2019 was my 3rd archery elk hunt of my life. Went back to the same place we hunted last year and generally speaking the year was much more successful than the previous two. We were in elk and seeing sign and hearing bugles most days. The most challenging part of the hunt centered around the fact the elk would stay silent even when we were within 75-100 yards of their bedding area. Three separate times we got very close, made some mews or a light bugle, they stayed quiet then eventually hopped up and trotted off. Wind wasn't the problem, I guess we didn't sound very sexy or cool to them. Those were small herds of 3-7 elk. Couldn't identify the makeup of each herd.
In our #1 spot we had set up a spike camp and had a solid couple of days around the 12th and 13th. Needed to come out to meet my dad, then went back in on the 16th, planning to hunt the evening, stay one more night and then hunt our way out the next morning. We came in from a new direction as the wind was steady from the south and this would give us a chance to hunt into it for a few miles. On our way in that night we start hearing bugles around 5pm and we're thinking this is going to be good. We hear more than one bull and they're far away so we close some distance then bugle to see if we can getting a better read on the location. We get an immediate answer but the bull appears to be pretty far off and going away from us. We still move down the mountain against the wind expecting to get more action. We pivot to cow calling and get an answer. Another bugle seems to have come back to the spot we originally heard the first bugle, then we hear some cows off to our left and a faint bugle behind them. I answer the cows with a bugle and now the bugle down below us starts answering me. We go back and forth 4 or 5 times and close the distance, knock an arrow and are ready for elk to appear from 2 different directions. As we're trying to set up I suddenly hear a bugle with a cute little trumpet sound at the end of it and I realize at least one of these bulls is actually human. My hunting partner and these guys see each other at about the same time.
In the past when I've bugled with other hunters and we see each other we usually talk for a minute, agree to go separate directions and start hunting again. It happens, no big deal. This time was different and it made me more pissed than I'd been in a long time. These guys apparently thought they were entitled to the public land spot we were both in and whisper yelled to us to "GET OUT OF HERE!" I heard that and just about lost it. I looked back down their direction and one of them squared up toward me as if to say you better go, this is our land. I would guess we were about 75 yards from each other at that point and while my blood was boiling the rational part of me decided to walk away before things got ugly. We ended up going higher up the mountain, stayed quiet and hoped something spooked our direction. We heard them bugle a few more times and then the elk woods went silent, at least to our ears. We eventually back tracked and went in the opposite direction of them and that was the end of that. We had originally planned to stay the night in our spike camp but decided the area wasn't big enough for 2 groups of hunters and we packed it up just before dark and hiked up and out about 3 miles in the dark. We did bump a bull in his bed just after shooting light, not from wind, just noise and proximity. One more reminder that we were in the right place.
We hunted a few more days in other spots but we dealt with rain on and off and I was starting to tire out after 12 days of hunting. Came home again with no meat and a bad taste in my mouth.
I know we're not the only ones who have dealt with jack asses in the elk woods, but it sure is frustrating when it happens. Luckily the encounter didn't turn into a fight, but it was a reminder that crowded public land can create heated altercations, especially when you're near active elk.
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In our #1 spot we had set up a spike camp and had a solid couple of days around the 12th and 13th. Needed to come out to meet my dad, then went back in on the 16th, planning to hunt the evening, stay one more night and then hunt our way out the next morning. We came in from a new direction as the wind was steady from the south and this would give us a chance to hunt into it for a few miles. On our way in that night we start hearing bugles around 5pm and we're thinking this is going to be good. We hear more than one bull and they're far away so we close some distance then bugle to see if we can getting a better read on the location. We get an immediate answer but the bull appears to be pretty far off and going away from us. We still move down the mountain against the wind expecting to get more action. We pivot to cow calling and get an answer. Another bugle seems to have come back to the spot we originally heard the first bugle, then we hear some cows off to our left and a faint bugle behind them. I answer the cows with a bugle and now the bugle down below us starts answering me. We go back and forth 4 or 5 times and close the distance, knock an arrow and are ready for elk to appear from 2 different directions. As we're trying to set up I suddenly hear a bugle with a cute little trumpet sound at the end of it and I realize at least one of these bulls is actually human. My hunting partner and these guys see each other at about the same time.
In the past when I've bugled with other hunters and we see each other we usually talk for a minute, agree to go separate directions and start hunting again. It happens, no big deal. This time was different and it made me more pissed than I'd been in a long time. These guys apparently thought they were entitled to the public land spot we were both in and whisper yelled to us to "GET OUT OF HERE!" I heard that and just about lost it. I looked back down their direction and one of them squared up toward me as if to say you better go, this is our land. I would guess we were about 75 yards from each other at that point and while my blood was boiling the rational part of me decided to walk away before things got ugly. We ended up going higher up the mountain, stayed quiet and hoped something spooked our direction. We heard them bugle a few more times and then the elk woods went silent, at least to our ears. We eventually back tracked and went in the opposite direction of them and that was the end of that. We had originally planned to stay the night in our spike camp but decided the area wasn't big enough for 2 groups of hunters and we packed it up just before dark and hiked up and out about 3 miles in the dark. We did bump a bull in his bed just after shooting light, not from wind, just noise and proximity. One more reminder that we were in the right place.
We hunted a few more days in other spots but we dealt with rain on and off and I was starting to tire out after 12 days of hunting. Came home again with no meat and a bad taste in my mouth.
I know we're not the only ones who have dealt with jack asses in the elk woods, but it sure is frustrating when it happens. Luckily the encounter didn't turn into a fight, but it was a reminder that crowded public land can create heated altercations, especially when you're near active elk.
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