And we're back with another episode of Cutting the Distance podcast. I'm Dirk Durham and today I've got a couple of cool guests on here, my hunting buddies, Cody Wilson and Bradley Demmerman. Thanks for coming on the show today, guys. Yeah, thanks for having us, Dirk.
Yep, thanks Dirk.
This Uh, this episode is basically going to be kind of a mid season update.
Uh.
We're at Elk Camp and uh, actually we're in town by Oak Camp. We came into town to get some more ice and and get a get a burger. We've been on the mountain for a few days and uh, you know, a season for us down here has kind of started.
Off with a bang.
We were backpacked in and we've been in there. How how many days were we in there? Days? I think five, wasn't it four or five?
Four or five? That's what I just said. Four or five is what I was thinking.
Yeah, and I think we've been into Elk and Herd Bugles and Chase Bugles every single day and had some really close calls. Now, this kind of country we're hunting is a little bit different than we're normally used to. Now, probably Cody you probably get to hunt some kind of open type country being you're a woman guy.
Yeah, I mean it's very similar. It's not this open per se, but a lot a lot of similarities. Good pockets, a timber and then you got some sagebrush, ridges and draws and stuff like that. But pretty similar, just a little less open.
Yeah. Yeah, I know, Bradley, were you you hunt and guide, then it's a lot like the country I kind of cut my teeth on hunting and lots of brush.
Yeah yeah, I mean where I hunt, it's like you can have a forty yard pin on there, but you'll never use it.
Yeah, okidding, right, less for some weird reason, you catch one standing a clear cut, which don't happen too often now. Yeah. So, uh so the three of us are hunting, We have tags, we got cameraman Dusty follow us around capturing it all on film. So you guys will be able to see this show on on the YouTube's here at some point on probably next year, after the first of the year. So so far, so good. Like we none of us have really hunted elk together before. Bradley and I have
hunted bears and mountain lions. Cody and I have hunted bears together, but never elk. How do you think it's going guys.
I think it's going great. I mean, first day it was the first time i'd, like Dirk said, I'd hunted elk with him, and he is. He's good at what he does. He had a bowl in my lap. He had a bowl in my lap the first morning, and I messed it up. But you know that's archery el cutting. And you actually called two bulls in already or the first day. One came in so islent. If I would have stayed put there, who knows what would have happened.
But you know, my A d D. I kind of slipped down the hill a little bit.
But the other bull come in, and uh, I was really what I was really you know they call you the bugler, but I'm really impressed with your cow talks.
Really, yeah, you think they're good, They're awesome. That's my biggest I feel like that's my biggest weakness. I'm my cow calls suck.
I'm embarrassed to blow my cow talk all you guys. Codes are codis are great, but uh, these elk there, we've been We've had some really close calls in the last five days and uh, but they've made us work for it where it's not easy train and they're they're definitely educated. You know, we're seeing hunters and these bulls have been hunted a lot, you can tell. And uh, we're just getting right there, but we haven't quite put it together yet.
But we've got quite a few more days, so I know it's gonna happen.
Oh yeah, we got time. Yeah. Yeah. On that first calling set up we did you there was a bullet came in that was bugling, so you you snuck down there and got it right on him. And then another one snuck in quiet that didn't bugle at all, and he came in and almost right to Cody, kind of in between where you guys first initially set up, and then he kind of come in there and got got we got a senate or something.
I think he caught my wind because I was up above you guys, and I think he just got past me and slipped by me without me seeing, and I think he just caught my win and took off.
Spooked out of there. Yeah, and then later that is that the same day, then we got on another big six point same day had a big six point just ripping bugles and and our motive operation. Since it's such open country and and and all. Then we've kind of like tried to keep the color like the color back a ways and not put too much pressure on the bowl and keep them talking and let the shooters like snak sneak in, slip in and get close and let
you know. If the bull comes, great, If not, then you're you're getting getting get into position and get a narrow into him. But that was a nice bowl. He kind of gave you the run around there for a bit. Yeah, he did, you know.
He piped off when we were headed down the hill, and me and Dusty slipped up and I caught a glimpse of him through the trees moving and so he kind of went underneath the little ridge line there, and I knew we could get closer, so me and Dusty slipped up more. And when I got up there, he bugled again. But when I popped over the hill to look, he was down there with his head in a tree, just getting after raking, and I I just motioned to Dusty like let's go.
