Successful Archery Tips?

[#1huntinfool]

I have a 6a early archery bull hunt. Im deffenetly pumped for it! is there any tips from all experts?

Besides all the obvious like getting in shape, practising, ect?

When do you find the best time to call is? Or do you prefere to keep quiet? More cow, or bull calls? Do you think sitting water is a good idea? Lol, I hate sitting still. I dont mind getting up high and glassing, but I grew up in Oklahoma and I despise the thought of being cramped all day in a blind!

Are yall more aggresive and go, or do you prefer to sit and let the bull come to you?

This will be my third archery bull hunt in AZ sense i have moved here 10 years ago, and it seems like the most luck I have experienced is to not call so much, just slip in the herd! And deffenetly more cow calls than bull calls. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

 

[wildwoody]

Woulda , coulda , shoulda. you have to figure out what's working, and remember the cows will bust you

[Swivelhead]

Volumes have been written to answer the questions you pose in a single paragraph. I'll try to keep my response short.

 

Personally, I don't call much. If the elk are talking, why should I? Despite what call manufacturers tell you, successful "calling" is about 80% knowing the elk and their habits and 20% making the correct sounds. Most called bulls are young, lonesome elk.

 

Sitting water is a great strategy for taking an elk. Likely, when the time comes, you'll have a very makeable shooting opportunity. You'll also get to interact with fellow elk hunters at said water source.

 

Elk season is the quickest two weeks of any hunters life. A "no quit" attitude is your best ally. You can lick your wounds when it's over. Good luck.

[nateNAU]

I personally think most elk rut hunting is done before the sun comes up. Drive to what you think is a good spot, shut the truck off and just listen. If you dont hear anything give a cow call. If no response after a few minutes, give a juvenile bugle. If no response move on down the road a mile and repeat. When you get to an area with good responses, that is where you want to start. Calling or silent is a matter of personal preference and also situational. On the first few days of a hunt nearly any bull can be called in. When the hunting pressure increases, being silent may have its advantages. I love calling. A lot of people in the woods pick up a call at Wal-Mart right before the hunt and are terrible. Practice an cow esturus call, which I would define as a normal cow mew with a little rasp and excitation in it. When this is perfected you can call in bulls when a lot of other people tell you the rut has shut down or bulls have become call shy. Having a caller that can analize a bugle, drop behind the shooter by about 50 or so yards and maneuver himself to bring the bull infront of the shooter is also a huge plus. It is killing me this year becuase I dont have one september hunt to go on. Best of luck and make sure you post pics and a story when you shoot your bull : )

[AverageJoe]

I can tell you in 6a dont even bother cow calling. You will just send the bulls running in the other direction unless you are a seasoned pro at calling. A locater bugle is a good idea but then once you hear the bull just shutup and haul butt to where you think he is. Then listen for him again. If you are close pick up a good sized branch off the ground and do your best imitation of a bull raking his antlers in a tree. That will bring him in fast. Early morning is usually best as it can and will hit 90 degrees by 10 am. Its a harder rut hunt than other units. Those bulls have heard every store bought cow call and the 900 other hunters use the hoochie mama 1000 times a day thinking it is that easy.

[.270]

be in good shape and hunt all day. just because you get warm don't mean the elk ain't still there. start about 2 or 3 am working your way in and become part of the herd. and follow em all day. the guys that hunt a little in the morning and then again in the afternoon are missing a lotta opportunity. the elk are still there. use the wind and be sneaky. bow shootin' elks is a lotta fun. Lark.

[singleshot]

Be aggressive, your not hunting deer your hunting elk. If your not getting busted on a regular basis your not being aggressive enough. Don't be afraid to hunt bedding areas. If you push them out don't worry about it. A different bunch is liable to be in the same beds the next day. When spooked elk generally take a horizontal path. Loop out in semicircles further than what you might think and lots of times you can get in front of the herd again.

[GreyGhost85]

Be aggressive, your not hunting deer your hunting elk. If your not getting busted on a regular basis your not being aggressive enough. Don't be afraid to hunt bedding areas. If you push them out don't worry about it. A different bunch is liable to be in the same beds the next day. When spooked elk generally take a horizontal path. Loop out in semicircles further than what you might think and lots of times you can get in front of the herd again.

be aggressive. B-E aggressive. if the elk are call shy, which most are, i use what i call run and gun. get the wind in your face and chase bugles. calling them in is fun, but you might spend hours methodically calling and stalking one bull. if you are aggressive, sure you'll blow bulls out a LOT, but you have so many more chances. when i hunt them, i am literally running most of the day. if you are targeting one specific bull, you need to slow down and be a little more methodical, but if you are just looking for a lot of opportunity, do not be afraid of being too aggressive. worry about busting cows more than the bulls. Bulls that time of year really let their guard down more than the cows. i would say i get busted by a cow, not the bull 80% of the time. An elk's nose is their most important tool. far and away more important than their eyes or ears

[KaibabHunter]

I had 6as in 2010 and my dad had it 2 years in a row 2013 & 2014.

 

I agree with minimal cow calling. I plan each hunt based on the wind - always into it. I agree with hunting hard - all day if possible. I do use a locator bugle. I carry a decoy and when we a sneek in we use it to cover us in case those cows pick up movement. In 6a dont be surprised to find the herd bull is a very young bull. Be prepared to run into other hunters chasing the same elk. Water/wallows is a good option but we prefer to chase bugles and get in front of the herd if possible.

[Zeke-BE]

I haven't archery bull hunt yet. This is great information

[bonecollector]

Listen to Jay Scott's recent podcast part 1and 2. Good luck

[CRAZYBUCK]

What he said ^^^^^^ just listened to it yesterday lots of great Intel

[.270]

elk do something that most other animals don't do, when you bust one, the ones with some experience, will go downwind. they want the breeze to bring your scent to them so they know where you are and know where to run, i also think they do it so they can find the cows they just ran away from too. if you're bowhunting elk right, you're running a lot. become part of the herd. it ain't that hard to do. and it is a lotta fun. you'll see alotta crazy stuff. i ain't afraid of cow calling a lot, if you know how to cow call. throw that hoochie mama out the window and all them other duck soundin' things they call cow calls and get a diaphram and learn how to make all the noises that elk make. elk ain't ducks, so don't use a stupid duck call soundin' thing to bring em in. good luck.Lark.

[#1huntinfool]

Thanks for all the info! keep it up!

I had the same tag 2 yars ago, it was a blast! Younghuter helped me tag out on a young bull opening day.

I have a primos terminator, and i can cow and bull call well on it.

[Alpinebullwinkle]

Most important archery tip? Make sure you and your archery equipment are ready! All the previous input is excellent. But if you can't execute the kill when in position you can't achieve your goal. Trust me......I have made every mistake in the archery bull manual, but still managed to harvest numerous P&Y Bulls