Once it was light enough to shoot, I moved to within about 100 yards while my brother hung back about 75 yards behind me. I called a bull in for him on the last day of our hunt in Idaho last year so I was up to the plate this time. Once I was in position I made a couple soft calls and two bulls immediately bugled back. We went back and forth for a few minutes but I could tell they weren't coming down to me. The area I was set up in was open Aspens and the bulls knew they should be able to see any cow that was down there. I shut up and let them drift up the hill.
As soon as I heard one of them bugle far enough away to allow me to move I began climbing. After about 150 yards I could see a bench above me and the vegetation started to thicken. There were small Spruce mixed in with the Aspens and the ground cover was much thicker with shrubs and new growth Aspen. I picked out a Spruce growing on the lip of the bench and using it for cover I quickly moved up to the bench while my brother stayed 75 - 100 yards behind me. I eased around the Spruce and picked out a large Aspen to stand beside to block my form. To my left was extremely thick young Aspen and ground cover and to my right about 40 yards the dark timber began.
This is an elk's view looking back down the bench. The Spruce in the middle is the one I use for cover and I set up in front of the large Aspen in front of it.
I stood there for a minute and let my heart rate calm back down from the climb, or maybe it was the excitement, probaly a little of both! I knew the bull wouldn't go down to my brothers calling in the open Aspens so I signaled to him that I'd take over the calling. I cupped my hand to my mouth to send the call to my right and slightly down hill from and let out a soft, nasally mew. A bull screamed back almost before I had finished the call, and he was close. He was just above me, over the edge of the bench and to my left. I made one more call and shut up. It was the last week of archery season and I knew these bulls had been called to for 3 weeks. I didn't want to over do it, and they knew where I was now. The next move was theirs. A couple of minutes went by with no bugles. This meant one of two things: either he was drifting off or coming in silently.
Just then I saw a small 2" diameter Aspen tree swaying about 40 yards above me and to the left, but the wind wasn't blowing. I scanned to find the movement and suddenly there he was like a ghost standing 35 yards in front of me. It always amazes me how silent an animal their size can be when they want to, then at times they can sound like a heard of elephants coming through the woods.
Topic: CO 2013 - "DON'T COME HOME WITHOUT AN ELK" (Read 2497 times)
