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Thread: Your best call in

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    Van-I hate it here
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    339

    Your best call in

    When I look at HBC these days it seems that over half the posts are in Open Chat, covid, politics, residential schools etc. Not to say that those things aren't important however I wanted to start a thread to get everyone excited for and focused on this upcoming seasons hunt.

    So let's hear some stories about your best call in... did a bull elk almost step on you? charged by a bull moose? rattle in an amazing blacktail buck?

    I'll start, sorry no pictures. Our group had the moose draw in 5-15D, we were driving between Wells & Barkerville and saw a bull out in that huge swampy plain north of the highway, those that have been there will know of the area that I'm talking about. I stopped the truck and let out a few cow calls although we didn't know if we could shoot in that area. Well, that bull starting coming in towards us, we were in two vehicles so one of the guys raced back into Wells to find out from some locals we had just talked to to see if we could shoot in that area, days before iHunter and Huntbuddy.

    That bull came in hot, crossed over the highway right in front of our truck and an RV coming the other way and dropped into another meadow on the other side of the highway. We circled back and drove up a small road that climbed up above the meadow that the bull just dropped into, my wife was at the back of the truck and my buddy and I were sitting on the roof of the truck. I let out a few more cow calls and waited. I was looking down into this meadow in the direction where I thought the bull might come in from. My buddy spotted the bull coming in from a different direction and said, 'hey theres the bull'.

    Again, it was making a bee line for us, when it was about 40 yards away with all these willows and thick crap down below us and it was coming up to road and it just blasted through all those thick willows. When it was still down below in the willows I told my wife and friend to get into the truck! It walked up right in front of the truck and went up into the forest above.

    At that point our other friend came back and told us that we couldn't shoot in the original area where we spotted the bull and it turns out that there was private land in the area that we were now in. It was quite the experience though, calling that bull in a few times and it coming right to us, crazy how they can pinpoint your exact location from calling.

    What call in experiences have you guys had?

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
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    7A
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    20,732

    Re: Your best call in



    half hour after sunrise myself and my two partners slip into the timber, slowly cow calling our way into the direction of the wallow

    5 minutes later, a bull bugles ahead of us a hundred yards. I hang back as my partners sneak up. I catch movement through the trees, here comes a nice bull quartering towards us left to right. He stops behind a thick wall of trees with only his head showing. Looked like a nice 6x6. Wind is still perfect, I'm back 30 yards doing my best imitation of a sleazy cow. After a minute standoff @ 50 yards (from my partners) he begins on, not offering a clear shot. He eventually is out of sight in the thick bush to our front right.

    That is when bull #2 bugles, he sounded like a fire breathing dragon when he growled and chuckled. Life at this moment just doesn't get better, seemed like a dream. I cant see him, but keep cow calling. A couple minutes go by, it seemed like a lot longer, when I am snapped out of my daze by the muzzle blast of a 300 Winchester.
    Found a torn up spot where a bull had obviously been not too long ago, so we tried a bugle. Instant response off in the timber to our right. Another bugle a few minutes later and he screamed back, noticeably closer.

    Myself and my 13 yr old cousin, on his first elk hunt, took position on top of a small rise, while the father in law and BIL took cover behind us 50 yards, and began to cow call. A bugle off to our left echoed off the poplars, and the crashing of brush coming in fast got our attention and we got ready.

    I spotted the bull first about 75 yards out, he stopped and thrashed a small tree and let out a bugle. Nice bull I thought, real nice. I had my 300 Win Mag ready and Tyler was by my side. A couple cow calls by the crew behind us and he was on a string right for us and coming quick.

    I told Tyler to lift the legs on his bipod and stand beside me, as the bull closed the distance quickly with each step. He finally came into an opening between some trees at 15 yards when I told Tyler to drop the hammer. I looked over at my partner and he was shaking like jello.
    We headed deeper into the timber and finally got an answer to one of our bugles. It was later in the morning by now, around 8am and we didn't wait and try to the lure the bull in, we checked the wind and headed right towards where he bugled from and the hunt was on! He would answer our cow calls and bugles, sounded like he was about 200-300 yards away still. We were skirting to his right, when he answered us and was much further to our left and heading downwind! We made the quick adjustment and within 400 yards the wind was right and we felt we were close to where he last bugled from.

    We did some cow calls and I began to rub on a tree with a broken branch to try and lure in the bull to thinking a bull was with a cow and I heard a large branch snap not far out in front of us. I scanned for minutes with my binos but could not see any movement. All of a sudden he bugled and let out a series of loud hollow grunts. He was close! A few more cow calls and we could hear the bull getting close and closer. What an adrenaline rush! I spotted movement ahead and it was two cows heading our way, and then I seen him, could hear him, panting and glunking as he followed the cows towards us. His long beams first, I could see a good rear split and he was definitely a shooter! A beautiful sight as he came through the timber at about 60ish yards, the morning sun rising and his reddish black mane, tan body and then he let out a screaming lip bawl bugle. Im glad I had a tree to lean on as I could be shaking so hard I couldnt hold the binos right! The cows came through an opening and the bull was next, from where my partner was hiding behind a tree 10 yards to my left he had a clear lane on the bull and dropped the hammer at about 50 yards. The bull spun and headed to our left, stopped after about 20 yards, wobbled a bit and then tore off out of our sight, but we easily heard him crash to the ground only 50 yards from where he was hit.
    we got a response to our third location bugle. We slipped into the timber downwind, and when within around 100-150 yards of where we figured he was earlier, we gave a few soft cow calls. The bull instantly answered us with a bugle, and he wasn’t far off. A half dozen excited cow mews and we could hear the crashing coming, and there he was, facing us at 60 yards. POW - The bull stumbled and turned to go, only making it a short 12 yards before piling up.
    Hiked a couple KM at first light into an area which had shown some good sign of elk activity. I seen fresh tracks on the trail so decided to stop and make a bugle. Seconds later I heard some crashing up ahead and a bull bugled back a couple hundred yards away. Nice throaty gravely scream. Oh yeah baby this is happening! I moved towards him slowly and set up when I had a decent shooting lane. He bugled again on his own and I gave him a half dozen cow calls, shitty ones I could barely call I was pretty jacked up. He bugles again, screaming.

