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?
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?