I strictly use my bugle to locate the bulls and then move in on them if you can. If you move in closer, you might be able to bugle back a couple of times to keep up the interest, but most of the time I would go with a cow call and try and pull the bull from his herd. Watch out for them satellite bulls though, they can ruin a good thing really quick. Can never go wrong with the cow call. As far as calling late in the season, definitely, leave that bugle home and break out all the cow calls. I use three different types of cow calls, but prefer the diaphram call the best, especially to stop the elk for the shot. Hope that helps out a bit.