I was down on a utah limited entry unit doing some scouting last week (Aug. 9th-11th) and seen over 300 head of elk, some nice opening day shooters. The only elk I heard talking were in large herds (around 100 or so).
There was a large herd that moved by my dad and I, from their feeding grounds to their bedding grounds at around 8:00 am. We heard them comming and got into position to watch the train come through. It was a sight I'll never forget! Elk after elk kept filtering through the trees, the majority were mewing, chirping and yes, bugling. Only one 5 point in the herd was hard horned. Tons of spikes, cows and rag horns. There was a monster in there that we did not see but could tell he was big by the sound of his bugle. He was actually down in the bedding area and was calling to the herd as they came through. They talked for a good 45 minutes and once in their bedding area, they went silent. I have never herd them talk like that this early, especially in velvet! It was for sure a treat I'll never forget.
