of this sequence we do not respond to them, the cow caller only responds to the herd bull, this generally excites him & keeps him encouraging the cow to come to him. This is important because this Herd Bull will not leave his cows very far to hook up another cow & leave his hot cow unattended.
The herd bull will generally start with a Round Up Bugle as he urgently calls this cow his way before the Satellites get over to her, the cow caller/shooter continues to answer the herd bull with excited rapid mews as he heads straight to the bull with cover & wind. The hunter who is the bugler waits for his shooter to get 50 to 70 yards away; he stays put & now fires off his own Round Up Bugle to call his cow back as she leaves him for this other bull. Your caller quickly gets enraged as the Herd Bull continues to coax this new cow to himself, he now will Lip Bawl (your caller) as he Demands her to get back, of course the shooter who is cow calling & heading straight to the real bull continues forward creating more distance from his caller. (100 yards+) This gives the Herd Bull the confidence that she is coming & it doesn't matter how much noise or commotion the shooter makes as he heads straight toward the bulls bugles & chuckles.
It's up to the shooter to choose his best approach as he monitors the wind & watch for other elk on his way in. If at anytime the shooter gets a wrench thrown into the mix such as accidentally busting into unseen cows until it's too late he needs to be ready to bugle to call those cows back, this can infuriate the real bull & come racing towards you. This tactic will keep you on your toes. We've taken several nice bulls with this tactic & even doubled up on bulls on occasion.
This tactic will work anywhere there's cover & the wind is cooperating. This tactic is employed where thick ground cover does not allow a silent stealthy approach on those bugling bulls.
ElkNut/Paul
ElkNut/Paul
