Scenario 5

You are hunting a section of private land that has been hunted a week before you got there and now all sign appears to be a week old. You can hear the elk bugling from the neighboring section that does not allow hunting. The elk obviously feel secure within that sanctuary. What would you do?

Danny Moore

I would bugle and work a tree over with my whip stick, trying to pull the bull into the area I am hunting.

Paul Medel

Not too much can be expected immediately there. This isn't the elks' 1st rodeo. You would be doing good to pull anything over your way. Depending on how open the country is & how far these vocal elk are from a fence line you may be able to call cows your way with lost sounds or the estrus buzz in hopes of the bull following along, but your chances are fairly slim. You may do better there in the mornings or evenings if there is water or feed that draws them to your side of the private land at these times & ambush them while on the legal side!

Paul Medel II

This is a very difficult situation. When elk feel safe and are not getting any pressure on the other land it is almost impossible to call them back onto the land that you are hunting. If there is any chance that you can get permission from the other landowner I would go that route. Other than that you will just have to play the waiting game. I would not keep calling from the fence line that will just ensure that the elk stay on the other land. If you have a couple days and do not pressure them, there is a chance that they might wander back onto the property that you are hunting. You can also keep combing the land that you are hunting and try to find some elk that are still around. Try some soft cow calls. I would not do too much calling or make a lot of noise. You might just be able to call in those silent elk that you don't even know are around.

Al Morris

What can you do but hunt the area you have permission or have paid for. If the elk are on the neighbors and you have no elk where you are all you can do is hunt along the boundary and try to call an elk across the line. It can make for a long, frustrating week of elk hunting if there are no elk on the place you can hunt. Be the first ones in, or do better research to make sure where you hunt has elk. I have helped people in this situation and there are good areas of public land that can be close, and good plan B.

Corey Jacobsen

Elk are where they are and there's no sense in hunting them if they aren't there. I'd likely back out of the area and let it settle down for a couple of days, hoping the elk would move back in. There's always the urge to try to call the elk up out of their "sanctuary", but the odds of that happening are typically pretty low, especially if they've been pressured and bumped from that area in recent days. I'd find a new area to hunt and give it another try in a few days.

Rob Sherman

I would find a travel corridor that leads to where the elk now are, be that a drainage, saddle, etc.  I would then try calling to see if I could coax a bull to come check out the hot new "cow".  If that didn't work, I'd go find another place to hunt.  This is a situation destined for failure.  The elk are in an area where they feel safe, and they aren't going to be real excited about leaving there to go back to where they kept running into those nasty smelling creatures with pointy sticks.