Herd Bull Tactics

crazyhawksfan

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Jun 29, 2015
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Ok guys let's hear your strategies for bulls with cows or even just a lone hot cow. I need some advice. I've hunted hard this year and have got on 6 or 7 mature bulls that all had cows. I've failed to kill any of them. Have tried a variety of tactics. What is your go to tactic when you get on a cowed up bull?

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Being an East Coast guy that has been traveling West since 1984 I only have a couple weeks to hunt them. From my experience I don’t think there is a go to tactic for me. I find that each bull can be different, some will grab their cow/cows and try to put as much distance between himself and that bugle you just let out while others may become aggressive and dare you to come take his cows and again I’ve seen them passive like they don’t care that another bull is around. I’ve been fortunate to harvest many bulls with archery equipment and maybe it’s just luck, but I’ve always just tried to gauge how the bull was reacting to my calling or even the satellite bulls that often linger on the edges and then try to formulate a plan to get it done. It’s never easy for me, so hopefully one of these guys on here that seem to make killing an elk easy every year can offer up a magic formula we can all employ. Best of luck tipping one over!
 

Wrench

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What you're asking the bull to do is unnatural. If you get him worked up in the morning....he's leaving anyway. Dog him till 10, let him bed, slip in and kill him when he checks his cow/s. You MAY get him fired up enough to come your way....but my experience is that they will not leave that cow until she's bred.
 

mtnkid85

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Beartooth Mtns, MT
Get in-between him and his cows or get in front of them while they are moving. You aren't going to get a bull to turn around and leave his cows once they are on the move, so figure out where they are headed and get out in front of them or wait for them to stop and then work in on them.
 

svivian

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Colorado
I have had a lot of success sneaking in to about 100-150yards and doing a challenge bugle.

From there I watch the bull, if he chases cows away I follow with a lost cow call or even distressed depending on his interest.

If he doesn’t chase cows but is interested I’ll continue to challenge bugle/ rake trees and act like I’m coming for his cows.

Smaller bulls tend to run/chase cows away so your challenge bugle needs to seem aggressive but you don’t want to sound like the baddest bull on the mountain.
 

IdahoElk

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Ok guys let's hear your strategies for bulls with cows or even just a lone hot cow. I need some advice. I've hunted hard this year and have got on 6 or 7 mature bulls that all had cows. I've failed to kill any of them. Have tried a variety of tactics. What is your go to tactic when you get on a cowed up bull?

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Here you go, Joel does an excellent job of describing what has worked great for me in the past.

 

2rocky

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Jun 21, 2012
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Nor Cal
Call the cows, the bull will follow.

It was 5:00 pm before I got back out to check on the herd. The satellites were out there, but I didn’t see the main herd until I checked the river. The bull was standing guard over the cows spread out feeding a sub-irrigated flat along the creek channel just off of a two track road. I circled to the North and used the terrain to maneuver within 150 yards of the bull and his cows bedded in the tall grass at 6:00 pm. I vowed to wait and let the elk make the first move before I called. I couldn’t see the cows but I knew they were close to where the bull was bedded with his antlers sticking up. I wasn’t going to get any closer without getting busted. About every 20 minutes the bull would bugle from his bed.


Pretty soon in about 45 minutes cows began to get up and move around . I started some light cow talk, and had an elk calf come at a trot to within 15 yards of my position chirping and mewing up a storm. He got so close I could see quite clearly it was a bull elk calf (if you know what I mean?) He circled behind me on my down wind side but for some reason never busted me. I was nervous about him being down wind, but when I heard the vehicle coming that became a secondary concern. The Pickup came down the two track road and the driver was on the cell phone . I heard him remark “Dude there is an elk up here right in front of me.” I heard the muffled voice from the other end of the call, and the driver said “Yeah, dude, WAPITI!”

The truck passed by me at 40 yards as the cows watched it drive by. Apparently they see a lot of white pickups daily and didn’t blow out of the country much to my surprise. I was extremely dismayed when the truck stopped 200 yards behind me and the driver got out to watch the elk. The vehicle was hidden from the elk by some trees so I figured what the heck, I’d continue to call to see what was going to happen.

Well it turned out better than I thought. The cows mewed back and began trailing my way. The bull got out of his bed, bugled and began pushing cows by me at 40 yards, along a trail . When he stepped into the open I drew my bow on the unsuspecting bull and put an arrow RIGHT OVER HIS BACK!

He whirled and ran 10 yard before he looked back as I frantically tried top nock another arrow with the nock full of dried mud. I dropped that arrow and nocked a different one, put the 50 yd pin on him and watched my fletching pass into and through the bulls ribcage. Then the bull hit high gear! My cow calls stopped the herd briefly, and I thought I herd some gurgling but moment later I could hear the herd splashing across the river, and even heard a bull bugle on the other side. I could only hope my bull was not in that group that went across.

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Marble

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Like mentioned above nothing always works. Each has a little bit of their own experience and personality to add into the equation.


All of the tactics above can work. Knowing the area you are in, where they move to and from and what the wind does in certain conditions is as important as making the right call IMO.

Know the area, know the elk, make a decision. Don't give up.

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OP
C

crazyhawksfan

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Here you go, Joel does an excellent job of describing what has worked great for me in the past.

Hey thanks for the video, that is interesting. My question would be. Are you talking to the elk at all before you make the "bull calling cows bugle"? Seems like if you get to 50 or 60 yards and scream at them it would just startle them and possibly spook them if you hadn't interacted at all with them before that?

