Bugling bulls volume 2

[ctdad]

In the second volume of bugling bulls series, elknut talks about using a high pitched non-threatening squeal type bugle to simulate a bull that is bedded and looking for elk (the story starts with how you learned this worked when someone called one in while eating lunch one day playing with calls).

What time of day would you typically be doing this? Does it matter?

Would you be wanting to do this near a known bedding area? I understand you want to do it where you think elk are close to begin with.

[ElkNut1]

First off welcome!!! Yes, you are correct in feeling there is no special time in particular to use the "Lonesome bull" method! We've had it work through all phases of the rut which primarily means the month of Sept. Our favorite time though is when bulls are very quiet, we setup & do our magic with the calling & squalling away, it really triggers the curiosity of other elk & with elk being herd animals many times it will get the best of them & they just have to come over to this persistently vocal young bull! It will generally attract cows/spikes & raghorns mostly before mature bulls. If you are after any elk it's a great method to use when away from earshot of other hunters but within possible earshot of elk! When using this sound/method you want to stay put for a solid 30 minutes. There have been times nothing happened in 20 min & we got bored & got up only to have a bull standing right near us or coming towards us & we bumped them out of there because of our lack of patience! (grin) Gotta love elk hunting!!! (grin)

ElkNut1

[Elktracker]

I used this method as described when elk just were not vocal and I made it very whiney and kept at it for about 5 minutes at a time and did it about 4 times and in between I would listen for about ten minutes after the 4th progression directly after I stopped I got a responce from a bull about 400 feet down the canyon. I never ended up being able to get on this bull but I did get him to answer and that gave me a second wind!

its definately something to try when nothing else is working! What do you have to lose?

Josh

[BowElkDwn]

We've used this method when you get into lots of sign and sometimes can smell the elk and know they're in earshot. They are just being quiet. So many times you just keep moving through the area thinking that they have just moved on but end up bumping the heard. When you get the strong smell of elk and don't hear anything you can try just sitting down and doing the silent calling. Like said it usually brings in raghorns and cows but that's fine with me unless I have an elite tag.

[ctdad]

Is it important to actually sit down? If bowhunting, are you planning to shoot from a seated position or are you usually calling for a shooter? I'm not trying to over think it or be nit picky, but I hunt alone most of the time so I was thinking that sitting or laying down (to simulate a bedded elk) would make shooting difficult.

[BowElkDwn]

No you don't need to actually sit down. You do need to be in a comfortable position as you will need to stay put for awhile. You should also be able to move/turn your position easily as you never know which direction the elk will be coming from. You can practice shooting in many different postions before season to be ready for any situation and to be as comfortable as possible.