The Greatest Investment You Can Make as an Elk Hunter...YOUR KNOWLEDGE!

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COMPONENT - 3

A Response! What's next?

You almost have to pinch yourself! You have been prepping, working and dreaming of this for almost a year and  not 300 to 400 yards off….you’ve just gotten exactly what you’ve been dreaming of….. A BULL BUGLE!

Yep, that’s a bull all right, but what now? Do I set up and start calling ? Where do I set up? What should my partner do? Do I bugle back? If so, what kind of bugle do I use? Do I cow call? Do we get after it and go straight to it or do we wait and listen to see what he does?

So many things to think about in the moment and you know that you only get so many opportunities. This is the exact moment that’s gonna make all the difference in having an opportunity or talking about the one that got away. You got the response…now what?

Even though there is no surefire answer for what you should do in all of the possible scenarios, there is a thought process you can go through to get you from that initial contact, an audible response, to putting yourself in the best position for an encounter. 

The Pre-Response

Prior to you ever getting a response, you should already have a developed a mindset, some understandings, strategies and had some conversations that are predetermined and will help to guide your decision process once you do get a response. Some of those will include:

  • Knowing how the days you are hunting relate to the time of year and an elk’s general behaviors, goals and mode at that time.
  • The Types of Bulls you are most likely targeting.
  • Your Team Plan if hunting with partners or Individual Tactics

Behavioral Relationship

By associating your hunt date with the related elk phases and behaviors shown below, you have a better idea as to what is on a bulls mind during that time and why he might be responding. Knowing the “why” is key. That tells you the best way to handle the response. For example, If I have a bull that responds to my cow call anytime around September 15th, I know that he is wanting to gather any cows he can to prep for breeding. 

Scroll you curser over the boxes below to see the the relationship of time to behaviors:

Early Season

Most of August

Behaviors

One of the boys...Bachelor groups. Feeding to prep for Rut. Need good food & water. Low testosterone.

Pre-Rut

Late August - @Sept 5th

Behaviors

Rubbing Velvet Off, Still Pals in Bachelor Groups but sparring. Migrating to areas where cows are.

Rut Staging

@Sept 6th - 15th

Behaviors

Smaller bulls gathering cows. Big Bulls are shadowing waiting for the right time. Cows determine location.

Prime Rut

@Sept15th - October 10th

Behaviors

It's ON!. Herd Bulls take over. Satellites become ultra aggressive. Cows determine feed areas

Post Rut

@Oct 10th - End of October

Behaviors

Herd Bulls are leaving cows to seek seclusion & recover. Satellites taking over. Late estrus will ignite area ruts.

Response Target

We have said it over and over…to kill an elk with any weapon, you have to first find them…That’s half the battle. From there, it’s all about creating opportunities. It’s simple math. The more opportunities you create, the better your chances of filling your tag. But when the opportunities are limited, being able to take advantage of the situation and capitalizing is critical

My goal is to use different elk sounds to get some kind of a response…  a bugle,  a chuckle, groan, mew or even a rake. Again, just wanting to locate a bull because that’s what I’m targeting. I am targeting both Mature (herd) bulls or Satellite bulls, those bulls circling a herd bull and wanting in on the action. But targeting herd bulls or satellites while herded up aren’t the only scenarios that I use when trying to elicit a response. Depending on the time of the season I could be trying to target:

  • Bulls looking for a pal
  • Bulls just advertising their presence
  • Bulls feeding in a corridor to and from bedding areas to night grounds
  • Bulls looking to fight, spar or set a pecking order
  • Bulls looking to gather cows
  • Bulls with cows 
  • Bulls wanting to breed a hot cow

We cover bull elk modes extensively in the Calling Component. CLICK HERE TO VIEW

By knowing the general activities and mindset of bulls at the different times of the season, once you get a response you will be more knowledgeable on why that bull responded to you. If you  have an idea as to why he responded, then you have a much better picture on how you should move forward.

For example, it’s early season (Pre-Rut) and I have a bull that responds to my location bugle with a chuckle. Knowing that it is still pre-rut and the bull responded with a non-aggressive response, the last thing I want to do is scream a challenge bugle at him. He is most likely in Pal Mode and is just wanting to let another bull know that he is there. He is most likely interested in hanging out and getting a measure on the competition. So, I will use non-aggressive calls..chuckles, and possibly check his temperament by introducing a cow call. From there I will give him whatever he is responding to.   