And if he stayed that.
Tree, you know, I could slip up there and put an arrow in him pretty easy, but as it being what it was, you know, he popped his head out and looked up, and I don't know of I'm sure he had cows down below, because he popped his head out of there and then looked down the hill, and he went down the hill after him. And then boy, you guys slipped up and I think you yelled at him, screamed at him. Yeah, and no, sooner than being dust, he'd get around them trees. All I seen was antler
tips just coming over the hill. And by the time I got clear of the trees where I could shoot, he was almost there.
I just hit my.
Knees and drew my bow and he'd come up there frontal and all I could see was like from his brisket up and I just wasn't comfortable taking that shot at sixty I don't know, it might have been sixty five sixty.
I didn't have a chance to range it. But it's a long shot from them. Yeah, yeah, even at broadside for most people, that's a pretty long shot. So yeah, no, you did the right thing. It's kind of hard, you know. You guy gets in that situation, You're like, oh man, it's a beautiful bul.
I want to.
I think I can do it, but man, that's a that's a poke, especially for frontal.
Yeah, it's just not a shot that I'm comfortable taking. I mean, I would rather not take that shot than boon that bowl. And you know, just have that all my conscience.
Yeah, well, you never know, and you know he may move off and you may be able to get back in a position to shoot him at twenty yards. It's you have so many I've had so many times where I've passed marginal or poor shots to where then another one that was a chip shot was presented to me. So no, it's it's okay to pass him up. And sometimes you're just like, dang it, I really wish I would have got that bull. Maybe I should have shot.
But if it goes bad, then you have to carry that monkey around on your back for a while, and that that gets in your head and your next shot might be bad. And it's it's hard, it's really hard.
So Well was fired up. You know, he was screaming. He wasn't silent, right, he was yelling back at us. And you know when a bull's fired up like that, I just feel like, you know, if you just wait just get that good shot. You know, if he's fired up like that, I feel like the chances of having that opportunity or higher, you know.
Yeah, what do you guys think about the weather here? How's the weather been?
Well, we got snowed on dr.
Man, We've seen it all. We've seen beautiful bluebird days. We've seen rain, saturating rain, we've seen snow and fog. Again, we're on another bowl that was bugling pretty good the other day the other morning and the fog Cody got got up there in position, and man, I thought for sure we're gonna get this bowl. And then it starts snowing and sleeping, and the fog was thick as peace suit. Man, you couldn't see sixty yards. And I'm like, this is
gonna happen, This is gonna happen today. And it's just those slippery old bulls just slipped through your fingertips.
Sometimes, yes, they do. Yeah, I think.
What the first three days we were here, it rained all night, every night, every night, and yeah, yeah, I think the third day we went up on the mountain anyways, even though it was foggy and rainy, and got up well, that's when we chased that bull, and we thought it was going to happen, and I thought it was too because being dusty were I bet that bowl wasn't sixty eighty yards three different times and then one time we had him, he couldn't have been forty Yeah, I mean he was close.
Yeah, but.
Yeah, I mean the weather's been.
So hit and miss, but hopefully it cleared off today and it's been nice and hopefully we get three or four good days like this.
Yeah.
Yeah, what do you guys think? You know?
What I thought's odd down here where we're hunting is what is it the twentieth of September? Yeah, yep, sure is. Yeah, So what do you guys think about the like these satellite bulls we're seeing, you know, just feeding by themselves, And is that strange to you or is that just I mean, I feel like.
I just feel like that.
There was a rut fest before we got here in the and the bulls are kind of this, you know, the five points in the rag horn. The little rag horns are kind of timid and they're not really interested.
You know.
Most of the bulls we chase, besides the two you called in, have been the herd bulls. Yeah, yeah, and that's kind of really the only action I feel like we've had as far as calling. But the you know, we seen those bulls last night, those little rag horns just feeding and bugle at them, and they wouldn't even lift their.
Head, you know.
