Still not a peep

FamousAddiction · Sep 13, 2009

I've been hitting many areas and have been on elk almost everyday, just can't close the distance in that thick nasty stuff. I have hunted about 7 days now and have not heard one bugle. Yesterday morning I decided to get out real early (4:00 am) get to my area and just sit and listen, well I heard nothing. Once it got light enough I turned to my right and seen 4 elk skylined about 150 yds away. Wind as perfect so I stayed put to see where they were headed. A couple minutes passed and I seen the big boy step out from behind a pine, real nice 6x6. I got between them and the timber they were headed for and had 3 of the cows within 80 yds but no shot, so I backed out to get further ahead of them. I setup about 150 yds in the timber waiting and waiting and finally caught a glimpse of them 90-100 yds in the timber, 4 cows and the bull. So there I was again trying to cut them off, got setup again and this time decided to hit a couple soft cow calls. They worked their way about 75 yds in front of me, cow called again, the bull stopped for a quick secnd or two, then just put his head down and kept feeding. Long story short, I backed out not wanting to push the issue. Just wanted to see if anyone else is having the same problems, the elk I'm hunting are just not talking yet. I'm hunting at about 10,000 ft, do you think it is still early, are they still in pre-rut? Just wondering if anyone else has been on elk without hearing a word. I just hope it picks up, I will give it my all the last 10 days of season. Good Luck to all who haven't filled tags.

JACOB2006 · Sep 13, 2009

Don't like the sound of that been hunting every tues and wend still have not heard a peep either I have to say you rained on my parade am really hoping this is the week

FamousAddiction · Sep 14, 2009

Didn't mean to rain on your parade buddy. Last year I was going through the same thing, but it picked up around the 15th of Sept. It did however blow a dusting of snow last year around that time. Well here is to it picking up, good luck to everyone.

hoopscoach · Sep 14, 2009

I'm having exactly the same experience. We have been into elk almost everyday but they are not talking at all and not responding to calls. I had a cow start to break away from a herd in some aspens one day after making some very pathetice lost calf calls but the bull headed her off and she rejoined the herd. Next weekend is the last I can hunt. Hopefully, things will get going soon.

SoleSearcher34 · Sep 14, 2009

Hunted OTC unit on the west slope sat/sun the 12 & 13th. We were only about 8500 feet in elevation. Plenty of fresh tracks so we knew there were bulls in the area. Got up there about an hour before first light to listen for any bugling but didn't hear a peep. Once it got light out we walked up the road about 1/4mile to a small pond just off the road. Checked the pond bank and found a muddy bull track coming out of the pond that couldn't have been more than a couple hours old so I decided to blind call from right there. I sent my buddy who was designated shooter just down the trail the bull tracks went down and about 20 yards below the trail and then proceeded to do some very aggressive cow calling as loud as I could. I called non-stop for about 10 minutes and low & behold a decent 5 point bull comes sneaking in silent just below my buddy. He was able to draw on the bull and had him at just under ten yards but needed him to take one short step to clear a chunk of brush when my 9yr old son decided he needed to stand up and spook the bull. The wind was brutal out of the southwest all weekend. After that blown setup we walked about a half mile and were seeing some fresh sign as we entered some timber. I decided to set-up and blind call again. After maybe 10 minutes again a bull bugled about 100 yards below us. This was the first bugle I have heard all year. Unfortunately he was coming hard into a bad wind and we had no chance to reposition and he crossed with two cows about 80 yards below us and got around in our wind. After that we went about another hundred yards or so thru the timber and to the edge of a small canyon. I proceeded to blind cow call aggressively off the edge. I decided to send my buddy back behind to cover the back door and before he could get 20 yards we heard a heavy bugle right on our back doorstep. Mark got to see him briefly at about 60 yards just as he winded us. Man that wind was tough. We ended up pulling out and checking a couple other spots before coming back into that area for the evening. We set up on an adjacent rim to the hill where the last two bulls had come in from and started blind cow-calling aggressively into the gale force wind praying that something would be able to hear us in all that noise. After calling incessantly for about 20 minutes we heard a bugle from the bottom of the canyon about 400 yards below us. Within 5 minutes the bull was 16 yards broadside from mark and he took the shot. Unfortunately in an effort to clear a branch on a down tree he hit the bull really high. There was some blood within 20yards of where the shot was made, but being within an hour of dark on a marginal shot we decided to back quietly out and come back in the morning. The bull lost maybe a pint of blood and never bedded, just went back down through the canyon and headed up-country. We managed to stay on his track for about 1500 yards or so with only a small drop of blood maybe every 30 yards for the last 400 yards and then it dried up alltogether and we were dry tracking on hands and knees. This didn't last long as the bull walked into an area that had a ton of fresh track in it and we lost his track completely. The four of us spread out and searched a grid for the next 4 hours to no avail. Man I hate losing one. No sign of bubbles in the blood so I am hoping it was just in the void above the lungs. If he dies we will likely find him under the buzzards next weekend. On a good note however, while waiting for it to get light enough to start tracking the bull we did hear one bull bugle strongly twice on his own up the ridge from us. That was the first bull I have heard bugle on his own all season. I think they will really fire up with the coming new moon friday....I hope. Sorry for the long post.

