^ Haha. I’ve done that before and it wasn’t fun. Likely that’s how I know not to do it again. Still takes a while to leave when I know it’s the best way to proceed
So yes, no dice today. After the short talk with my cousin (pretty sure he understood I was a little upset) I stayed a bit longer and then left. If I could be back in the morning, I’d probably smack one down (or at least try) and pack out half or so today and the rest first thing in the morning. I will briefly write about it, maybe tomorrow, in the other thread I have going (“first day out” or something like that) in order not to derail or “pollute” in this thread.
As for tactics... What did I do? Nothing special, really. I’ll just outline what did, step by step sort of thing. I sent a bugle (locator) when I was closing in. Maybe about 300 meters to the destination. Like someone mentioned above, never move immediately after the call. Give it at least a minute. I didn’t expect any response and there wasn’t any. I threw my backpack off about 30-50 meters before my “approximate” destination and proceeded with my rifle, knife, bugle, cow call, phone, water, and range finder. When I got to where I was going, I just sat quietly for about 10-15 minutes, observing and listening. The listening part was hard and next to impossible because the wind was quite strong and I doubt I would hear any normal game movement 10-20 yards from me. By now, to approximate, it was about 25-30 minutes since I sent that first bugle. Nothing was happening or nothing I heard anyway. I then sent another bugle and 3-4 cow calls shortly after. There was no response of any kind. Sometimes, this time of year, you won’t hear back vocals but they would let you know otherwise: some type of noise that doesn’t belong in the empty bush, some kind of movement. Often, all would be quite as if there is no life present. I usually know why I am going to any particular spot when elk hunting and know that unless they moved on for a couple of days, elk would be there. So I waited a bit longer, sending an occasional cow call (2-4 at a time). Before sending another bugle, I decided to move to the other end of the hill, maybe 75-100 meters to the side. This wasn’t random because I know where a bull would likely be and, given strong wind, I wanted him to hear me moving as well after I make the call. So I got into the position, sent a bugle and maybe half a minute later (I don’t know how long, I didn’t time it) I rubbed some bush next to me with a stick I picked up on the way. Not sure if it matters, but I like a dry crazy looking stick with some thinner parts that can break away with a crunching sound during the process. Anyway, a couple minutes (maybe less) after the rubbing, I sent some good mews out. Yet, still nothing have happened after all my effort, lol. I was about an hour into it by now since that first bugle I sent. I did some more rubbing with the same stick on the same bush about 5 minutes later and then another round in another few minutes and followed up with a bugle. That was about an hour and 15 minutes into the whole thing. The response was almost immediate this time and I knew he was pretty close.
The rest is described in my previous post above. While I am typing up the text to my cousin, he calls...
While talking to my cousin and writing the post above, the bull bugles a few more times and he is ready to go. At the same time a couple other bulls warmed up and let their presence be known.