This is my first year hunting elk around the rut. Well, after severally weeks of hunting, we finally found the herd! We thought that we'd missed them, because the rut is usually strongest here, during the last two weeks of Sept. and we never heard a single bugle. My neigbour heard his first bugle and downed one in yesterday morning...I was out that night and finally got a response...yeeeaaah! <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

We headed out this morning back to the drainage...around 5:30am I let out a cow chirp in case they were close, and I nearly fell over when a bull immediately bugled 100 yards up the clearcut above us!! The hunt was ON... we silently made our way up the edge of the cut as they continued to bugle...we could just see as we topped the rise, but they had moved into the forest on the far edge...with my partners on a rise in the middle of the cut, I started bugling from the edge...10 min. later a silouette appeared and was coming fast...it was a horney little raghorn...he stomped up to within 30 yards of them as I tried to divert him with cow calls...he was in LOOOVE and wouldn't leave us alone...after about 10 min. he left, only to return when I started bugling...the big bulls were going nuts in the background, but we couldnt get around this little sh*t without spooking him... (made for some funny video though!)

He finally left us, when the herd started moving up the mountain towards their bedroom...we followed for two hours, exchanging bugles all the way, but never saw hair again...they headed up to a ridge for the day... Our adrenaline was pounding for 3 hours straight...knowing they were only 1-200 yards away and we may get a shot any minute...<img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle> I'm addicted already! We'll be back out tonight...

What would you do about lil RAGHORN-EY???

Edited by - mt^boy on 10/09/2002 11:01:20

Edited by - mt^boy on 10/09/2002 12:54:27