    A minute goes by, silence. Then I hear some crashing and spot movement ahead. A cow is coming right towards me on a pretty good clip, and the bull is hot on her tail. He screams again, and hes charging towards me. Crosshairs settle on his chest frontal and I take the shot - WHAP I can hear the bullet impact and he staggers and lurches to my right and out of sight. Cow keeps trotting towards me and stops, looks around. It's dead quiet, no crashing, nothing. Cow turns and walks off out of sight and I slowly make my way up to where the bull was. I get about half way and he's standing there broadside looking right through me. One more shot behind the shoulder and he takes off but only makes it a short ways before piling up
    "If you ever go into the bush, there are grizzly bears lurking behind just about every bush, waiting to pounce, so you need a powerful gun, with huge bullets" - Gatehouse ~ 2004

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
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    6-04
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    Re: Your best call in

    One of a few, fortunate for him we had already filled our tag. A couple wolf hunts with wolves charging in at 20 or so paces were quite the rush’s as well.

    https://youtu.be/MFIrFxtYKsc

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Lowermainland
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    6,453

    Re: Your best call in

    Jamfarm , great story ! I’m looking forward to the progression of this thread and will try and add my moose story soon .
    Mr Bartell beauty elk and story . I’m 65 now hope to harvest an elk before I have to put the rifle away !

    Arctic Lake
    Member of CCFR Would encourage you all to join today !
    Read Teddy Roosevelt “ The Man In The Arena “ !

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Posts
    9,113

    Re: Your best call in

    Back in late teens (50 years ago) wolf whistled at a hottie once and ended up bringing her home! Definitely the best call in yet!
    "When you judge another you don't define them, you define yourself."

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Van-I hate it here
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    339

    Re: Your best call in

    Last year I called three wolves into about 15' while elk hunting with the bow. It was early in the morning right at first light and my partner didn't want me to locate bugle at first but just do cow sounds and then eventually make some bull sounds.

    The first wolf that came in was jet black, once it saw me and realized I wasn't a cow elk it stopped and turned downwind, once it got my scent it took off. I turned to watch it leave and when I turned back to the spot where it first stopped there where two other wolves sitting there looking at me. When they saw the first wolf take off they followed it. It happened so fast there was no way I could have drawn my bow. Cool experience though.

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Posts
    1,361

    Re: Your best call in

    Not my best call in but it is my latest. June this year I had a newbe out to see about getting him his first big game.
    The area I normally go to was closed due to logging so we did a fair bit of driving the roads looking for some dung piles that might be fresh. There was not much sign and after watching several cut blocks we hadn't seen a thing. I pulled a call out and started squacking... the new hunter started laughing thinking that I would scare anything away for miles.
    It only took about 5 minutes and out of the bush about 75 yards away came a decent size bear, he (my hunter) was so excited that I think he had buck fever and his shot went wild over the bears back.
    What a good laugh I had after that one.
    MM

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    The Puddle
    Posts
    571

    Re: Your best call in

    The bull in my profile pic and I had a go round for about an hour. I hiked into a dead end road that ran parallel a massive wetland complex. I was on my way back in the evening when I heard a cough,,, thought to myself damn there is another hunter on the other side of the wetland,,, then I heard a grunt,,, damn that hunter is calling as well,,,,, then I heard the bushes in the swamp being raked. Hmmm, there is no way there is a hunter down in that swamp,, must be a bull. So I called, he grunted then walked further up the wetland,,, I raced up the road,,, called,,, he answered then walked up the wetland,,, about a km of this and I thought there is no way he is leaving that swamp to come up here. Then I remembered the road I was on turned down to the wetland at about a 30% angle,,, ha I will cut him off there. We grunted back in forth the entire way till I got around that bend,,, I could hear him coming and figured he would cross the road about 50 yards in front of me... I was all set, kneeling down on the edge of the road when all of a sudden I notice he turned 90% and was coming from the swamp right at me. Damn I am not in the right spot, but as soon as he stepped into an opening, bango right in the chest, dropped in his tracks. Took me forever to find an entrance wound, turns out it was right in his breast bone,, did not find it till we split him in half. Most fun I have had with a bull.

    XPEIER

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    4,368

    Re: Your best call in

    I've called in my share of elk, and rattled in a few deer (blacktail and whitetail) and it always pumps me up when you get an elk or deer to respond to calling.

    I also spent allot of time calling spring black bears on Vancouver Island. I usually call when I see a bear in an area I just don't want to hike up into. Most times it doesn't work but sometimes bears respond.

    Was trying to call a bear one morning that seemed ambivalent to my calls. I tied soft calling, loud and everything in between. Nothing was working. Heard a little "snap" behind me



    I had bears sneak in on my before so whenever I call I try and position myself where I have a good view behind me or some nasty terrain "like the cliff" behind me in this picture. This guy made it down without making a sound until he was right behind me. Was probably my most memorable call in as he had me crapping my pants!!!!!

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    South Okanagan
    Posts
    924

    Re: Your best call in

    Happened two weeks ago. Calling for bears with a fawn call - very quiet, not many calls. This kitty crossed an open meadow to within 35 yards away.

    Got a good bear a couple hours later.


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