Yeah, that's so weird. And my my buddy Corey Miller, which been on the podcast before, he's hunted this area before a couple of years ago. He said, yeah, it was the it was September twentieth and he's seen two five points just feeding side to side on a hillside
and he'd bugled him. The wouldn't lift their head. And so I don't know if it's the if they man really established some pecking order and get kicked them little balls out and they know better than to come towards the bulls that are bugling, or if they just haven't felt their oats yet or smelled the you know, smell the cow and heat, or I don't know what the deal is the right answer is to that, that's kind
of it's kind of weird. But for the big bulls, they're acting pretty ready, you know when you get on them. Yesterday I had the opportunity to get really close to a big bull, and he only bugled once, maybe when when you were relocate him. It's like, so we set up and I started Dusty and I started walking to him where It's like, okay, he sounded like he was up here. We'll just walk that way and surely he'll pipe off a few more times. Bradley'll keep him talking
and we'll just slide in there. And then he just kind of went quiet, and so me and Dusty got up there. I think I feel like we sat there for twenty minutes, maybe at least or or or better. And and no, not a peep, not a sound from the bowl. But then Dusty said, did you hear that? I'm like, I thought I heard something, but I thought it might be a little bird or something, but it just went Mick. It wasn't me, it was just ah. And then I heard it again. I'm like, I don't
know if that's an elk or not. But I thought, well, maybe we should all move up. So I thought, well, I'm gonna I'm gonna bugle here and see how far off in the distance. Maybe that thing's moved around the hillside and I'm in a little better position to cast my bugle than Bradley was because you were faded back there quite a ways. Maybe he's just not hearing you. So I ripped a bugle and bam, he bugled right there. He was probably yeah, like eighty yards away. I was like,
holy cow, they're right here. As soon as I bugled. Then I started seeing elk and I could see a cow or two and they started filtering over towards us, but down low, out of sight. We couldn't really see him. But then I seen that bull moving around back there. I'm like, oh man, and he started bugling a little bit more. For whatever reason, he would Bradley would would call and he wouldn't talk, and then Cody he split off.
So we made kind of a triangle. And so Cody would call, Bradley would call, and he wouldn't answer either one of you guys, but he would answer me. And I don't know if it's because I was so much closer that he felt like I was a threat, like I was. I was close to his cows, and he was like, I'll bugle at you because you're in my in my zone or whatever. But man, he got at first, and it was he had such a weird bugle, as like he was. He kind of kind of got us there.
I kind of was thought on, this thing's like a little five point and he had kind of a squeaky bugle and these really crappy chuckles, just the just really bad chuckles.
And those chuckles, yeah, they I went and told Cody, I said, I think that's a guy.
Yeah, had that conversation, like we met up and he's like, that's a guy, and I'm like, but right after that, we were still together and talking and that bull lit Buldon, I'm like, that's a b Yeah.
Yeah. He was giving us those real whimpy, shitty bugles and chuckles, and then he let one rip a big, grally, wheezy aggressive bugle. It's like, oh yeah, And I thought that might be a good bull. And then I seen him and I'm just like, holy cow, he's a really good bull, like trophy and just about anybody's eyes. He's just a really big, beautiful bull. And man, that thing he would be kind of paces back and forth, and I didn't want to. I was kind of exposed. I
wasn't a good place to be calling from. But then then I could his cows were coming towards me more and more and I'm like, I'm gonna be The cows are gonna pop up any second, and I'm gonna be pegged. So I'm gonna just challenge him for these cows right here, right now and see what happens. And I did, and probably within about three or four bugles here he came. And I'm like, oh, Dusty, here he comes, and man,
what a what a beast man. He had a huge body, huge neck, he just he was just coming in straight on. I'm like, well, he's just walking along. I'm like, all right, if he gets to those trees right there, that'll be sixty, and then he gets in front of him, be fifty five. And if he gets it around fifty to fifty five broadside, and you know, everything's good. He's not watching and not looking at me, I might just send an arrow. Well, he got to about sixty and stopped. He's seen us.
He looked and seen us. We were just out in the middle, and we had a lot of sun on us too. At that by then the sun had come up and was like was shining off the one side of us. So we stood out like a like a beacon, right, and he turned around and left as soon as he turned around. I screamed at him, and he like stopped and stutter stepped and turned back around. But I wasn't quick enough with getting my bugle tube down, so I had to hold it free spring, you know, out the
side of my mouth here. And he stared us down for a while and then turned again, and I screamed at him again, and he looked back, and we did this two or three times and then then he's just like, eh, you're not a threat. So he just kind of walked back in behind the scenes, right, he kind of just kind of disappeared right about that time. Out pops the cows.
