Top Causes of Blown Elk Hunts
07-08-2004, 02:46 PM
#1
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 590
Top Causes of Blown Elk Hunts
For all you elk callers out there, especially bowhunters. What are the top reasons for failed hunts in your experience? I mean tactically, at the point where the bull is out there, coming closer, then suddenly he's going away and it's all over. What caused that?
My personal list:
1) Swirling winds. Especially during the evening hunt. I have become so disgruntled with swirling evening winds that I use the last two hours of daylight more for locating elk to hunt the next morning than for actual hunting.
2) "Hung up" bulls. This problem is probably unique to bow hunters, since they tend to hang up at 50-100 yards.
3) Overaggression. I'm referring to overadherence to Mike Lapinski/Larry Jones tactics. They say, push that bull, go after him! In my experience this approach pushes the bull alright, pushes him right out of the country. I say, "Don't just do something, STAND THERE!"
Just my opinions, I've only done this for 3 years. I'm hoping some of the real experts on this site will let their hair down and share some nuggets with novices like me.
My personal list:
1) Swirling winds. Especially during the evening hunt. I have become so disgruntled with swirling evening winds that I use the last two hours of daylight more for locating elk to hunt the next morning than for actual hunting.
2) "Hung up" bulls. This problem is probably unique to bow hunters, since they tend to hang up at 50-100 yards.
3) Overaggression. I'm referring to overadherence to Mike Lapinski/Larry Jones tactics. They say, push that bull, go after him! In my experience this approach pushes the bull alright, pushes him right out of the country. I say, "Don't just do something, STAND THERE!"
Just my opinions, I've only done this for 3 years. I'm hoping some of the real experts on this site will let their hair down and share some nuggets with novices like me.
07-08-2004, 02:55 PM
#2
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,679
RE: Top Causes of Blown Elk Hunts
Having the bull coming in right where you want him to and at the last second he either stops right behind a tree a 20 yards and peeks around it or makes one small turn the wrong way and walks right by you and never offers a shot.
07-08-2004, 03:30 PM
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location:
Posts: 2,395
RE: Top Causes of Blown Elk Hunts
3) Overaggression. I'm referring to overadherence to Mike Lapinski/Larry Jones tactics. They say, push that bull, go after him! In my experience this approach pushes the bull alright, pushes him right out of the country. I say, "Don't just do something, STAND THERE!"
I have been elk hunting for 26-years. Last year was the first year I took the hunt to the elk. I saw a ton of elk both during the rifle & archery seasons. I ended up shooting a raghorn 5x5 bull during the rifle season. I passed up smaller bulls during the archery season. I have never had such a GREAT hunting season. I saw many more elk last year than I normally see. IMHO I owe it all to growing a pair & being aggressive.
Swirling winds are the number one cause of elk busting me. I plan on ordering a video or five from elknut1.
This should only improve my overall sucess rate & understanding of elk in general.
07-09-2004, 12:45 PM
#6
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Bosque Farms NM USA
Posts: 375
RE: Top Causes of Blown Elk Hunts
Road hunters....get your dang a$$ out of ta truck & walk like a man!!! Had a 6x5 bull @ 30yrds. two more steps ,I was asking ...but NNOOOO, dang truck was pounding comming down the road... the bull did a 90 & off he ran .!!!! This was @ 7:00 am opening morning[:@][:@]
07-09-2004, 04:11 PM
#7
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 590
RE: Top Causes of Blown Elk Hunts
Two years ago, I had a nice 5 ptr. do exactly what you described. I was at full draw, he was thirty yards away and mine all mine, IF (big word, if) he just takes one ... more ... step!
For Wolfkiller, I really think each hunter's individual temperament has a lot to do with his approach on aggression vs. passivity. I started three years ago all full of Lapinski's ideas, I own one of his books, and all they brought me was grief. In the country I hunt, by which I mean way, way back in the tulies, the elk are really almost a different breed than lots of guys hunt. By that I mean they flat out don't travel much. They'll sock into a honey hole with feed, cover, and water, and a whole herd may not move 300 yards for 96 hours. The only way they will move is when a predator (like a Lapinski-wanna-be bowhunter) pushes them out of the area. I've found that you can hang off these herds literally for days waiting for the right approach. I enjoy this style because I get to really observe the elk doing their thing.
One story from my second year ('02) really sums up the bone I've got with the Lapinski style. I hiked into a basin where I knew from the year before a big bull hung out. I swapped bugles with him the first evening, but hung back because of swirling winds. Then next morning, I bored into his hole. He wasn't bugling so I cut loose with a couple cow calls and a bugle, and he nearly lifted me off the ground with his reply. He was close! And he was coming. I went into Lapinski mode, thinking I'd squirt ahead about 20 yards on the downwind side so he'd go past me for a shot. Problem is, the bull walked head on in to me, and now I'm pinned down at 25 feet by the biggest bull I've seen in the last 10 years. My textbook Lapinski approach put me square in the bull's path, with the bull head on to me. No shot! He stood there bugling and pissing on himself for a couple minutes, then lurched ahead with murder in his heart. I was going to have to literally dive out of his path when he saw me at about 18 feet. Our eyes locked for an instant, as the look in his eyes swung from murder to oh s***, and he was gone. That bull would have scored 340-350 net, easily. By the way, had I simply hunkered down where I was when I first heard him, it's about 70% likely I'd have had a killing shot at 20-25 yards.
