grizzmoose
Very Active Member
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Hi Guys,
Just got back from the Wasatch muzz hunt and ended up eating my tag. This was my first elk hunt and I felt pretty over my head as far as knowing anything about elk and knowing how to call. The calls I was using were a Hoochie Mama, a Hyperlip Double, and a Baffler Bugle. The Hoochie Mama seemed to chase elk away more than anything else, so that was put away fairly quickly. I was able to call a few smaller bulls in with the Hyperlip, but I think I still have lots to learn with it as far as frequency of calling and making the right tones. I was not comfortable enough with the bugle to use it so it didnt come out of the pack until later in the hunt.
I'd like to share a couple of experiences and hope you guys can offer a critique of what I could have done different to have more success.
I was in pretty good country most of the time and had bulls actively making noise almost every day. For the most part, I never bugled back, but slowly moved in on the sound and then tried to coax the bulls to me using the Hyperlip. It seemed like the bulls responded to the calls almost every time, but rarely came in close to me. I was too nervous to move in close in fear of spooking them. After periodic chirps, about two or three at a time, in response to the bugles, it seemed the bulls became disinterested and stopped bugling all together. Would it have been better to close in on the bull quickly without being too worried about making a racket or should I have called a bit more often, or less often? Any other advice would be great.
The last morning of the hunt was probably my best chance at a nice bull and was definitely the most exciting experience of the hunt. After about a 2 mile walk above some heavy timber, I hadn't heard any bugling. This was an area where I had normally heard a minimum of 2 bulls almost every morning. It seemed like everything had come a dead stop. I walked about another 1000 yards further and found a place to try my bugle. A nice spot was found just on the edge of the timber, but I decided to take a few more steps into the trees before I called. Just as I had taken those steps, a large herd of cows jumped up from seemingly all around me and took off like a stampede into the woods. I turned around and looked at my dad and it was easy for him to see the disappointment on my face. I thought I had blown the whole hike. We stood there at a loss, and talked openly about what a bummer it was we spooked the herd knowing there was probably a big herd bull with them. After about two minutes of talking, doing nothing to conceal our voices, I thought I'd just try to bugle for the heck of it. No sooner than I ended my call, an absolute deafening scream came from no further than 15 yards up the hill and behind me! It scared the living hell out of us!! We both dropped down and turned to see the bull, but couldnt see him anywhere. I heard him in the timber and he was huffing and puffing, and sounded like he was moving in a small circle. At this point, he was obviously in range, but he was just inside the timber and we were a bit on the edge of it. I bugled again and he screamed back at me immediately sounding just as pissed off as he did the first time. I waited about a minute hoping he would come out, but he just stayed in there. I bugled once more hoping he would confront me, but it took him a bit longer to respond. . . and it sounded like he had retreated just a little bit. I decided I was going to move in on him and took a few steps out from behind my cover and caught my first view of him. I'm not good a scoring but I'd have guessed him at over 350. . . which I would have considered a HUGE success for me. Seeing that he hadn't actually retreated I ducked behind my cover again and bugled one more time trying to get him out. Our distance between each other was less than 20 yards. He didnt respond this time. I felt I had no choice but to go in after him. When I took a step into the woods, he was nowhere in sight. I called one more time and he responded, but it sounded like he was 100 yards away and had followed his cows deeper into the timber. At that point, I figured all was lost and cow called hoping he'd think he left a cow behind. He never responded and that was the end of it.
So. . . I need ya'll to Monday morning quarterback me. What did I do wrong? As disappointed as I am in eating my tag, I want to make this a learning experience and hope to feel more confident the next time I get a tag. All in all, it was the most fun I've had on a hunt and feel I'm a bit addicted to that screaming!
Just got back from the Wasatch muzz hunt and ended up eating my tag. This was my first elk hunt and I felt pretty over my head as far as knowing anything about elk and knowing how to call. The calls I was using were a Hoochie Mama, a Hyperlip Double, and a Baffler Bugle. The Hoochie Mama seemed to chase elk away more than anything else, so that was put away fairly quickly. I was able to call a few smaller bulls in with the Hyperlip, but I think I still have lots to learn with it as far as frequency of calling and making the right tones. I was not comfortable enough with the bugle to use it so it didnt come out of the pack until later in the hunt.
I'd like to share a couple of experiences and hope you guys can offer a critique of what I could have done different to have more success.
I was in pretty good country most of the time and had bulls actively making noise almost every day. For the most part, I never bugled back, but slowly moved in on the sound and then tried to coax the bulls to me using the Hyperlip. It seemed like the bulls responded to the calls almost every time, but rarely came in close to me. I was too nervous to move in close in fear of spooking them. After periodic chirps, about two or three at a time, in response to the bugles, it seemed the bulls became disinterested and stopped bugling all together. Would it have been better to close in on the bull quickly without being too worried about making a racket or should I have called a bit more often, or less often? Any other advice would be great.
The last morning of the hunt was probably my best chance at a nice bull and was definitely the most exciting experience of the hunt. After about a 2 mile walk above some heavy timber, I hadn't heard any bugling. This was an area where I had normally heard a minimum of 2 bulls almost every morning. It seemed like everything had come a dead stop. I walked about another 1000 yards further and found a place to try my bugle. A nice spot was found just on the edge of the timber, but I decided to take a few more steps into the trees before I called. Just as I had taken those steps, a large herd of cows jumped up from seemingly all around me and took off like a stampede into the woods. I turned around and looked at my dad and it was easy for him to see the disappointment on my face. I thought I had blown the whole hike. We stood there at a loss, and talked openly about what a bummer it was we spooked the herd knowing there was probably a big herd bull with them. After about two minutes of talking, doing nothing to conceal our voices, I thought I'd just try to bugle for the heck of it. No sooner than I ended my call, an absolute deafening scream came from no further than 15 yards up the hill and behind me! It scared the living hell out of us!! We both dropped down and turned to see the bull, but couldnt see him anywhere. I heard him in the timber and he was huffing and puffing, and sounded like he was moving in a small circle. At this point, he was obviously in range, but he was just inside the timber and we were a bit on the edge of it. I bugled again and he screamed back at me immediately sounding just as pissed off as he did the first time. I waited about a minute hoping he would come out, but he just stayed in there. I bugled once more hoping he would confront me, but it took him a bit longer to respond. . . and it sounded like he had retreated just a little bit. I decided I was going to move in on him and took a few steps out from behind my cover and caught my first view of him. I'm not good a scoring but I'd have guessed him at over 350. . . which I would have considered a HUGE success for me. Seeing that he hadn't actually retreated I ducked behind my cover again and bugled one more time trying to get him out. Our distance between each other was less than 20 yards. He didnt respond this time. I felt I had no choice but to go in after him. When I took a step into the woods, he was nowhere in sight. I called one more time and he responded, but it sounded like he was 100 yards away and had followed his cows deeper into the timber. At that point, I figured all was lost and cow called hoping he'd think he left a cow behind. He never responded and that was the end of it.
So. . . I need ya'll to Monday morning quarterback me. What did I do wrong? As disappointed as I am in eating my tag, I want to make this a learning experience and hope to feel more confident the next time I get a tag. All in all, it was the most fun I've had on a hunt and feel I'm a bit addicted to that screaming!