Colorado Bull Elk Bugle Battle! HEADPHONES ON! BLACK FLOOR ARCHERY

Описание: IG ‪@BLACKFLOORARCHERY‬
This was a very intense encounter with a bull elk this year in Colorado during late in September. This encounter was something elk hunters live for. My my vocalizations were based on what he was doing, what I heard, and the time of the month. It was the last week of the month so it wasn’t too risky to bugle a lot and very aggressively, but not TOO aggressive.

I did NOT plan on videoing anything this year but my iPhone 15 Pro Max sat in my chest rig and JUST poked out the top. I just hit record and got this encounter with a very big bull elk. I had heard him from the road while three hunters on e-bikes zoomed past me. As I stopped to talk to one and they sped off I heard a very faint bugle in the distance. One of the rules is to ALWAYS pursue a bugle.

One very specific detail of this encounter was that is was RIGHT ON THE BORDER of draw only, or “trophy unit” and the big log in front of me was that exact border. The strategy is risky and for greedy unethical hunters, this can be very dangerous for many reasons. I love hunting so much that I was willing to take that risk and have the discipline to not break any laws. I stayed on the border and played by the rules like I always do. As you can see from the video, I was perpendicular to the border and the bull just would not come into my calls. I called too much but that was the only option I had to bring him across. One thing I thought during this exchange was "There might be more than one bull...". As I reviewed the footage, I realized there may have been. In the moment, which is an adrenaline dump and borderline fever state, I only played to the closest one.

You can’t tell by the audio but It was very apparent how much he was moving and how close he got. Towards the end, he was trucking away from me and I decided, based on the wind, to move and maybe get him to walk into the unit. No luck. No eyes on but VERY EXCITING.

This video is the one where I got him from about a mile away, to which I can estimate was about 50-100 yards in deep dark timber. The audio was being picked up from the iPhone mic which was pushed down into the chest rig so I isolated and boosted it a little.

This entire encounter has many learning lessons in it. One was always pursue a bugle and if you’re good enough, you can bring them in. Second, play by the rules. As I was walking back to camp that night, I saw a truck roll up and it was Colorado Parks and Wildlife Officers. If I would have killed that bull on the other unit, they would ask me to take them to the shot site and the carcarss it and I’d be busted. They would confiscate my truck, all my gear, $12,000 fine, and I’d lose hunting privileges for a month. Not worth it. Glad I played it the right way.

I had five major bugle sessions along with eleven major elk encounters over twenty eight days of hunting. This is one I got on film. I’ll post more as time goes and and I get them edited. Thanks for watching!