Here comes one, here comes another. We had like five cows right right there in front of us at anyway, I don't know, fifteen to twenty yards maybe probably maybe even less than that, and they would kind of graze and they'd look up and look look up at us, chewing their chewing their grass, and then like put their head down, and I'm like, I don't know how these cows are and just not turn it inside out? How
are we not done for? You know, cows are usually the smartest, you know, they're really looking for the things that are out of place. But then Finally, after a while, one of them pegged this and then they spooked, and I screamed at him like, okay, here's my chance. As they run off, that bull's gonna boil out of there, especially since I screamed he's gonna boil out of there. He's gonna run out to that little spot that's about fifty to fifty five yards and I'm gonna get him.
And he ran out there right by those cows. But I had a great big limb on a fir tree that was covering his whole body. There was no shot whatsoever. I'm just like doug on it away he goes. They all take off, So I'm like, well, if I can dog them and if I can push them, he may just push those cows off and turn around to fight,
so which I've done this a lot. So Dusty and I just are double timing towards him, and we'd scream and he'd scream and we'd get close, and then the next time he'd scream, he'd be about another one hundred and fifty yards, so we'd go at him again. I'm like, we're gonna catch him, or he's gonna catch us. We're gonna probably slip through one of these openings. He'd be standing there looking at us. But then finally, the last time I heard him, you was quite a ways away.
It's like, no, he's getting the heck out of dodge with these with these ladies. He's not no, he don't want to fight. He's just gonna gonna push him off. So but that was a pretty close encounter, dang it.
It was really close.
And man, dude, when you find a runner where we're hunting, they run.
They run. Yeah. Yeah. And then last night again we had we got on one of we walked stepped down that bowl. We called and he was like, I bet he was within shot shooting range. Shit, they're not been trees. Yeah, you guys, Yeah, I mean he wasn't far, that's for sure. But within a minute he was. He was moving out, moving out with the with the ladies.
And yeah, well yeah, he was so close. You know, you guys.
I set back call and you guys slipped up there and I bugled. I'm like, the cody or there, just because your guys with bugles sound great too, by the way. They just bugle, you know, or without a helm, like surely they wouldn't have bugled.
It was way too close.
To me, right, Yeah, it was just like it was right there. Yeah, I'm like, I walked into this thing.
Yeah, I thought one of us was going to get seen, like it was that close.
Yeah, man. And then he didn't.
He didn't like us. He he pushed those cows and and Cody and Dusty took in after him. And it was a foot race across his steep, rocky tree covered hillside.
Man.
It was it was hard terrain probably to keep up. Yeah, it wasn't easy. I mean just the loose rock, yeah, and about nine thousand feet elevation and just trying to get up there with him. And it was he beat us by a long shot. And we watched that bull. He crossed into the next drain eache up the other side, and then he crossed across this big open flat and he dropped elevation. He dropped probably a thousand feet or better. And pretty soon the next thing you know, he's out
in the middle of the desert. Like they all changed zip goats, yes, and just just dogging along with them cows just you know, I don't think there's any way he smelled this. I think he just figured I'm taking these cows were out of here. Yeah, he said, I don't. I probably don't stand a chance against some of these big bulls here. I'm just going to take this thing, these cows and get out of here. But the funny part, you weren't bugling like a big bull. You're just doing
an average bull bugle, right. You weren't being aggressive. And we didn't push on him hard.
No, And I stayed back, as you know, quite a way because me and you talked about that. Remember it was Cody, you and then me and then I kind of caught up to you and we kind of made the call like we felt like he was going to run. So we you know, we gave ourselves three four hundred yards from the bull just to keep him bugling. For Cody, yeah, we can barely hear him at the time, just because we thought maybe if we stayed back enough, he won't run.
And Cody, you went high, which was yeah, move the way.
The wind was yeah, I mean the wind was going up when we first started. I mean the bull was right there, and then the next time he bugled, he was at the top. So I told Dussie, I said, we got to get above him or else it's going to be able before it even starts. And no, sooner than we got to the top and he was clear down the ridge on the top quite a ways away, like five hundred yards. So we booked it across the top, and by the time we got to where it dropped
off down the ridge, he was already gone. Like he bugled once in that saddle and then he dropped off the other side.