Sound complicated? Let me reassure you that it’s not as complicated as it may seem . You can use fairly basic calls to illicit a response from a bull in most, if not all, of those scenarios. A basic location bugle and a basic cow call can trigger most of those bulls. That’s the good news. The bad news? It’s knowing what to do after a bull responds that trips up most elk hunters. But before we are done, you will have a handle on that to.

Team & Response Plans or Tactics

This is all about Communication. Your Team Plan refers to roles, techniques, tactics, positions, do’s & don’ts and other things that need to be talked about, discussed and understood between those involved prior to ever hitting the field to insure that everyone is on the same page. This prevents waisted time as well as any bad feelings when it is understood and agreed to by all team members. This helps everyone to have a synchronized and coordinated response thus making the interaction that much more efficient,

Here are just a few things that we suggest to be communicated: 

  • Shooters & Callers
    • When hunting partnered up or in groups, knowing your roles for each encounter, who is up as the shooter and who is the caller and what that looks like can save any hard feelings as well as give each person buy-in to everyone’s successes. How you do this is really up to how it works for the group. Are there multiple shooters for each encounter? One shooter and multiple callers? If one shooter, do you rotate for each encounter or by morning & evening hunt? How is the line-up figured? 
  • General set-up placement and tactics
    • Depending on your numbers, shooters vs callers, you should have a designated  strategy or pattern when approaching, stalking, or setting-up on a bull. What does that look like? For example, for our caller and two shooter set-up strategy we have hand signals as to whether we will be in a flying “V” or in an inverted ‘L” pattern. everyone knows their side and their role. Critical when it gets hot!

 

  • Hand Signals

Visual signals that you can see and understand from a distance in order to communicate both when you are moving through the woods, or when you are in a setup, can make or break a situation. But it’s important to remember that for the shooter, or for the caller if the elk is in close proximity, keep signals close to the body and slow in motion to help avoid detection. Don’t start flailing your hands around with big movements that would get seen and bring an elk to a stop or spook them off. 
Here are some videos with examples of possible visual signals:

Playlist

3 Videos
  • Sound Signals
    • These are especially helpful when in a set-up and you don’t have a visual on each other. If the shooter plans to move up in a set, He would give three cow calls. That not only lets the caller know to move up, but it can help the scenario or to calm any elk in the area. It doesn’t pin-point the shooter because he is now moving up from that position.

The Response Process

You have just heard a bugle and what you are now feeling is the incredible adrenaline laced excitement of the chase! This is where all those questions start racing through your mind about what to do next. It can almost be paralyzing if you don’t have some type of process or structure to get you going in the right direction. Well here you go y’all! Up next, I am going to show you how to handle those questions in a working order and how to understand and make decisions at any one point along the way.Understand that there will be dynamic variables at play throughout your decisions and actions at any one point in the process, but that’s what makes the whole thing so exciting. Having to re-evaluate, take in information as it comes and make that next move. 

Up first, we give you a basic situational process. We will then go more in-depth.

The Situational Process

The following is a mental checklist. But don’t freak out. You have way more time than you think and most of these become natural thoughts that happen in seconds. The culmination of the answers to each of these questions will dictate exactly what you do. For example, if the wind isn’t right, nothing else even matters until you circle and get it right. 

  • 1. What Type of Bugle was it? – Location / Challenge or Aggressive scream / Lip Bawl /or other elk sounds (Cow call…chuckle….raking….glunking….growling…)
  • 2. Can you hear other animals? Other bulls responding…cow calls…??
  • 3. How far away was it?
  • 4. What is the WIND doing? This will effect your approach more than any other element. If the wind or “THERMALS” are bad. It doesn’t matter what you do. It’s over. If you have to circle a half mile to get the wind right, DO IT!
  • What is the Temperature or Temperament of the bull? – Timid or aggressive? ….what emotion and frequency?   Offensive or Defensive?     Lover or Fighter?
  • Wind – Thermals?
  • Is the bull moving or stationary? Is it early enough or late enough for them to be AT a destination or MOVING TO a destination?
  • What time of day is it? – What’s is it the animals needs at this time? 
  • What is the terrain or cover like? Will it let me get tight or is is open and easy to be spotted?
  • Wind – Thermals?
  • Does the situation dictate for me to  Move in , Stay Put or Follow and Shadow until they get to their destination?
  • Last on my LIST:  Does the situation need for me to Call back or go Silent? (Unless I’m in a set-up and ready to call the bull in, I want to stay silent. But there are times when I may have to use a call to identify the bulls position if I am not sure)

Your Response Roadmap

1st – The initial response

So before I get too complicated throwing all of this at you, let me tell you that your first response should most often be for you to check the wind, make adjustments accordingly and close the gap between you and the bull. By being aggressive and closing the gap, you immediately put yourself in a better position to hear other possible sounds from the bull or maybe even other cows or bulls with him, that will give you more information on how to proceed.

