SURE IS QUIET

[JACOB2006]

HUNTED 3 DAYS NOT A PEEP.

 

[bucksmut]

Headed out tonight for the weekend. What part of the state are you hunting? Curious to see what to expect! Thanks

 

[bldrbuck]

More details please. Calling agressively, raking trees, rattling? Lost cow calls, hyper eustrus calls, lost calf calls? Did you locate bugle at night or were you out at night to hear if there were any active bulls. Wallows?
Thanks--going out this weekend and I too am interested is where you were (generally) and what was going on. I'm headed up Steamboat way....

 

[jbatz14]

I was out this past weekend and the elk were quiet all day until about 10 minutes before dark. Then 4 of them started bugling back and forth for about half an hour. It was quiet the rest of the night and next morning. I cow called once and a bull came in to maybe 100yds but it was too dark to even see him. Just heard him thrashing some bushes and bugling.

 

[JACOB2006]

I WAS IN THE SOUTH PART OF THE STATE I FOUND NO RUTTING ACTIVITY AT ALL NO ONE RUB NO WALLOWS NO BUGLES NOTHING AND YES I WAS OUT ABOUT 45 MIN AFTER DARK AND UP AT 430 THE ELK I SAW COWS STILL TOGETHER AND ALL THE BULLS WHERE SPIKES NOWHERE TO GO BUT UP HOPE ITS JUST EARLY MAYBE ALL THE RAIN WILL START THEM THIS WEEKEND

 

[bldrbuck]

thanks for the info--hopefully the change in weather does fire them up. Just curious, what altitude were you hunting at?

 

[jcmuleys]

I went out last night for the first time hunting elk and was out 20 min and had bulls bugling at 5:30 and they were really going off later.
JC
Colorado Hunting Consultants LLC
www.cohunthelp.com

 

[bldrbuck]

what part of the state and what elevation?

 

[COBOHNTR09]

Here's the guy I seen!! Too bad he was right off the highway on Private Land.

 

[jbatz14]

Northern part 11,000 ft.

 

[hookncook]

I have been hunting on the grand mesa and haven't heard a peep either. about 9500 feet. Hunted for 5 days and have only seen 2 does.

 

[JACOB2006]

Just got back again same story quiet and i see them every day I just don't get it

 

[BeanMan]

1. It's still very early in the season. They won't really get going until the final week of the season in most OTC units.

2. So many people are calling these days that Bulls have become bugle shy, they just don't talk like they used to 20 years ago.

I had a dog next door that was a barker while I was going to College. After a couple of weeks of being sniped at with my BB gun from the attic window he learned where he could bark safely and when. Elk aren't any different in that respect. I'd like to see archery become a draw only hunt in Colorado.

Bean

 

[hookncook]

That would mean I would have to burn my points just for a normal draw area.

 

[BeanMan]

Yup,

It would. I'm not talking drastic reductions in the number of licenses, just something that would return archery hunting back to the way it had been 20 years ago and still is in limited draw areas. To me that would be worth not archery hunting every year or just hunting archery with a cow tag.

Bean

 

[coloradoman]

"So many people are calling these days that Bulls have become bugle shy, they just don't talk like they used to 20 years ago."

Man isn't that true!

I remember the day when I could let out a bugle and every bull within hearing distance would respond,and be very aggressive. I still carry my bugle but very,very seldom use it anymore.

The Sceary Ace 1 is now my tool of choice.

 

[SoleSearcher34]

LAST EDITED ON Sep-14-09 AT 03:39PM (MST)[p]I very seldom bugle unless the bull lets me know he wants to come fight before getting a hot cow. I however do not subscribe as much to the theory that the elk are "bugle educated" these days. My opinion is that even back then there were bulls that were more call-shy than others but I do agree with Bean to the extent that there were more aggressive bulls back then. My theory is that due to the advancement in bugle calls and their use/popularity, the bulls that were genetically more agressive were killed on a greater rate than their "bugle-shy" brothers and thus we have spent the last 20 years thinning out the more aggressive genetics particularly in the OTC units. I guided for ten years in an OTC unit but we had access to some basically landlocked public land. I was able to call aggressively to the same elk year after year in that hole and never ever saw any indication that they were getting wise to my calling. Was even able to call the same bulls into the exact same setup several years in a row and they didn't seem to learn anything. Alot of these bigger bulls however we didn't kill because I couldn't seem to get guys to pass up all the raghorns that would run in first. I think because we weren't killing the more aggressive bulls in the hole we were allowing them to breed aggressive offspring and keep the cycle going. I believe we have shy bulls because we have by default genetically selected them to act that way by killing off the grouchy ones. From what I have seen, the bulls in trophy units like 61 get called at a TON because you have guys out there scouting for several years prior to drawing a tag or have a whole bunch of guys out scouting/calling during their hunt in an effort to make the most of their tag and locate a real monster. The difference is that in those units being aggessive is not enough on it's own to get a bull killed, he has to have a big rack too so plenty of the aggressive bulls get a chance to breed. Just my two cents on the subject. Did hear a bull bugle on his own during daylight yesterday for the first time this season....maybe it will kick off soon. west-central colorado.

 

[COBOHNTR09]

I finally had a few bulls bugle yesterday morning right at first light and was lucky enough to get a shot off but I killed the tree instead. I went back up this morning and not a sound? Hopefully things will start to get heated for this last week??

COBOHNTR09

 

[COarcher]

Bulls were going crazy for my stepdad for the past 2 weeks. He killed a 310" on opening day of muzzleloder. They were into bulls everyday. They weren't calling at all. Just finding bulls that were bugling and working there way in. Worked for them.