September Magic

Contributed by Prostaffer Ron Niziolek

The canyons and ridges in the rugged Wyoming backcountry remained silent during my early morning hike. On a morning this calm, bugles should have been echoing everywhere, making my bowhunt a little easier. I conceded that I would have to rely on my calling skills to create some action. I eased my way westward, still-hunting along ancient elk trails, slowly gaining more elevation. Suddenly, I heard some branches break ahead and slightly below me. I paused, listening to stirrings of elk moving through the forest.

I stepped forward to some small pines, quietly removed my pack and unbuckled my Heads Up Decoy. I clamped that likeness of a cow elk head to a chest-high branch, cleared an area to kneel in, nocked an arrow and then softly cow called. I patiently waited five minutes, and then sounded off with a locator bugle. A short, muffled grunt returned through the trees, definitely a bull elk. I estimated him to be about a hundred yards away. A slow 10 minutes went by before I bugled again. This one was met with silence. In fact, the next dozen were met with silence. The only sound was the occasional snap of branches or a hoof on a log. It was an agonizing wait.

Anxious for the long stalemate to end, I arranged the decoy a little differently and crawled forward for another 30 yards. The forest floor was covered with branches, pine cones and needles and sounded extremely crunchy. I felt if I went further, I’d push the bull out for sure. Finally I found a place where I could set up in front of a stump with some low brush for cover and once again I carefully cleared a place to kneel. When I was ready, this time I ripped the loudest, nastiest bugle, and that’s when the real excitement began…..

Brittle tree limbs cracked and shattered into pieces as the bull plowed his way toward me. He was mad as hell, huffing with every breath and coming in fast, trying to intimidate the bull that had just challenged him. I caught glimpses of chocolate colored legs and ivory tines as he snaked his way through the dense blowdown. He paused briefly and I could tell he was looking at the decoy. He screamed a challenge and continued toward the decoy. When he passed behind a large uprooted tree at 40 yards, I drew my Hoyt to full draw and prepared for the pending shot, but couldn’t stop the gentle shaking at the tip of my arrow.

I focused intently on my anchor point and kept my sight pins on him. He was close now and as he stepped broadside from behind a tree, my 30 yard pin was on him solid and I pulled through the release. Whack! The arrow hit a little high and rocked the bull to his knees. As he dropped and stumbled, I furiously nocked another arrow and sent a second one through him. He stumbled for another 60 yards, then was down for good. I usually like to spot and stalk, but now feel very confident when calling, especially while using my decoy.

The full story detailing Ron's hunt for his 2012 Wyoming bull will be featured in an upcoming issue of Extreme Elk Magazine.

A Perfect Week

This has been the busiest September ever in regards to hunting. I have hunted elk in two states and managed to find a day to chase antelope in Kansas. Hunting elk is always fun, but prime rut usually conflicts with the early Kansas Antelope season. In preseason planning I didn’t expect to have time to chase antelope in western Kansas, but I went ahead and bought the tag anyways, just in case.

After eight days of pursuing elk in the high country of Colorado I had my fill and headed home to see the family before heading to Wyoming for my second elk hunt. After a day of rest and family time I headed out in search of antelope. With one day to hunt my expectations were very low, but a tip from a landowner allowed me to use my Heads Up Decoy to cross an open pasture and get into position near a water tank. I didn’t wait long before a buck came to the tank to drink. I did my part, capitalizing on the opportunity, and ending my Kansas antelope season in one morning of hunting.

After getting the antelope processed I had a few hours to get the pickup loaded to head north.  This was my second trip to Wyoming this fall so I hoped to ride the good luck train into Wyoming this time. We had a brief evening hunt with a little action, but no luck. The next morning was a different story though and my buddy Ron Niziolek and I were definitely in the right place at the right time. We had two satellite bulls come into range and I was able to kill the bigger of the two bulls, a nice 5 point, finally killing my first elk!

