Jackalope_Joe

Found em. About 6 bulls this morning. Three of them bugled until about 9. I didn't see the herd bull or his duet partner but their bugles we're obviously more mature. Strangely i laid eyes on three bulls all within 300 yards of one another and each had a herd of about 6 cows. One at 40 yards turned about 5 feet short of my opening and went around the other side of his herd. I slipped in on another and got an angle ahead of them. Ranged the lead cow at 38. The bull stopped in the same opening and i presume the fever got the best of me. I combed the direction he went for 400 yards for 6 hours and never found blood, hair, or the arrow. I did't hear the hollow thud or crack of an arrow impact, but more like the quick sound of a knife on a leather strap. Pretty loud and quick slicing sound. Never heard the arrow hit a limb, tree or rocks. Little off topic now. Just wanted to say i found a good group of vocal bulls in 6a. If you have a rifle tag next week in 6a and are in good shape shoot me a Pm. If they're there Thursday I'll let you know.

Hey fellas. New guy. Figured i'd give some input on 6a for the week I've been here so far. First time elk hunter and none resident but no stranger to hunting big whitetails in Ohio. Camped down of 260 on FS 9324A. Couple guys have been hunting out of camp with only a small 5x5 seen a couple days ago. No bugeling in the morning or through the night. I'm a lot more mobile than they are and have been covering the countryside. A couple days i was up off 81a and covered the ground from the start of 81a back on past hollingshead mountain. Always keeping the wind in my face and watching thermals. Heard 1 bugle back in there on Monday after dark on the walk out. Nothing in the mornings. I haven't bugled any myself as it seems to attract more hunters than responses from a bull right now. I've also done a fair amount of stomping around up off 122a. Got in a good bull in there Sunday who had a single cow and a spike with him. The campers running side by sides didn't take long to bugger him off though. For the life of me i cant relocate him. Even sat up on top of the long valley draw and glasses and was unable to locate him. The two mornings i saw him he never bugled once. Yesterday i covered a 6 mile loop off 609 down off the 260. Seen a lone cow with two calves. I parken in there at the split at 3:30 and sat till sunup and never heard a bugle. One evening i sat over close to sheep tank off 9360 i think and glass and worked that grass meadow down through there. Again a lone cow with two calves. I'm seeing some good sign with pines rubbed and tracks but the bulls just aren't vocal which makes them a lot harder to find. Mostly I've been keeping the wind in my face and walking slow stopping every 20 yards or so to glass. Did a couple sets in good sign calling mostly using lost calf and some gathering trying to locate the cows. I figure with the bulls being quiet i had a better chance of getting the cows talking to locate if a herd was close. Figuring the elk may have bombed off in the canyons due to pressure I've been sitting at the end of 6378 since sunup and haven't heard a single bugle down off in the canyon. Did throw a location bugle off down there before leaving and didn't get a response. Been hunting water in the evenings and found a few with little traffic and some sign but it's hard to tell with all the cattle. No wallows in the tanks and very little scat. Sat pecks point tank 3 last night and thought for sure something would be in there as elky as that ground looks but nothing. We'll be out here until the last day burning up the boot leather trying to find these ghosts of the woods. Anyway I'm sure they're rutting but they're being awful quiet about it. hope you guys are having a better go of it that I am locating these suckers. Happy hunting.