i got up this morning and nothing was bugling, not a sound. i climbed up to a little higher viewing area to take a look and get a better listen. still nothing. i let out one bugle and one bull started up. i wasn't 100% sure i could get to him, i thought there might be private land i would have to get around. i thought to myself, the only way i'll know is if i go to them. if i get to private land, i will have to stop or try to call him over, if i didn't run into private land....yowzah...i'm in. so i headed that way, luckily there was a ridge that led me pretty close. i got between 150-200 yards from the bull. however, he was going up the hill and he was ahead of me, no way for me to get ahead of him when i didn't really know the terrain. but he was bugling a lot, i had to do something. i thought that if i bugled over top of one of his bugles he might get a little upset and come to run me off. slim chance but it was all i could think of. so, on his next bugle, i bugled. to my surprise there was a bugle about 100 yards on the same level i was one, a different bull. i snuck up another 40 yards and called some more, a few very excited cow calls followed by a short, screaming bugle. both bulls started bugling back constantly. when i decided the second bull was not going to come in, i decided to try and sneak a little closer. i made it another 20 yards and came to a spot with a tree i could not get around without making too much noise (rocky ground on one side and brush on the other). where i was i did have a pretty good view. if he came around the tree i would see him in enough time to draw, if he came the other way i should be able to see him in plenty of time too. can you guess what happened? neither of those. when got in position (kneeling) the bulls were still bugling but not any closer. so i let out a few, very excited, almost painful cow calls followed by a short, bugling scream. when i did that i could hear the closer bull pawing and panting, then he let out 5 very short bugles right in a row, better than a triple gobble from a spring tom. i wasn't sure if he would come in, but it didn't matter, this was good enough for me. all of a sudden he took off running down the hill to my left. when he stopped i knew i was in trouble. if he came up the hill from where he was he would have to go to his left (my right) to come into my shooting lane. if he went to his right he would walk behind lots of thick brush. if he walked in one spot i would have one small spot for a shot. when i raised my bow to make sure i could take a shot i realized the lower limb of my bow was going to hit a branch. as i tried to move a little i saw him coming up through the woods, about 40 yards away. i raised my bow and it still hit the limb so i tried to move a little more and twist just a little to be able to shoot through the small opening. when i did, a branch caught my pack and made a little scraping sound. the next thing i saw was the bull trotting back down the hill. i was so excited, just to have even been that close. i had never been that close to an elk before, let alone a bull, let alone a mad bugling, snotting bull that was coming in looking for me. i knew my hunt was over for the morning, one bull trotting away and one, still bugling frequently, but now far up the hill with the thermals now going uphill. i did not have enough supplies for the night so i was going to head back into town. on the way back to the truck i ran back so i could call emily and tell her what happened. she sounded pretty excited for me. i went back into town, got my food, etc. and headed back to the mountains. i thought i might be able to catch at least one of the bulls coming back down the mountain. i got to a spot about 1/2 way up the mountain on a very good trail. unfortunately, there was no action that afternoon. as it was getting close to dark i decided i had better get up the mountain and get a spot to sleep before it was too dark. i did not want to be walking around the mountain in the dark, for obvious reasons and to try and not scare any animals. so i got up the mountain and found a pretty good, level spot. i decided not to eat supper and not to get my bivy sack/sleeping bag out. i did not want to create any extra scent or noise, being in the elk's territory. i was worried with the thermals going downhill in the evening, any weird or strong smells might make it to the elk. unfortunately, i was not able to sleep all night without the sleeping bag. i got a little cold around 10pm and had to get it out. anyway, around dark the bulls were bugling, coming down the mountain, 2 of them. where i had set up, was right in the middle of them. one of them had to walk across the path i had used to get up the mountain that afternoon. the bulls came down the mountain, one to the south and one to the north and met up in the bottoms (private land) well after dark and bugled for a long time that night.
come back tomorrow (as long as i do not have too many late night calls) for day 7, it only gets more exciting.
lessons of the day: if you have a chance, even though it seems like a long shot, at least it is a shot, give it a try. you can still call elk in, despite what lots of people say (if i can do it anyone can, for sure). elk hunting can go from extreme lows to extreme highs in a very short period. elk hunting is crazy fun!
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