FamousAddiction · Sep 15, 2009

I agree, this new moon will help....hopefully

Hondoarcher · Sep 16, 2009

Nice post. Very enjoyable reading. I was hanging on every word. Sounds like they are starting to get vocal. I was up hunting the week before the muzzle opener and all was quite and the big bulls were still on thier own. Should be great this weekend. I just wish I had the whole week to spend.

Thanks again, Hondoarcher

COBOHNTR09 · Sep 17, 2009

Same results for me Famous. I just got back from 4 days in the hills and did not hear a thing. There were so many fresh rubs and droppings that there was no chance I wasn't going to run into them.. No luck! I tried everything I knew and still nothing. I went from 9,500 up to 11,500 in elev. and seen great sign at both but just couldn't locate them?? It's like they just vanished at first light.

FamousAddiction · Sep 17, 2009

Well I have a couple friends that outfitt near the area I hunt and last night he said they were on some nice bulls that were screaming pretty good. One buddy told me he has three guys from back east, never hunted elk, let alone with a bow (have to learn sometime). He said he got 1 guy setup within 150 yds of a nice bull, he setup about 100 yds behind him and started calling. My buddy said after 15 minutes, his client gets up and starts walking back to where he was. My buddy asked him, "WTF are you doing, the bull is coming in" His client replied, "It's taking to long, the bull wasn't going to come in" Being the smartarse my buddy is, he sat there for another 5 minutes calling and there he was, nice 6x6 bull standing 8 yds from where he had his hunter setup!! All I can do is laugh at this point, but hey at least they are starting to talk a little, now I just have to get on some that are hopefully doing the same. I have 6 more hours here at work, then I'm off to hunt the last 10 days of the season. Hopefully I'll have some pics to post or a great story. Good luck to the rest of you, I'll let you know how it turned out.

hobbes · Sep 17, 2009

Same results here. I heard more bugling before season started than I've heard while hunting.

www.newcobowhunter.blogspot.com

Julian · Sep 18, 2009

I live down here at 6500 and the bulls are screaming every day i here one or two getting after it.

COarcher · Sep 20, 2009

Bulls have been keeping my stepdad and brother up all night for the past week. Sounds like the bulls are screaming at night and as soon as the hunting starts and people start bulging along the roads the bulls shut up.

fishinghunter14 · Sep 20, 2009

had a couple hunters cow call 2 in on thursday. had a couple bulls buglin to them and then got back to my work and had 2 bulls on either side of the gulches bugling back and forth at around 830. there really startin to open up though from what ive heard and noticed

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