PM sent back Ryan! You definitely can utilize your glassin' skills in that unit during mid-day! Glassing has no impact on the bulls and gives you a better idea where to intercept or sneak into the herd later in the day when they get up to move again and haven't been bothered. Also, if the rut is slow and there are no bugles, the glassability of that country is a huge help. If you find a really big bull and you can glass him, I would try spot n' stalking him instead of trying to call him in. Those bulls can get call shy in a hurry in that unit, especially to cow calls. Trick Treein', or raking trees with an antler or branch, is usually very effective after you've snuck into the comfort zone of a bull with cows, it usually makes him run in to chase you off, but you have to be in his comfort zone so he feels threatened! If you aren't close enough he may just grab his cows and move off. We've killed 4 bulls that were over 400" on regular season hunts such as yours, and we tried calling all of them in, but only 1 was actually called in when killed and it was mainly because he had no cows and the timing was just right. Any of those older herd bulls, 350"+ class or better, are more likely to move off with their cows rather than move in if you try calling them, especially in your unit, but you'll know after the first try what he's gonna do. The trick is to stop trying it if you know he's packing up his cows and moving off! A lot of people (i've learned this the hard way myself) usually continue chasing and calling and before you know it you've just pushed that bull miles out of his normal routine and made him very call shy. This sometimes happens by other hunters to a bull you've been working but it's just part of the game and is why plan B, C, and D are all great things to have! So, if you are on a big herd bull that keeps packin' up his cows and movin' off when called to, try gettin ahead of him quietly or sneakin in on em and rub an antler or a branch on a tree. You can even throw in a small sounding bugle with the trick treein' as well and sometimes gets the bull runnin' in to put himself between you and his cows, but you have to be in his comfort zone first before making any noises. If he still continues to move off, I would continue getting less pushy and definitely would stop calling or only throw out soft cow calls very sparingly just to cover up my foot steps (only if my steps are audible), or I would back out and try later.
Sorry for the long winded rant, I just get all worked up thinking about chasing bugling bulls! Hope my experiences or thoughts help ya out! JIM>