This is definitely a week I will never forget. I tagged a Kansas antelope on Monday and a Wyoming elk on Wednesday.   It can’t get much sweeter than this!  

Whitetail Pre-Rut Tactics for Early Season Success

I generally have not written enough about tactics and/or observations on the blog, but now that fall is here and we are in the month of October I felt a quick article about a very overlooked month would be appropriate.

Typically, October marks the start of many archery seasons across the mid west...or at least the time when people get a chance to enjoy some cooler weather and "casual" deer hunting outings that hold them over until November. Don't overlook the early season month of October for wrapping your tag around a great whitetail buck.

At Heads Up Decoy, we certainly understand the whitetail protocol that has been the recipe for success for decades...treestand hunting. But, for a moment, think about your area and the opportunities that may be available for some exciting hunting using rattling, calling, and yes...decoying. Calling sequences always work better if you have a decoy involved and in the month of October, many calling and rattling techniques can work better than during the peak of the rut.

Choose some areas on your property that offer access to some prime bedding locations or at the edge of uncut corn/milo...but don't necessarily interfere with a treestand or other stand location. Always use the wind to help you slip into these locations to lay down some subtle calling, rattling, or tree rubbing sequences. Have the decoy available either clamped to a tree or stationary object or held in your hand or a partners.

The reason I enjoy this tactic is simply because you can work an area well and often roust out a good buck that goes to bed early...often before shooting light. Bucks in October spend a substantial amount of time hanging out together, rubbing trees, and sparring. So these types of noises will peak the interest of a nearby bedded buck to come and investigate. Having the decoy available and easily seen will draw that animal out of the thick cover to present a close shot.

Morning or evenings work well...but if I had to choose, the afternoon and evenings of nights during the full moon are the best. We all get frustrated to a degree with the full moon and the morning hunts. But, as deer go to bed early, the dinner bell will ring earlier in the day and I also believe they get bored. Late afternoon and early evening during nights with a full moon can be full of deer movement and action in and around their bedding area. Take advantage of it. Remember, our midwestern whitetails are aggressive animals and we can exploit that characteristic by hunting them aggressively. As far as the fear of "bumping" them...in my opinion deer reset quickly with little effect. It takes repeated and often daily "bumps" to push them out of the area. It's also interesting that to note that if you do "bump" an animal from his bed...it is not unlikely for him to return later in the day after the buck thinks enough time for the danger has passed. This is exactly the scenerio that happened to me last fall. I bumped a good buck from his bed only for him to return a couple hours later...with me waiting for his return. As embarassing as it is to admit...I missed this buck clean at 25 yards.

Heads Up Decoys are the only decoy on the market that can help you get in quietly, hunt aggressively, and keep you mobile for this type of hunting technique. Hunting the pre-rut with decoying and calling set ups are a great way to score early season success. Good luck and Be Mobile...Stay Mobile.

The Reality of the Mountains

No elk...and no beetle kill here.

It's well documented the difficulty of a Colorado OTC elk hunt. Our's was no different. We had scouted a new area we had hope had promise. As we pulled out of the parking lot on a Sunday morning...an 11th vehicle was pulling in. In 3 days, we managed to see 2 bulls, but the region was virtually silent of live elk and no elk that had any interest in being seen by any calling technique.

I learned several years ago that you need back up plans, so it was off to implement "Plan B". We drove to a nearby town to let the family know our change and that we would be in the back country with no cell service until our departure for home.

Pulling into the trailhead I was pleasantly surprised with the lack of vehicles. Our plan was to pack into an area we had previously hunted 4 years ago that had elk. As my brother and I were putting our packs together with the supplies needed for the next several days, a truck with mules parked next to us, and was later followed by an outfitter's rig. In our discussions with our new friends, it was clear everyone hunting in the area had there eye on one particular bowl that was not much bigger than 200-300 acres. Nonetheless, Jeff and I donned the packs and headed in. As we turned the corner to head up the creek, it was apparent that this area too would be too crowded for my taste...and my effort to haul a 60lb pack 3 miles in when everyone else had 4 legged animals and comfortable wall tents. I made the decision to turn around and try "Plan C".