He was gone. Yeah.
I mean he didn't stick around for nothing, right, crazy.
Yeah, he just he had his five or six girlfriends and he was happy and he just figured, ain't gonna take no chances and fight. I'm just gonna get him out of here.
Yeah, yeah, don't be greedy. Yeah, take these ladies and run right.
The weird thing is we haven't seen like big herds, Like there's not you know, a bull, a giant bull with thirty cows or forty or whatever, and you have like ten or fifteen satellite bulls around it.
I mean, that just hasn't happened. No, they're all broke into like small herds. Yeah, very So there's been some some like that bull that we're talking about here, that was that that tookies ca. He's a nice bowl, but he wasn't a giant, no. And then we've seen a couple other bulls about that size with cows and then those big bulls with cows too. But but it's almost like they've kind of broke up the big herds into
little herds. And then they're as soon as soon as they get they hear a bugle and a little bit of a little bit of pressure close to them, they're like, oh, we got to get out here, ladies. I don't want to share you time to go.
Yeah, on that bowl last night, you know he had his well you guys were watching them more night, what four or five cows or six maybe, But then he also had those three spikes. Yeah, yeah, No like little satellite raghorn or nothing with them.
He just had his yep, just a little family there right, looked like well they had just went. The funny thing is that they just went across a hillside and left the country where that we and then like ten minutes later we look up on the hill and there's those two two raghorns we were talking about, there's feeding next to each other, and they went right by them. And those bulls didn't get into the action at all. They just they just let everything back by Ye, so.
They didn't even act like they were interested. No, yeah, they just kept on feeding.
Well, I'm a shift gears here, guys. We've got our our our Q and a segment. It's sponsored by Pendleton Whiskey Letterbuck. So here's the question. This is from Instagram profile names Jaden Maine. I think and it's a dude. Yeah, let's see question. I live out here in Utah. I've heard and seen from my other buddies they've been on elk in a rut frenzy. Last night when I went out, I had a good bowl with eight cows and a raghorn all together. Not a couch erp a bugle anything.
We bugled, cow called and nothing. It's a pretty good trail that a lot of hikers, bikers and what not are on. So I'm not sure if the elk are just quiet because all the traffic, But we couldn't seem to get a callback from them. Is it best to try and sneak it? Sneak in just quietly spot in stock Also he was pawing the ground raking brush. Just never heard of bugle or would commit to the cow calls. What are your thoughts, guys, what would you do if that was if those elk were in your hunting spot.
Yeah, I mean that's kind of a tough situation. The trains, you know, going to play a role in that. But I would say, if he's not answering to anything, bugles, cow calls, they just won't answer. If you can hear him raking, I would rake as well. I would use them little things, you know, break brush, stuff like that.
And I've seen it before where will not respond to bugles or cow calls, and if you just take the time, you know, if you can, if you kind of know where they're at and get as close as you can without bumping them. I would assume if if you can hear a bull raking, you're close enough. But I would I would just move mcham. I would use you know,
breaking brush, raking trees. And I've seen it a lot of times where if you do that without even bugling or cow calling, he will finally get tired of it and he will respond and you can pinpoint him and play the game from there.
Yeah, yeah, what do you think?
Yeah, No, I agree with Cody, but well, it sounds like a lot of cows there sounds like me. And one thing for sure, there's apparently not a cow in heat right now, because I believe he would be making noise. My first thoughts were, well, he mentioned that it was kind of a lot of hikers around there and stuff. But I mean, I mean, as there are a lot
of hunters as well. If there's if it's not where you think there's a lot of hunters, you know, you might just give it a day or two and and and come back and not bump them out of there, you know, And you know, I mean, those cows are going to come in heat any day, you know, and then you can hear some noise. He probably won't I feel like a bull like that with that many cows,
he probably won't leave his cows. But if you had a buddy, you know, kind of like we're doing, you know, keeping them bugle bugling in, and then you could slip in on him.
A lot of eyes there. It sounds like, you know, something you might try.
But you know, if you feel like there's going to be a hunter park there the next day, and you better go for it now. I definitely try what what Cody said, and and you know, maybe just quiet down on the calls and breake some brush and and be patient or you know, try to stalk, you know, and and you know, but you know how that.
