A hunter friend told me to Google Ironmind for info on a call that works to bring in bulls (bull calling cows call). I watched Joel’s video and it made sense. Two days later I go to meet friends in the dark and wake up in the dark at a location I have never hunted. I wake up and we all scatter. I just start hiking and throwing out location bugles. Around 1 pm I FINALLY get a response. Like I always do, my heart starts racing. I get as close as I can and throw out cow calls. Nothing. I sit and wait for his next bugle. Nothing.
In frustration and confusion, I sit about where I first heard him respond and pulled out lunch. As I am eating and scratching my head, the bull bugles again about 200 yards from me. In fact, he is doing the bull calling cows sound!! Since I always rush things, I smiled and continued to eat lunch and just tried to relax about my next opportunity to work him.
I got up. Slowly walked towards the bugle I heard during lunch. I started to hear elk sound in the thick woods. I looked lower beneath pine tree branches and could see legs. Lots of legs. He had cows. So for the first time in my life I reflected on the sound I heard from Ironmind; “bull calling cows”. I thought, I think I should try it. I was not sure I could even do it but I thought if ever I was going to try it it should be now. So I put my mouth on my bugling tube and thought this is crazy; as soon as I blow in it, the bull elk will either blow out of here or it could work.
I remember initiating a few false starts on the end of my bugle tube. I mean I was stepping up to blow and I didn’t. After a couple false starts I took a leap of faith and blew my best bull calling cows sound out of my tube. It was the first time I ever tried it in the woods. Immediately the bull responded. I thought this is good. Then nothing was seemingly happening. I cracked a couple branches and made a second call. He immediately responded again. I kept peeking through pine branches when all of the sudden I saw this huge herd bull walking straight for me with his head down. This feeling is unexplainable. Thankfully it was happening so fast my nerves did not have a chance to react. I drew my bow knowing my shot would probably come when the bull passes my cover and we are locking eyeballs. As soon as I had a shot, he paused and looked right at me. I was by myself. Without hesitation, I let the arrow fly. Bull down. Biggest bull of my life.