Now, I will admit that I have been critical of outfitters...especially in my beloved stated of KS. Not so much of those that haul people into the back country. In Kansas, outfitters limit access...but in the western states, outfitters cannot limit due to the public land factor...you need to work with them in the western states...as we did. The outfitter validated my "Plan C" idea as we passed the pack stream on our way back to the truck.

Jeff and I shifted our truck position. Misplacing items was the theme for me and I had misplaced my map of the trail and the area we were about to hike into. I am thankful that I had to dismantle my pack, because the outfitter came back out, raced his horse up to our truck with 2 beers to apologize to us...hoping he had not chased us out of the area. I was very impressed with this young man and equally impressed with his willingness to help us out. I think he respected the fact we were walking in on foot with heavy packs.

After a 3 mile hike into an area it was apparent that no one would be in there. There are people that are happy about the Colorado beetle kill, but it's a tragic picture in reality. I would say that in the area we hunted, 1 out of 20 pines were living. It was a tangled mess of deadfalls.

The first morning in the new area after days of insufficient sleep, cold, and soreness from sleeping on the ground had me questioning everything about myself and my ability and willingness to kill an elk. It didn't take long before I remembered why I was there. Jeff and I hiked up the first tangled ridge and decoyed in a great non typical bull to 7 YARDS! My inexperience saved that bull's life. Needless to say I was devastated for my brother Jeff. We have put in our time, paid our dues. To see him at full draw with a great bull so close and not have a shot because I chose to stop the bull by moving the decoy was something I will not get over.

pretty much all those pines are dead from beetles

To compound my misery, later in the day as we hunted back to camp, we literally stumbled into a real giant bull. My first impression was the wrong impression. I did not realize exactly how close we were when my brother spotted the bull. There was no reason to attempt a calling and decoy set up. My second cow call note was not hit just right...at that time...Jeff had moved to 25 yards of the bull and was coming to full draw when the bull blew out of the area. I was and I am still sick to my stomach. These 2 bulls were truly wall hangers that even this flatlander could recognize.

The coming days were full of learning experiences with no close calls for me. In the final hours of our hunt, God gave us one more elk hunting lesson. In a day were there was little bugling activity, the evening hunt back to camp proved to be another frustrating event.

I managed to get a bull to respond to my bugle from across the valley. We made our way around a bend and decided to bugle again to pinpoint the bull before we headed down and back up the steep slopes littered with beetle-killed deadfalls. In doing so, a bull lit up directly in front of us on the same slope. I sent my brother ahead saying some choice words "Let's see if we can cow call this #@$!*^er in!"

Well, as fate would have it, my brother headed up the slope vs directly at the approaching bull that was answering my Elk101 issued "Temptress" open reed cow call. I knew the bull would smell Jeff before he had a shot so in an attempt to readjust my brother's position, I raced up the slope hoping we'd have time to send him down the slope before the bull emerged from the dark dead timber. I grabbed Jeff, sent him down the slope and I ran up hill to draw the bull upwind from Jeff's position...but the bull was too close and he spotted Jeff moving down the hill. The bull was in clear view of the decoy...50 yards broadside from Jeff who hung himself up behind the cover. As the bull glance back and forth between the decoy and Jeff...it was at that moment I knew that I could call elk using my Bugling Bull Game Calls and more importantly...Heads Up Decoy works. That bull would not leave...even though he clearly pinpointed Jeff 50 yards away.

Our 2012 Colorado hunt was a trip where I have never learned more about myself, my gear, and about hunting elk. Colorado hunting OTC units are difficult...and you can never truly prepare for the reality of the mountains unless you are in them. I look forward to a great fall full of heartbreak, close calls, and success. Be Mobile...Stay Mobile.

Here We Go... Finally!