Remember, you are not deer hunting. Forget about being slow and quiet! As long as the wind is right, get after it and cut the distance to around 200, to 150, to 100 yards if possible depending on the terrain and visibility. The thicker it is, the closer you can get without the elk spotting you. Fair warning…trust me, you are going to blow these encounters up at times by getting too close or because the bull was coming into you silent and all of a sudden you look up and there he is staring at you. It happens. No biggie. Your aggressiveness will be responsible for way more positive opportunity encounters than blown ones.

I also constantly remind you that this is a dynamic process with plenty of starts and stops. Re-evaluations and repetition. Sometimes there are gaps of uncertainty and doubt that can change to “There you are!” in a heartbeat. You have to have a hunter’s mindset and enjoy the process. Understanding that you could end up in an encounter in only a few minutes in a few hundred yards or it could take hours and miles. This is what we live for. It’s all about the chase!

Your FIRST RESPONSE should most often be for you to check the wind, make adjustments accordingly and close the gap between you and the bull.

So now, you have your basic solid first response, 1) CLOSING THE GAP. But just because you start cutting the distance doesn’t mean that you go brain dead and head in like a bull in a china closet. Once I start cutting the distance my brain is cranking with any and all data that; 2) I heard from the first response, 3) from my situational knowledge and from 4) additional responses that follow.

It’s those three areas that will help me in determining what I do after I get a response. I’ll try to break it down and explain:

2nd – Evaluating the initial response
What type of sound or response was it?
  • Was  it a bugle, chuckle, mew or raking?
    • If it was a bugle, we have a bull that may or may not be aggressive. At the very least, he is responding and may respond again. However, do not escalate the aggressiveness in your calling unless he does. Match the situation.
    • If it is a chuckle, this is a bull that is being passive. Be very careful about trying to use an aggressive call as a follow up. You might shut him up for good. I would only use bull mews or chuckles as a follow up to get another response after closing the gap and having not heard any other response. This is also a bull that will most likely come into you silent and very often towards the downwind side at some point. Especially if he gets your location pegged. That’s why it’s VERY IMPORTANT to aim your grunt tube behind you and throw your calls backwards to make him think you are 40 to 80 yards further back.
    • If it is a mew, which bulls will do very early in the season, this is a bull that may be with other bachelors or looking for a pal. Stay with the occasional single bull mew…not too often, and raking can also be effective in this scenario. These bulls are  wanting to run with the boys or check out the new guy and know what the competition is like. They too will come in silent, so be on your toes.
  • If you are hearing raking, this is a bull, that depending on the time of year, may be rubbing velvet, feeling the early urges of testosterone increasing or displaying for other bulls and/or cows to display dominance and strength. If you hear a bull raking… you have two options depending on the situation. If you have eyes on him and he is occupied raking and there are no other elk to bust you, walk up on him while raking and shoot that bull! If you don’t have eyes on him and you hear other cow calls, you have a bull displaying. Make sure, if possible, you are in a tight set-up (where the cover is thick enough that a bull has to be in shooting range before he can see you) and start raking. If he escalates and responds with a challenge bugle or warning groan, rake again and introduce some soft cow calls showing you are displaying for your own cows. If he escalates in his aggressiveness, ignore him…work your imaginary cow with raking, some panting…maybe some glunking and those basic cow calls (Both the glunking and panting are very easy noises to produce. Check out our Academy section on calling). Now if he screams again (it will most likely be a challenge or roundup bugle) use hard air volume and add voice inflection to your bugle and CUT HIM OFF! Slap him in the face. And now you had better get ready!
Was his response immediate or delayed?…

    • Immediate – If he responded to a cow call, this bull is interested in “Cowing up” and may already be heading your way. Proceed with caution. DO NOT respond to his bugle with an immediate cow call. If you do, he controls the situation and will expect you to come to him. He does not know if you are alone or with another bull. By waiting and making him respond to you, you control the situation and you can still introduce bulls sounds as before, some raking (Raking is the cheapest MOST EFFECTIVE call you can find) at first and again, see how he responds. I know it sounds ironic, but raking is not an aggressive challenge. It is like a turkey fanning. It is a display. However it can totally initiate an aggressive response. When it does that, you are in high cotton!
      • If he responded to a bugle, you have a bull interested in  who you are…at the least just to advertise that he is in the area and is either your competition or your pal. After I cut the distance, I would try a soft cow call to test his reaction before giving another location bugle. Again, test his temperament. If he does respond to the cow call, follow the scenario above. If he only responds to a bugle, again use his response to move in closer. Once in to where he can hear it, go to the raking. Rake for about 1 to 2 minutes and wait…watching and ready. After 10 minutes, try again…add some low bull growls and groans. Go off of his response if there is one. Match how he responds…if he chuckles, you chuckle. If he screams at you, CUT HIM OFF!
    • Delayed – If you get a delayed bugle , or chuckle, it will most likely be from a distance. Was he responding to you or another bugle further away that you can’t hear? It may also be because he is passive. Cutting the distance is the most important strategy here. Cut it in half and try for another response. If you get one, work it like we have already covered. Remember, you DO NOT escalate the emotion unless he does.
What Emotion was in his response?

