- Details
- Category: Archery
- Published: Sunday, 30 August 2026 22:58
- Written by Greg
Distressed Calf Call
A week before the start of the archery season I went scouting with my grandson Daxton. We were able to turn up a couple of nice bucks and a few elk. However, I wasn’t going to be able to hunt until the 3rd weekend, so I hoped I’d find the animals within close proximity to where we had found them once I was able to get back to the mountain.
I rolled into camp Friday evening and spotted a nice 24-inch 3x3 buck with eye guards right near camp. I was able to stalk to within 60 yards but never had a shot opportunity because of the thick aspens but that was an exciting start to the hunt! My plan for morning was to hunt a burn area where Daxton and I had spotted animals a few weeks before.
Spike elk shed while stalking 3x3 buck
An hour before sunup I was on my 4-wheeler ready to leave camp when it started to sprinkle. I decided to wait a couple of minutes to see what the weather would do and in that amount of time the light rain turned moderate. I scurried back to my tent, zipped closed the door just as a clap of thunder roared and the rain began to pummel my tent. The rain finally stopped an hour and a half later, so I hopped on my 4-wheeler and headed for the burn area. About an hour into my hike I came across fresh elk tracks where dry dirt was kicked up on top of the drenched soil so I knew the elk crossed the hillside very recently. I proceeded to hike to the top of the mountain following the same path as the elk.
Brutal storm, melted hail puddled deep at tent door
Just as I reached the summit an elk bugled to my left. Seconds later a responding bull bugled to my right and then another bugle sounded off further to the south. Excitedly I stood motionless for a couple of minutes contemplating what to do next. Slowly I crept to my right since that bugle couldn’t have been more than 100 yards away. Looking through my binos I spotted a cow and calf 70 yards through the trees. It took about 10 minutes for me to cover a short 15 yards but the elk must have caught my scent because all I heard was crashing up ahead and barely saw the blur of a few elk as they busted out in front of me.
Frustrated I quickly assessed the situation and headed for a pinnacle of rocks up ahead to my left. Just maybe I’d be able to see the elk if they happened to arc around the ridge. I reached the rock outcropping and peered down into the hollow below. Maybe 10 minutes later an elk bugled to my right about 150 yards away. Using my binoculars, I scoured the burn area looking for the bull and finally turned up a couple of cows. In the distance a couple of other bulls were screaming…what to do.
My view from rock outcropping 10 yds from impact point, 14 in. still buried deep
Since the burn area lacked sufficient cover, I was skeptical that stalking in the direction of the elk would pan out. So that’s when I decided that trying to coax elk close using a distressed calf call might be a decent option. Hidden within the rocky crag I belted out a distressed calf cry. That same bull bugled over to my right, very near where I had seen the cows. About a minute later I cried out again. Not 30 seconds later I spotted movement up ahead and quickly noticed an elk heading towards me. Looking through my binoculars I could see a spike elk coming quite quickly towards me. At the 110 yard mark the bull stopped as if looking for the lost calf. A minute passed – stalemate. Slowly I turned my head away from the approaching elk and cried out again. It worked, the bull continued forward and the wind was in my favor. Gently I picked up my bow and nocked an arrow, my heart was pounding and my mind was racing, at what point do I draw my bow -- I wondered. He was now at 45 yards…35 yards, within a second the spike would be broadside at 25 yards! It was time…I hadn’t moved my bow more than an inch when suddenly the bull whirled and bolted diagonally, instantly my heart sunk. The bull wasn’t even looking in my direction so I was baffled by what startled him.
Elk down not too far away Decent sized spike
But thankfully the bull stopped, turned almost perfectly broadside and stared back toward whatever he was looking at before he bounded away. Slowly I lifted my bow, drew back and placed my 35 yard pin on the mark and released an arrow. Bullseye…the elk barely flinched and stood still for 5 seconds, then he slowly ambled downhill 50 yards and dropped!
Daxton with a couple of quarters Lots of work, finally back to camp