Tonight is the eve of Kansas archery season 2012. It feels more like what I assume December 24th, 1992 felt like to me as a giddy five year old than a regular Sunday work night in "the real world". I know for a fact I've never been more ready or prepared for a hunting season. I've never scouted more throughout a summer. I've never shot my bow as much as I have going in to this season. I've never felt so comfortable and confident in the gear I've acquired. Yet I'm as nervous and doubtful as ever. I suppose that's just being a bowhunter. However, after the last two seasons I've had you have to figure the luck will run out at some point, but maybe with all that preparation luck becomes less of a factor. I hope...

With much of the corn and milo still standing in northwest Kansas my deer season will likely get off to a slower start than some. That's alright though, because this coming Saturday is my single most favorite day to hunt, period. It's the antelope opener in my home state. I've got the bow tuned, the knee pads tucked in to my Sitka pants, and the Heads Up waiting patiently to lure a mature buck from his harem. To say I can't wait is an understatement...    - Kaleb

Prepping for Elk

Well the time is getting closer...in just over a week I will be headed West...ELK BEWARE!!! I've put a lot of time in shooting my bow and tinkering with gear over the last 10.5 months of  "off season". In reality the elk merely get a break from me, as I really have no off season. From the time one season closes to the time the next begins I am constantly doing something that will help me with the next seasons hunt. Whether it be working out, studying maps, researching new gear, or doing some shooting there really isn't a down time for me.

This year I've added a lot of new gear to my arsenal (no different than any other year), things like a new Go-Lite tent, Titanium Jetboil, Sawyer water filter, Heli-m bow, new Sitka clothing, a couple new Kifaru packs....and the list goes on. I'm looking forward to doing some good "in the field" reviews.

In the coming days I'll add a few pics of my set-ups, and definitely offer some insight and the conclusion of my hunts! Hunt Hard, Hunt Smart.

DREAMS

Late summer has arrived, the dreams have begun.  I expect that I am not alone with this phenomenon of vivid elk hunting dreams becoming more frequent as I sleep each night.  Distant bugles in my dreams are getting closer as I scramble through the woods in pursuit of the majestic creature that creates them.  Countless different scenarios play-out with each different dream, but they all tend to end similarly with me delivering a perfect shot on a magnificent bull.  Although I’m always a bit disappointed to wake and find that the story is just another dream, I’m also excited to learn that I am one day closer to the real thing.  Bow hunting elk is in my blood.  The act of it charges my soul’s battery, the anticipation of it gives me focus and determination for many of life’s other demands. 

My own personal preparation has been somewhat lacking this year.  Between career obligations, family challenges, and physical injuries I’m just not as prepared as I should be.  My confidence is still quite high as I plan to rely on years of experience instead of the sheer determination of my earlier bow hunting years.  As always,  I have goals for the season:  Help my twelve year-old son have a great muzzleloader hunt and maybe kill a bull, help a friend take his first elk, and continue with a quest to help a great friend finally arrow a 6 x 6 bull (he is a 5 x 5 killing machine!).  Success for me is often defined by helping others with bow hunting elk.   One of the best years I remember was one of the very few that I didn’t kill a bull myself.  It was a great season of rutting action and calling three separate bulls for two friends and my brother.  At season’s end my pack was bloody, my legs were tired, and my satisfaction was sky-high. 

Of course, I would like to also arrow some animals myself.  At the top of the list is a big Muley buck in velvet.  The little one I took last year to finish my Colorado Archery Big 8 leaves much for improvement.  I’m also itching for a bigger bear than the one I took in 2003.  Even with these personal goals at the top of my list, I inevitably will find myself being lured into chasing bugling bulls.  There is something magical about elk and the thrill of bow hunting them.  Nothing else compares; not even close.

Whatever the outcome of the season I will again measure success by the memories created.  In the end, these memories are what fuel our passion for more.  Antlers on the wall are mere reminders for the memories burned into our mind and soul.  Our future dreams may not actually need real experiences to draw from, but it certainly can’t hurt!

Provided by HUD Prostaffer Matt Dorram