Very simply, is he being a LOVER or a FIGHTER? 

Was his response Aggressive or Passive? Advertising?Irritated? Challenging? Just saying “I’m here”. And I throw the buddies, or bulls just wanting to hang out with other bulls, into the LOVER category because it is a passive mode that will soon be changing with the onset of higher testosterone levels.

We talk about some of these above in this piece. But for clarity, understand that a bull’s emotion is displayed through his volume, intensity, length and rasp. Just like when your mom use to call your name as a kid. If mom was just calling your name, you answered and said “I’m right here mom”. But if mom added that volume and anger to her voice, you were either going to run to her with worry or, as in my first option…run away! FAST! Lol.

This is critical to understand, because you do not want to answer a passive bull with anger. You will run that bull off. You have to use passive calls and work his “herd” instincts. Get up his curiosity to see what this other elk is. But at the same time, if you are getting an aggressive response, this is possibly a bull that you can lather up and slowly raise his temperature until he just cant take it any more and comes in with fire in the eyes.

But I want to add here, when in doubt as to how to handle a bull, be a lover, friend or pal over a fighter. You attract more flies with sugar than the thought of a possible butt whooping. It also give you the opportunity to take it to an aggressive state if needed.

Photo by Jason Cox, ElkSong Images

Classifying the different kinds of responses as aggressive, passive:

      • – Location Bugle – passive
      • – Bow Call (Bull Mew) – passive
      • – Advertising Bugle, bull sounds – passive
      • – Chuckle – passive
      • – Challenge Bugle – aggressive
      • – Lip Bawl Bugle – aggressive in two ways. This is a display bugle to show dominance to either cows or to other bulls. For cows, this is to show them that he is the best option for breeding. For the bulls, it is a warning that they don’t want any of this.  A lip bawl can be shorter when aimed at cows and longer and more intense when aimed at another bull.
      • – Frustrated Irritated grunts and groans – Depending on situation, this can be aggressive, a warning, but often related as breeding noises.
      • – Round Up bugle – Round Up bugle – Can be used aggressively to other bulls or toward their own cows. But can be also be used to urge or invite another bull’s cows to “come on over”. The latter can really tick off a herd bull.
      • Raking – This is an interesting one. Depending on the time of year, it has different modes. It can simply be a bull feeling his oats, or prepping for the upcoming rut or an act of displaying dominance to cows or other bulls. The last one can elicit an aggressive act for sure. That’s why during the early season, raking will bring in bulls that want to “check out” or “size up” the competition. And even during the rut, when one bull hears another bull raking that also has cows, he knows it’s a bull showing off to a lady, but their isn’t enough information to know what the competition looks or really sounds like. So, in that way, it’s not as intimidating and can raise the curiosity of another bull without scaring him off. I believe that raking is the often the cheapest and most effective call on the market!
3rd – Evaluating the situational aspects
  • Wind and Thermals
    • Again…nothing else matters if you don’t have these in your favor. You should be moving immediately to either back out and circle or circle immediately. The wind doesn’t have to be in your face, but at least a crosswind and moving on the downside or same level as the thermal.