That's just the most spectacular example of something that has happened to me more than twice.
For Wolfkiller, I really think each hunter's individual temperament has a lot to do with his approach on aggression vs. passivity. I started three years ago all full of Lapinski's ideas, I own one of his books, and all they brought me was grief. In the country I hunt, by which I mean way, way back in the tulies, the elk are really almost a different breed than lots of guys hunt. By that I mean they flat out don't travel much. They'll sock into a honey hole with feed, cover, and water, and a whole herd may not move 300 yards for 96 hours. The only way they will move is when a predator (like a Lapinski-wanna-be bowhunter) pushes them out of the area. I've found that you can hang off these herds literally for days waiting for the right approach. I enjoy this style because I get to really observe the elk doing their thing.
One story from my second year ('02) really sums up the bone I've got with the Lapinski style. I hiked into a basin where I knew from the year before a big bull hung out. I swapped bugles with him the first evening, but hung back because of swirling winds. Then next morning, I bored into his hole. He wasn't bugling so I cut loose with a couple cow calls and a bugle, and he nearly lifted me off the ground with his reply. He was close! And he was coming. I went into Lapinski mode, thinking I'd squirt ahead about 20 yards on the downwind side so he'd go past me for a shot. Problem is, the bull walked head on in to me, and now I'm pinned down at 25 feet by the biggest bull I've seen in the last 10 years. My textbook Lapinski approach put me square in the bull's path, with the bull head on to me. No shot! He stood there bugling and pissing on himself for a couple minutes, then lurched ahead with murder in his heart. I was going to have to literally dive out of his path when he saw me at about 18 feet. Our eyes locked for an instant, as the look in his eyes swung from murder to oh s***, and he was gone. That bull would have scored 340-350 net, easily. By the way, had I simply hunkered down where I was when I first heard him, it's about 70% likely I'd have had a killing shot at 20-25 yards.
That's just the most spectacular example of something that has happened to me more than twice.
07-09-2004, 06:16 PM
#10
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location:
Posts: 41
RE: Top Causes of Blown Elk Hunts
I've been archery elk hunting since I was 12. I'm now 29 and never missed a year, It's my passion. I've taken some nice bulls over the years and been "blown" a zillion times.
I think tree stand hunting is by far the best succesful. I get very bored in a tree stand so I always get way back in the wilderness and like to walk through the bush trying to stock them. This is by far the most fun and lots of action, however be prepared to get busted often.
Many times I will be walking and spook an annimal out of his bed, COW call right away and they always come back for a look.
I find once the rut is later on, the bulls will have cows with them, They will scream back and forth to each other all morning. I think this is just to let each other know where they are and not to come to close. when this is happening I find you have to follow them and use lots of cow calls. It's realy hard to get a bull away from the heard. He won't come to you though unless you get right into the heard.
I find wind is absolutely the worst for being busted. another thing that I've noticed over the years for getting busted is hand movement.
so many times it gets quiet and you think the bull is gone, turn to you're partner and wave him a head or point where you last heard him.....busted.... he was watching you! that has happend LOTS for me, so now the golden rule is no hand movements allowed.
anytime they spook the cow call will always stop them for a moment and sometimes turns them around.
When you here them screaming at you coming in good, If they let out the biggest baddest deepest growly scream you've ever heard and think he's going to run you over...game over, that's probly his last call to tell you he's had enough.
Just my own few bits on how I've noticed things.
Have you heard all the different types of hyper cow calling?? I've used fiting cow calls hypper calling for the last 6 years and you can't scare them off with that type of calling...it gets them wound right up, it realy works, but you have to do it right.
good luck
mark
I think tree stand hunting is by far the best succesful. I get very bored in a tree stand so I always get way back in the wilderness and like to walk through the bush trying to stock them. This is by far the most fun and lots of action, however be prepared to get busted often.
Many times I will be walking and spook an annimal out of his bed, COW call right away and they always come back for a look.
I find once the rut is later on, the bulls will have cows with them, They will scream back and forth to each other all morning. I think this is just to let each other know where they are and not to come to close. when this is happening I find you have to follow them and use lots of cow calls. It's realy hard to get a bull away from the heard. He won't come to you though unless you get right into the heard.
I find wind is absolutely the worst for being busted. another thing that I've noticed over the years for getting busted is hand movement.
so many times it gets quiet and you think the bull is gone, turn to you're partner and wave him a head or point where you last heard him.....busted.... he was watching you! that has happend LOTS for me, so now the golden rule is no hand movements allowed.
anytime they spook the cow call will always stop them for a moment and sometimes turns them around.
When you here them screaming at you coming in good, If they let out the biggest baddest deepest growly scream you've ever heard and think he's going to run you over...game over, that's probly his last call to tell you he's had enough.
Just my own few bits on how I've noticed things.
Have you heard all the different types of hyper cow calling?? I've used fiting cow calls hypper calling for the last 6 years and you can't scare them off with that type of calling...it gets them wound right up, it realy works, but you have to do it right.
good luck
mark