Is with with all the eyes right, all the cows. But what's your thoughts, Dirk?
No, I agree one hundred percent with both of you guys. I think and sometimes I think people get in too big of a hurry, myself, myself included. Probably I'm probably the worst one. Well Bradley just raised his hand. But I have a hard time of like playing the slow game on some of these elk and I have to always have to remind myself I'm on the elks time schedule, not mine, and they have nothing better to do than eat and then go lay down or fool around or
whatever they're doing. That's what they that's what they're doing, and if I try to change that, it may or may not go my way. So if they're not calling like that, then I would definitely just put away the calls. And I love I love that whole getting close and raking things. Some of that non vocal noise elk noise
you can make will sometimes just get them coming. He may not even bugle, but he just may come over there and he if you keep your head on this swevel, he may just wind up right in your lap doing that stuff. How close would you say?
Like? What what?
Let's say you've seen them, you you tried your calls, nothing work. Let's say there you're on one hillside there on another with a little intermixed intermixed trees and stuff. How what are you gonna do? Are you gonna try to get a little closer maybe? Are you gonna get above them? Below them? Same same topographical topographical line? What do you what do you think? In Cody?
I mean for me, it's you know, it all is get a very on terrain cover. You know what the wind's doing. But if I can come in on the same level and have cover or some terrain feature, that is gonna you know, cover me when.
I'm moving right.
I mean, I want to come in on the same level. I want to make it as easy as I can for that bowl to come to me. Yeah, you know, if I'm going to try and call or you know, rake, whatever, I want that bowl to have like the path of
least resistance, you know it. If I'm trying to call him uphill, I would say seventy five eighty percent of the time that bull's not going to come especially if there's you know, thick brush or dense timber downfall stuff like that, he's gonna be he's just gonna be like, no, I ain't doing that right, But ideally I want to come in on the same level right and it you know, just keep the wind right and you know it should work out.
Make sure they can hear you, you know, I mean, because you know, like you said, the train, you know, if there's a little ridge or something in front of you, you know, that really cuts down the sound. He might not hear your raking. But you know that's a fine line. You got to be dang careful you don't blow the herd too.
Yeah.
Yeah, but if you can get in there where you know he can hear.
You, yep, calling it for me, calling of any kind, you have to make sure you make it super easy for that elk to come to you.
Yeah.
So if you see obstacles, do you see like a patch of let's say there's been an old burn there and there's a whole bunch of extra timber that had fallen down with reprod growing up to the middle of it. That's not fun to go through. Even for an elk. So if you have a barrier like that between you and that elk, you're gonna have to like figure something else out. Maybe there's a big rock face and it's just like man, I don't you know it's it's gonna
be really hard. So you have to like play kind of play that smart tactical game and then like like I said, play be patient. Maybe right now when you see them, it's just not a good move. There's no good moves to make. That's one hundred percent fine. Just sit down and watch them. Just you know, be lazy, be passive, whatever you want to call it. Just just give it some time, because that those elk are going
to stay there all day. Eventually they're going to move off somewhere else to where it's a place that you'll have a better approach, Maybe you'll have better cover, Maybe they're gonna go lay down somewhere. Just just take your time, and usually, you know, something will a situation will present itself. It's it's better than the one you're in right now.
Right, I mean, some of them bulls that won't answer are not very vocal. I mean sometimes you have to played a long game with them.
Yeah, you know, just.
Sit back and observe and wait till they are in the right spot to where you can either stop them or wait for him to fire up.
Yeah, And like Bradley said, if you're in an area where you don't if you don't have a bunch of hunters competing for these elk, then yeah, I would sometimes even leave elk. I mean they say that kind of goes against the old don't leave elk to find elk. But sometimes if if that's the game you're trying to play, you know, to call one in. Maybe I'm gonna let him simmer for a couple of days and you come back and it's a whole different elk. Like day to
day is so different on elk. You know, well, yeah, go ahead, Bradley, Sorry, Cody, you know, just being back to being patient. You know, if you if you can want, especially if you can see him bed. I mean you call it midday madness.
You know, I wouldn't be surprised, you know, this guy just kind of was patient, and his cows betted he might bugle on his own in the middle of the day or something, you know, or he might finally answer you back.
But I always like to bet a bull.
