Bull Elk Growling?

[3forks]

I’m not new to elk hunting, and have been pretty successful in my career.

This past week was great, and I was into elk every day, and saw no other hunters. The bulls were fired up and bugling early on the week and I had a lot of small bulls come into my calls. I had seen a big 6X that I wanted to kill, and had a couple of chances and went to full draw once at 30 yards, but he needed to take a couple more steps before I could shoot.

Anyway, a day later I was back in the area to see if I could get on the bull, but I see what I’m nearly certain is him, his cows, and a couple of small bulls about 600 yards further down in a flat. While I’m watching them and figuring out how to move towards them, I hear a growl coming from below me. I’ve heard an elk growl before, but this growl was happening every few minutes. I haven‘t heard an elk growl consistently like that, and at one point, I hear a bunch of coyotes howling in the same relative area. I hear no other bugles or cows during this and it’s about 5:30 in the afternoon.

To make a long story shorter, I don’t get on the 6X that night, and the next day they had moved on to private.

I go back to the area I heard the growling (2 days later), and I hear the same growl but not as consistent. This time, I hear a farting noise once or twice and it’s coming from the same area as the growl did.

I eventually move towards the growl, and hear some movement from where I think it’s coming from. I‘m careful with the wind, make a cow call every so often, but hear no other growls or elk sounds. The cover this growl was coming from is on a steep hill in a swampy aspen and willow stand with some jack straw logs. It’s impossible to see more than a few yards into, and moving into the cover is almost impossible.

I back out, and never do get a look at whatever was in there.

I wondered if maybe someone arrowed a bull and it was sick and bedded in that cover. Maybe the growl was to keep the coyotes I heard off it?

So, what was in there? A bull? Bigfoot? Bad elk caller who had Mountain House the night before?

 

[Firestone]

I killed a bull that was growling. Took me off gaurd at first. Sounded more like a grizzly then an elk

 

[IdahoElk]

Bulls growl, bulls make all kinds of weird noses especially when they are in the mood and chasing cows around.

 

[Wrench]

I had a bull growl at me from about 5 yards.....behind me. That was the last time I completely lost my composure.

I SWORE it was something with sharp teeth.

Ive had bulls make a sound EXACTLY like you whispered as softly as possible "hey hey hey!"

They have TONS of vocalizations that you have to see to believe.

 

[AaronMColeman]

I hid under a tree one day for about an hour from a grizzly elk. I later called the grizzly elk in and completely screwed the set up and he ran to the east coast somewhere. I've also heard them whisper. Nothing about elk sounds shocks me anymore, I feel like one is going to say "hey dumbass, why do you keep squeaking into that long thing attached to your mouth?"

 

[Ridge Hunter 83]

What am I missing here?

What's wrong with the thought that it was a grizzly? Wounded grizzly?

Not a grizzly area?

 

[WCB]

What am I missing here?

What's wrong with the thought that it was a grizzly? Wounded grizzly?

Not a grizzly area?

I don't think Bears really "growl"... listen to bear vocalizations an then Elk growls or grunts...not even close.

 

[corey006]

Last year I stayed in my treestand till last light, unbeknownst to me a Bull had came in and was watching....when I climbed down....

First he roared, same as I have heard Moose do, sounded more like a lion than an Elk and then as he left he barked several times after that.

First time I heard a Elk make that noise.

This year the Elk I shot let a call go which I like to call a Whine/Moan/bugle, its a very short bugle only 2 seconds, and not very loud.

Satellite Bull so he was likely trying to call to cow but quietly.

 

[trophyhill]

My first experience with a growler was in 2012 in the Gila. I had hiked in to a dirt tank I found on Google Earth only to find it dry. So I took a break, rehydrated and got a snack. As I was putting my pack back on I heard a very loud growl. Surmising it was an elk, I bugled and all hell broke loose with 2 bulls bugling back and forth very close. I moved in and had tunnel vision and got busted by a cow. and about 30 elk bust out. The bull was huge! As they are all moving off the Bull keeps bugling so my plan is to “dog the herd”. After all, the bull is bugling on his own at this point. I take a couple steps and a cow barks maybe 10 yards from me. I turn to look and another herd with another herd bull take off. In hindsite I believe 1 bull was growling at the other who was harassing and trying to take all the cows. Since then I hear growls almost every year.

 

[5MilesBack]

Yep, bulls can make all kinds of sounds. In 2015 I called from behind the exact tree this bull is feeding in front of. It was actually Sept 9th, not January as the pic shows. I forgot to reset it after changing the batteries. So I hear a response down in this bottom (from where I took the pic from) that sounded like a horse whinny. I thought there were hunters down there with their horses, or they tied them up down there while hunting. So I sneak down there and find nothing except bull elk smell and then heard the horse whinny above me, and there's that bull with his cows feeding along that slope exactly where I had just came from. We had completely flipped spots. And then they disappeared after I tried to sneak up a draw out in front of them.

So in 2017 opening morning of ML, I take my daughter to that exact spot just to see if by chance he's still in there. I bugle.......and there's that horse whinny response from down in that bottom. We sat and waited to see if he would move at all for a shot and he never appeared. With the way the wind swirls in that bottom, I knew we wouldn't be able to go in after him. I sure would have liked to have seen him, to see what he looked like two years after the pic.

 

[Geewhiz]

I’m not new to elk hunting, and have been pretty successful in my career.

This past week was great, and I was into elk every day, and saw no other hunters. The bulls were fired up and bugling early on the week and I had a lot of small bulls come into my calls. I had seen a big 6X that I wanted to kill, and had a couple of chances and went to full draw once at 30 yards, but he needed to take a couple more steps before I could shoot.

Anyway, a day later I was back in the area to see if I could get on the bull, but I see what I’m nearly certain is him, his cows, and a couple of small bulls about 600 yards further down in a flat. While I’m watching them and figuring out how to move towards them, I hear a growl coming from below me. I’ve heard an elk growl before, but this growl was happening every few minutes. I haven‘t heard an elk growl consistently like that, and at one point, I hear a bunch of coyotes howling in the same relative area. I hear no other bugles or cows during this and it’s about 5:30 in the afternoon.

To make a long story shorter, I don’t get on the 6X that night, and the next day they had moved on to private.

I go back to the area I heard the growling (2 days later), and I hear the same growl but not as consistent. This time, I hear a farting noise once or twice and it’s coming from the same area as the growl did.

I eventually move towards the growl, and hear some movement from where I think it’s coming from. I‘m careful with the wind, make a cow call every so often, but hear no other growls or elk sounds. The cover this growl was coming from is on a steep hill in a swampy aspen and willow stand with some jack straw logs. It’s impossible to see more than a few yards into, and moving into the cover is almost impossible.

I back out, and never do get a look at whatever was in there.

I wondered if maybe someone arrowed a bull and it was sick and bedded in that cover. Maybe the growl was to keep the coyotes I heard off it?

So, what was in there? A bull? Bigfoot? Bad elk caller who had Mountain House the night before?

In areas with lots of elk activity I have seen(heard) bulls literally lose their voices from bugling so much. Late in the rut especially after bugeling every 2 minutes for the past 4 weeks, they can get very growly and have no pitch in their bugles whatsoever.

 

[3forks]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

As I mentioned, I’ve heard bulls growl before, but just not as consistently as what I had heard from this bull.

Anyway, as to the farting noise… there are a few vids on YouTube of elk farting (Can’t believe I actually googled elk farting, and even more surprised that you can find videos of it), but regardless - would have liked to at least get a look at the bull making these sounds.