![]() You might catch a bull rutting cows on a second estrus cycle, which can translate into good hunting, but you’ll have to catch them on the right day.īecause of these scenarios, I focus my efforts hunting post-rut bulls in open country, where you can rely more heavily on spot and stalk methods. Also consider that if the herd contains younger bulls or spikes, they will be the first to come in if you try calling. If you find a shooter bull with cowsthat isn’t rutting and he isn’t being vocal, I would spot and stalk in on him, using calls as a last resort. It’s easy to be overaggressive with calling during this phase of the rut too, so be sure to match the intensity of calling to the elk you’re hunting. However, if you can find a solo bull and sneak in close on him, a subtle cow call can be the ticket to closing the distance and getting a shot. During this time of year, I rely on spot and stalk tactics. In most cases, once October hits, the rut is winding down. Hunting post-rut bulls is no easy task either. Being above a herd bull makes him feel more threatened. Also, use elevation to your advantage if the wind allows for it. If everything is right he will want to kick the intruder out of his area, which can make for an exciting hunt. Once you get in close, challenge him with an aggressive bugle. W ait until he makes a mistake and gets into a position where you can get close. Sometimes it’s not even possible to get close enough because it’s too open or the topography doesn’t provide enough cover for you to do so. The more eyeballs that are around him, the harder it is. Let him talk and get into his “kitchen”, which is usually less than 75 yards in the timber. Your best bet is to get as close to him as possible before calling. A herd bull will avoid confrontation if he can. I have found that if you sit there and call at him from a few hundred yards away, he is going to push his cows away and leave. If a mature bull has a harem established, the odds are against you. During this time, bulls have the cows broken up into harems and bulls are fighting over real estate or pushing cows back and forth from feeding and bedding areas.Ĭalling in a big herd bull during the rut is pretty tricky. I have seen the most rut activity the 17-27th of September. The idea is to create the sounds of cows with a young bull. I’ll start with some soft cow calls followed up by a couple squeals on the bugle. In this instance, once I locate a bull, I like to sneak in within a 100 yards if I can, the closer the better. The key is to find a big mature bull before he has cows. ![]() From my experience I have found solo, mature bulls bugling the opening week of bow season in Montana that came galloping in, blowing snot with fire in their eyes. This is when they are the most susceptible to calling. In my opinion, this is the best time to kill a big bull. They are competing for dominance and looking for cows, which results in them being very territorial. Bulls are rubbed off by then, polished, wallowing and ready for the rut. Pre-rut is usually is the first 10 days of September. You can call solo and be effective, you’ll just have to be more careful using the terrain to hide your calls and direct your calls back behind you. Remember, all of the calling tactics listed below work best if the person calling is back 50-100 yards from the hunter, depending on cover. Big, mature herd bulls with cows are the hardest to kill simply because they are surrounded by a lot more eyes and they won’t want to leave their cows. The only problem is these are rarely the biggest bulls in the area. The easiest bulls to call are satellite bulls. It is rare to see a 330 bull come in to calls like you see on TV, especially on public land. Calling elk on public land can be the most difficult task for any bowhunter.
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