  • How far away was the response?
    • Close (100 to 200 yards) – If this has happened, you can forget about the first response, we are looking for a set-up at this point and once in place we will re-evaluate after we get another response. Once set-up, you are ready to introduce calls and again, I work near to far. I am going to have my grunt tube under my arm aiming behind me to throw the call further back and start with a light cow call. I will stay with this for a few minutes and really looking to see if he is coming in silently. From there will go to whatever got the response in the first place, still behind me. If I don’t get a response at all after 5 minutes, then I am in search mode again with my calls to elicit a response; light Location bugle…to a louder location bugle…to a double bugle.
    • Farther (300 to 400) – I am closing the gap here as close as the terrain and cover and any additional responses allow. Making sure to be observant as well as listening for other possible animals. Be prepared to “Hurry Up and Slow Down”.
    • Far – My first response is to close hard and fast. I am listening for additional responses to be able to tell if they are getting closer or farther. I want to get to that 200 yard range observing the area terrain and cover. Once there, if I have not heard any follow-up calls in a while, I am going with the light cow call again behind me. And then go from there.
  • What time of day is it?
    • The time of day gives you lots of information that helps you to determine if the bull is moving to a destination or at a destination. There are so many times hunters give up on a bull because they think he has gathered his cows and is running from the bugle when in fact, he is simply moving and following his cows to a destination. Either to a bedding area, to water or to feed.
      • Morning – Elk that have been feeding in open areas will at some point, after daylight, move into the trees for security. Depending on just how large the opening or how far they are into it will control their urge to get to cover. Once in the trees they will linger and browse, but be on path to meander to their bedding. Once the morning begins to warm up, they will move to their bedding area. If you have a bull moving at 9am, that bull is heading to his bedding area. You can call this bull in, but you have to be close and on his level. If he has cows with him, he is not going to leave his cows to come back to a challenge. If you are not able to get in his “bubble” and get him to come in, then stay within audible range and ‘Shadow ‘ him and put him to bed. Try to parallel him on the down wind side.  Remember, at some point the thermals are going to change and you do not want to be below him when they do. Once he is in his bed, with or without cows,  you now have a captive audience. This is a perfect scenario to find a solid set-up and call him in during the mid-day.
      • Afternoon/Evening – Elk begin moving in the afternoon. And that could be anytime “after – NOON”. They will repeat the meandering process of the morning, but with a lot more time on their feet in the trees. They will eventually get to their nighttime feeding area but may not break out of the tree-line until just before dark. For rifle hunters, we often refer to that time as the “Golden 15”. That last 15 minutes of shooting light when elk most often leave the security of the trees. So for bowhunters, being in those timbered corridors between bedding and nighttime feed is a great spot. I find that a bull moving in the evening takes his time a lot more than in the morning. Could be because the thermals are so finicky and different in locations. It could also be that they are about to have the approaching darkness in their favor. If you have a bull responding near his feeding area in the afternoon/evening, he is not going far. If you can beat the darkness, you can work this bull. If you are not able to beat the darkness, back out and be there first thing in the morning. 
  • Frequency of Bugles
    • Repeated bugling
      • Coming Closer – If this is happening, you HAD BETTER GET SET UP! This boy is hot and is coming in. If his distance allows, move up 50 to 60 yards from the last place you called from. Especially if there is a rise that he has to come over to see into the area where you are. He will top out and scan before moving into the area. Be where you can get the shot when he does. But by moving up, you cut the chances of him hanging up and looking for your last known location from 80 to 100 yards out.
      • Going Away – Once bulls hit the trees, they are actually following their cows most of the time and they start repeated bugles to keep the cows knowing their position in the thick timber. I have found that the thicker the timber, the more repetitions. Once they hit a large visual area, or get to their destination, the frequency can slow considerably, but not necessarily. If you hear those repeated bugles going away, I suggest you strip clothes off and close HARD. Your body is about to go to work. Be ready to move up paralleling and read the situation. If you get to the same level and are in his bubble, you have a chance to call him in. If not, shadow and work him later.
4th – Additional Responses
    • Closer or farther
      • Controls your “Hurry up & Slow down” mode. But be careful, it is easy to get fooled here by which direction a bull is bugling. But if you hear those repeated bugles heading away…again, get with the program and close. If the bull is stationary and bugling, you have the advantage of picking your set-up a little more carefully after you close. Once I am in that 150 to 200 yard range,  I will sacrifice getting any closer for a quality tight set-up. If I have a lot of cover, then I will move closer and set-up.
    • Temperament
      • As you get closer, are you hearing any change in temperament. Are they short screams? Do you hear that raspy lip bawl? Or is it still just a location bugle? Even though I am going to first hit them with a cow call no matter what, it lets me know if I should introduce a bull to lather a bull up. Remember to not be the one to escalate. Stay at his level or just below when things start to get hot and angry. Then when he is worked up, go from defensive to offensive posture by cutting him off in Mid-Challenge. That, my friends, should put him on tilt!
    • Other bulls?
      • If you are hearing other bulls, get ready for a fun ride. That most likely means there is a hot cow in the area and that’s a calling card for every bull in the area. This could possibly be a multiple opportunity session! I prefer to work the closest bull to me first and then if that doesn’t pan out, I still have other options.

CONGRATULATIONS!

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