What would u do?
Contributors to this thread:Elk
From: Ranger rick
23-Sep-20
Called in a big 6x6 this am. Public land fair amount of pressure. Had him at 75 yds last night. Bugled all the way to 25yds. this am. No shot. Needed him to come up trail 5 more yds as it was thick . Solo hunting. What would u do?He bugled and racked trees answered most of my bugles. At 60 yds I went silent hoping he would ease up looking for the "cows" he heard. It almost worked. When they are under 50 yds, can u get them to come closer without getting busted? Excited and frustrated. What would u do?
From: Bigfoot
23-Sep-20
When hunting solo, I often move from where I called. Elk have the uncanny ability to pinpoint almost exactly where a call comes from. By moving forward, you give yourself a chance when they come in looking for where you were. I also try to call from a spot that they have to come close to look at. If they can see, from any distance, the spot where you called from and not see any other Elk, they tend to get nervous and hang up. Calling from heavy timber, over a ridge or rise, etc., has been a good strategy for me. In your scenario, moving forward also gives you a chance when they cautiously hang up. Not always possible, particularly when they are already close, but moving after calling, plus calling from areas where they can't see, have worked best for me.
From: stealthycat
23-Sep-20
when a bull bugles a ways away, I move - 10-20 yards ... I don't want him to know exactly where I am
had you been able to move 10 yards closer to him ... he'd have come to his buffer zone of 30 yards from where he thought the call was coming from and you'd have not been there but rather 10-20 yards closer to the bull
From: Glunt@work
23-Sep-20
Like above, bulls often basically know right where to expect to get eyes on the source of the calls. Common for them to hang up when they hit the spot where they figure they should get a visual.
Nice to be set up somewhere before that spot. But, they break the "rules" all the time. Sometimes in their favor, other times in ours.
From: wytex
23-Sep-20
Rake a tree. Saw for myself what that does to a hot bull. No other calling was used but raking and he came in on a string as they say. He was raking a tree when stalked up on but not bugling and had a good sized harem. Did not harvest him but I was very impressed with how he came in, nice sized 6 pt. His only bugle would have made you think a kid was blowing a carnival whistle. The raking brought an immediate response from about 75 yards to 8 yds. I was trying to get the spouse to stop raking when he was about 30 yds out but he kept at it and the bull came in to 8 yds right to the hunter. Just didn't quite work out for a good shot. His cows never spooked, just fed 125 yds away.
