For the guys hunting Western Oregon this year are

ehunter · 10-09-2006, 06:54 AM

you hearing any elk bugle in the first couple of weekends?
From our stand point it was a weird year in Saddle Mountain and I was wondering if the elk were talking a lot the first weekend.

Half fast Toyn · 10-09-2006, 08:26 AM

The area we biked and walked into the last weekend of bow season was open to drive in rifle deer hunters 1 week later. The bulls that were eager to answer us (3 on Saturday and 5 on Sunday)were silent as a church mouse..... thems some smart critters when it comes to cars and trucks. I believe the rut was just getting started in that area the week prior to rifle deer season. Ive heard bulls bugle in the coast range 3 weeks into rifle deer season. Ive heard bulls bugle during rifle elk season in the Cascades. When I figure these animals out, Im going to write a book and get rich.... or perhaps just keep it a secret and bag my elk every year. One thing is for sure, Im toteing a video camera to document my hunts, cause even I dont believe the amount and size of the animals I saw while hunting elk with a bow.

ehunter · 10-09-2006, 08:58 AM

It was a strange year for us we heard a lot of single elk bugles but we very seldom heard more than one bugle from these elk it was hard to locate them. On a couple of occasions we even saw the bull bugle once. I was just curiuous if the rut was starting later than normal...

Ni! · 10-09-2006, 09:11 AM

Last Monday (10/2) I saw the most violent elk fight I've ever seen. Two bulls ranging over a steep hillside with their antlers locked up. The smaller one finally lost his footing and rolled down the hill. The big one took advantage and speared him in the body until the smaller one got his footing again and busted through a patch of blackberries on his way out of town. It was pretty amazing. They were also bugling almost non-stop before this. The bulls were still with the cows this last weekend but I only heard a couple of bugles on Saturday.

Ni!

Maddie'sDaddy · 10-09-2006, 12:04 PM

We ddi roust a bull up while deer hunting friday night feeding some reprod while his cows were feeding in the open clearcut, no bugles but if it matters i have been seeing some serious rubs along tree lines in some areas ,very fresh
definate elk, one was at least seven feet high at the top.

MD

ehunter · 10-09-2006, 12:06 PM

Wow that had to be a sight

. I have seen some small sparing battles but nothing to compare that to. Ni what was your take down there do you think the elk were in full rut by the end of the bowseason. While I did not see a lot of bulls this year I had talked to a number of people hunting in Saddle mountain that had similar experiences and or mutiple bulls running with cows and even leaving the cows when spooked...I am sure there were some herds going nuts there always are just not where we were this year

ehunter · 10-09-2006, 12:08 PM

We did not see very many rubs this year until the last weekend so I don't know maybe I am going blind and deaf :grin:

Ni! · 10-09-2006, 01:41 PM

I would say they were going full rut during the last week of bow season. However, in this particular area there was essentially zero hunting pressure on them this year, so that probably has some bearing on how much bugling they do.

Ni!

pythonwill · 10-09-2006, 05:29 PM

I kicked out about a dozen cows yeaterday in the Trask unit and after they started running off Here comes a pretty nice 6x6 and he was bugling like crazy when he got left behind. It was pretty cool for my daughter to hear, it was her first time hearing it in the wild.