king' s outdoor world - Index

king' s outdoor world - Hunting Illustrated - October/November 2007 - Index

I
don't
don't know what is more
aggravating, a bugling bull at
four yards in brush so thick that
there is no shot possible or a bull
in the wide open country, scoring
350-plus, that won't come anywhere
near you. I grew up hunting elk in
the Northwest - mainly in Idaho,
where the terrain is steep and filled
with mountain maple, snow brush,
and chaparral, mixed with timber so
thick an ant would give up crawling
through it. Several times other
hunters in my area would tell me of
their morning hunt, explaining that
they had called in a 340, 6x6 but had
no shot. I never did understand how
that could happen, heck, most of
the time I couldn't tell if the animal
had horns or not, until I shot one
and tracked him down. I've been
fortunate enough to learn some good
techniques for hunting elk in the
thick cover. This strategy can work
in open country too; you just need to
be aware of the elk seeing you move
from a further distance. This is a trick
I use a lot since I hunt by myself;
I call it the "Half-Moon Drive.?
Remember, elk can pinpoint where
you are calling from to the inch and
when they approach you they will
almost always sweep downwind of
you so the game is in their favor.
Once you have a bull respond to
your calling, try and locate him so
you have a good idea of where he
is coming from. You may need to
bugle at him or cow/calf call to him.
Another good rule of thumb is that
if he responds and starts to advance
towards you, stay with that sound.
Obviously, the bull liked what he
24 HUNTING ILLUSTRATED.com
ELK
Hunting Elk of the Northwest
How to hunt in the thick timber.
heard and, as long as he keeps coming,
don't change your call. Other sounds
may be used to get the bull interested
and can be used in different scenarios to
make an elk come all the way in if he is
being stubborn.
Picture this set up. You begin
to call and a bull quickly responds
back. Quickly check the wind with a
good wind checker. Now, imagine the
bull has bugled back from 300 yards
out and at your same elevation. You are
by yourself, doing all of the calling and
the shooting. You determine the wind
direction and, in this case, it is going
downhill to your right. You would need
to quickly move downhill and forward
in a half-moon sweep and not straightforward
towards the bull. If you were to
move straight-forward and turn off the
trail to the right or left, you would leave
5ELK5
Rockie Jacobsen
a scent trail that the bull will cross.
Once the bull picks up your scent,
he will stop on a dime and take off.
A more successful strategy would
be to move ahead approximately
30 yards and look for a good set
up with an open shot the bull may
come through. Don't get in behind
a tree or brush pile; get alongside of
it or out front and blend in with the
surroundings. Do not call from this
location and give up your position,
wait a few minutes and see what
the bull is doing. If you can hear or
see the bull coming, let him come
looking for you. Remember that the
bull is going to the location where he
last heard your calling. At this point,
nock your arrow and check your
yardages. Imagine in your mind that
if the bull were to come...?I will do