Strategy for bulls this weekend

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Feb 2, 2020
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I have a spot where I know bulls bed and travel though regularly when they're in their bachelor groups. This is where I killed my first bull last year in the middle of August before they started rubbing.

I haven't stalked through or sat that spot yet this year, but I know they've been in there regularly. If this is their bachelor group hangout spot, is it possible they'll still be using it this weekend? I've got a couple pictures of a 6 point in there that rubbed his velvet off somewhere between August 11 and August 19. He visited August 19 without his velvet. So I'm wondering if he's lost his velvet and starting to get a little horny, is it very likely he'd be in there August 29 or would he be out looking for cows? From what I've learned so far, it sounds like they don't start bugling and looking for cows much until the first few days of September.

My bigger hunt I have planned will be near end of Utah archery season. So this weekend, I'd be fine burning a couple days sitting in one spot to try to connect with this bull.

Thoughts?
 

Laramie

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Apr 17, 2020
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Watching trail cameras the last few years, the big transition seems to happen somewhere between the 5th and the 10th. The bulls won't be as social with each other right now but they are likely still using wallows and hanging out in the same general area.

Bottom line, our mid August hot spots are almost always still good until the 5th or so.
 
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OP
H
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Sweet!!! Thanks for the help. I'm looking forward to this weekend. Hopefully I'll get lucky!
 

nphunter

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In eastern Oregon where I hunt and run cams it’s always the beginning of the last week of August that bulls move out and split up. I have cams in a unit I’ve never hunted and pulled cams last weekend and same thing, a bunch of bulls have disappeared and a bunch of different bulls are moving though.
 

Gerbdog

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CO Springs
My first stop this next week is gonna be an area I know of very similar to the one you described, wallows and rubs from a bachelor group. Interested to see if they are still around there with the colorado season starting a little later this year.
 
Joined
Jun 20, 2020
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They should still be using most of the same area, even if they are beginning to split up, I would start where you knew they were/think they're headed, and let the sign tell you where to go from there. Don't get stuck in a single mindset, let the elk tell you what they're doing and react to that to get yourself into a high percentage situation.
 
OP
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I only had one day last weekend. I sat in that spot from sunrise to nearly sunset. No luck that time!
 
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