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IdahoElk

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Hey thanks for the video, that is interesting. My question would be. Are you talking to the elk at all before you make the "bull calling cows bugle"? Seems like if you get to 50 or 60 yards and scream at them it would just startle them and possibly spook them if you hadn't interacted at all with them before that?

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I've located bulls from a distance with your typical bugle and then moved in silent until you're about 50-80yrds away before using the bull calling cow bugle, has worked great on aggressive herd bulls with cows towards late season.
 

Jbenson

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Sep 6, 2015
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We had the same issue a few times on our hunt. Big herd bulls wouldnt come in to anything. We were under the understanding that if you get up in their shit and challenge them, they'll come in to fight and stand their ground. We found this to be false in our situations. We shadowed 2 different herds for 1-2 hours each, challenging them as close as 50-60 yards. We finally got in the timber quiet, let him bugle to give away his location, and snuck in like ninjas without ever making a peep. Worked like a charm.
 
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crazyhawksfan

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Jun 29, 2015
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Yeah I lean towards calling bs on the get close and challenge them theory. It may work on unpressured elk but in my experience in general and otc units they usually give me the middle finger and take there cows away. Now idk if I've used this exact "bull calling cows bugle" but something similar. Be interesting to experiment a bit more with that.

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Scoot

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Yeah I lean towards calling bs on the get close and challenge them theory. It may work on unpressured elk but in my experience in general and otc units they usually give me the middle finger and take there cows away.
I'm waiting for elknut to chime in an let you know the reason you've failed with that method is because you don't know how/when to do it correctly. If he wasn't out chasing elk, he'd have already replied with that...
 
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I've had success with lost cow calls while following bull & cows to bed, called one right back to me before.

Also had success getting close and opening with raking, more raking, and then finally a bugle to his cows.

But, I've failed at both of those so many more times than successful, I think the safest thing you can do is stalk in and kill him, no calling whatsoever. That will likely be my SOP going forward.
 

ElkNut1

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Idaho
Here are a few more methods to consider depending on the aggressiveness of the bull or lack of aggressiveness. There's nothing like a silent stalk to the bedded bull or his bedded cows but when conditions do not allow it consider these as well!
1 - If the herd bull is bugling back & forth with a satellite or multiple other bulls get to that 80 yards or closer & call his cows towards you with a coarse lip bawl bugle, this can get the herd bulls attention very quickly, at times I will walk right at the bull & hammer away with a 2nd bugle before he can bugle back his anger I hit him with a Full Send Challenge, that's a hard nervous grunt followed quickly with a challenge bugle. Watch closely & maintain wind direction & cover as he can come at you fast!

2 - Herd Bull is not being pestered by other bulls but may give a lazy bugle now & then from his bed with his cows nearby. It shows no hot cows. At this time it's common for the bull to be bedded 40 yards to 80 yards above his cows so be aware of this. A tactic that has proven deadly here is to get close as possible once again & give 2 low mews & one louder longer mew in a way that almost shocks a bull into taking notice. Now stomp your foot around as if elk are scuffling around, roll a larger rock or 2 if nearby simulating elk moving back & forth. After 30 seconds of this start raking a tree or whatever is around showing there is a bull present with this cow & he's displaying for her. Add a few more agitated mid volume cow whines. Repeat as needed, stopping long enough to watch & listen intently, the herd bull can come in silent. No need for any bugles here unless the herd bull challenges you or responds to the cow calls!

3 - You get to your 80 yards spot or so & start with the mews & whine & the herd bull bugles instantly! You could now bugle right back at the bull with intensity! I've had bulls shut right down when injecting the bugle but the 2nd I mewed & whined again he fired right back, I will switch gears quickly when I see what he's favoring! He's demanding this cow to come over his way! If cover & wind are right go right to him & do not worry about making noise, you are doing what he asks of you & he fully expects to hear your approach, at this time I cow call my way right to him as I escalate my mews & whines in a pitchy manner.

Of course there are other tactics but here's a few popular ones!

It's just a matter of tailoring your method to fit the situation as things unfold, be prepared for the unpredictable! (grin) We've taken bulls in all these situations many times over. It's like a golfer choosing the right club for his shot to the green! One club does not do it all no more than one tactic gets you a shot on all elk!

ElkNut
 
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My favorite herd bull tactic when it works is to catch him without cows and use super loud cow calls that carry a long ways. You have to be ready for other elk to come in silent too though with this tactic. This is one such bull that fell victim to this tactic and he came from a long long ways. I’ve had other herd bull opportunities using this tactic as well but just couldn’t close the deal for a host of reasons. Paul mentions cows not being in estrus and my opinion is these bulls very well could have left non estrus cows to come investigate. This during peak rut in September.
 

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I’ve pushed every herd bull I’ve called at. Much better luck trying to creep in and get a shot around 60 yards. Seems like all I ever see is bulls moving away from calls especially towards the end of September.
 

tmitty

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May 29, 2020
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As others have mentioned - everyone is going to have a different answer based on experience. The one that has worked for me on 3 occasions is this - wait for the herd to bed, then slip in as tight as possible and let loose with challenge bugles and raking. Seems like once the cows are bedded, the bull is more likely to come investigate. FWIW, all three of these times have been the first half of September and ended with an arrow in a bull.
 
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