I mean, you're in a pretty good position if his cows are laying down and he's kind of just he's more I feel like I've had better lucky than bulls, especially the herd bulls coming to me when his cows.
Are laying down. Yeah.
And there's a lot of cool tricks, you know, with base map and on X and stuff. You know, you can drop little pins if you know where they're betted kind of, and you can get you know, two hundred yards up there and he and then do the old rake the tree like Cody's saying, you know, once they're betted, and that bull, you know, he knows all his cows are laying there and they're kind of betted. He he'll
sneak over and Okay, who's trying to intrude here. You know, I've had really luck betted cows, you know, and betted bulls in the middle of the day, having them come in you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, they're more likely to get in their zone.
Yeah and there. Yeah, they're more likely to leave those cows if their cows are content not going anywhere.
Yep.
Yeah.
Well, and it also begs the question, I mean, it sounds like it's close to a main trail, Like, maybe they're not talking because the milk have already been bumped two or three times.
If there's hikers and.
Stuff like that, Yeah, you know, maybe he's already been disturbed several times.
So yeah, right, yeah, well that's a that was a good question. Thanks Jaden. If if anybody else has questions you want us to answer on here, email us at ct D at Phelps game calls dot com. All right, so well we have we've what's our next plan. We're gonna go out try a new spot for a couple of days, or I think we're gonna try a couple
just day hunts. We're not gonna backpack in until we kind of get get some uh some verification that there's some elk in the country, some water in the country, because that's pretty more important to if you're going to be staying back there camping, that we have to have water for drinking water and for food. I think tonight.
Kind of talked about maybe just going up here and finding a camping spot down low and we will all jump in the same truck and bomb up there and go do some glass and some road bigling and see what we can't here, and like you said, do a couple of day hunts and see if we can get into them, and if we do, we'll go in there and stay a few days.
Yeah, I think also looking for where the other hunters are at. Are there Are there a lot of hunters in the area. Do we want to commit and spend a bunch of time here or are the trailheads just covered up? Are there people just everywhere? Just try to find a place that there's not a bunch of people and then then we can commit to something like that. Right where do you think Bradley is a pretty good plan?
I think that's a good plan, you know, try to find us a little home. The weekend's rolling up on us.
You know. We just drove down the highway a little ways.
And I noticed a lot of over half those rigs were hunters. Oh, like you know, so I think it's I think it's going to be a busy weekend. So I think just kind of it's kind of fun to explore a little and find a new spot. And we hunted that spot what three days?
Four days?
And I just like to find new country and new elk and and see, so I think it's a great plan.
Yeah, great plan.
Well, I think it's good too.
I mean there's a lot of areas right next to the main road that people drive right by and overlook. Yep, right road blind to night might be a good thing. We might find a pocket full of belt right that's not far off the.
Road, right.
Yeah, Well, like we're that bull roan that that ran off the mountain that didn't want to fight out in the desert, down in the desert, out in the like, he's pretty close striking distance.
To a row.
So you might just see some elk pretty easy, a quick hike from the road or whatever, and you be on them. So I feel like this time of year, elk are moving, whether they're running or whether hunters are pushing them around, so they could turn up just about anywhere. Right. Well, man, this has been so fun so far, really great hunt. We've had some tough conditions. The terrain is not easy.
It's very vertical, very high elevation. We've had every big whether you can ask for, except for blazing hot and today's pretty warm. But I look forward to the rest of our time here. It's been fun with you guys. You've been easy to easy to be with and hunt with and I can't wait for some more fun to unfold here. I think we're just getting started, really, I.
Think it's just a matter of time. We'll have some hopefully a couple of oak on the ground. And you know, it's been good. Camaraderie's awesome. Camps have been great. I mean it's been awesome.
Yeah. Yeah, Well all right, Well I'll give you guys, our listeners, uh, more updates here after hunting season's over, when Jason Phelps and I get back together and we'll get on here and kind of rehash and kind of tell how the seasons ended up. So hope everybody's out elk cutting right now. If not, maybe next year. But man, just if it's just a weekend, you know, I guess, you know, just make it happen. Just get out and have some fun and enjoy the set what September brings
every year. So thanks for listening, everybody. Thanks, uh Cody and and Bradley. Appreciate you guys coming on and we'll see everybody next time.
Yeah, well, appreciate it.
Thanks for having us, Thanks for having us.
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