Aggressive or not?

[iccyman001]

OTCwill made a comment in another thread about an aggressive tactic to get the job done.
I\'ve also read a few different books now that really touched on being aggressive with elk or you\'ll potentially eat tag soup.


So I wanted to know, who here is aggressive?

Have you killed an elk before with aggressive tactics?
Have you created more shot opportunities by being aggressive?
Have you scared elk away by being aggressive?
Are you completely against it and call bolloks to what I have read?

What have you learned about being aggressive and what tips would you pass on to people?

 

[Deertick]

What have you learned about being aggressive and what tips would you pass on to people?

I consider myself in the \"Intermediate\" class of elk hunters ... certainly not \"Advanced\" and those are probably the people you should listen to ... but everything I learned while a \"Novice\" has been with regard to aggressiveness. As a previous whitetail hunter, I was too passive.

Being aggressive definitely has its risks ... you can really disturb elk ... but when you do, you know you are at least in the game! When you get aggressive, your learning curve starts to slope upward, quickly.

Plus, there is another benefit: It\'s fun!

When I put away thoughts of killing elk, and focused on having fun and learning by being aggressive, my enjoyment of the whole process really expanded. And I found myself closer and closer to killing elk, and even getting the job done a couple times.

 

[otcWill]

Yes. Yes. Yes. No.

To the last question: I\'ve learned when to be aggressive. I think that one of the last things to be overly aggressive with is calling. I\'ll expand saying there is definitely a difference between persistence and aggression when calling. Persistance is a great tool while dogging a bull and his herd. I\'ve seen them move away, move away, move away, and BAM, come ripping in for a fight after being \"pestered\" too much. Going wild on the calls, on the other hand, is almost always a bad move in my experience.

Usually when I think of the type of aggressiveness that has led to dead bulls I\'m thinking in terms of making a move to get the shot. This could be in a calling situation or simply a spot and stalk. Like Deertick said, having grown up on whitetails (most of us) we often think \"don\'t move a muscle\"! This doesn\'t really apply to elk. They are relativley tolerant to noise and movement when compared to WT. I think cnelk\'s last situation is a perfect example of when to be aggressive on your feet. An aggressive and stealthy hunter would get a clean kill shot on those passing bulls almost without exception. As Deertick pointed out, have fun, give it a try and learn from your mistakes. You\'ll become a better hunter

 

[AndyJ]

+1 to Will\'s entire post.

What have you learned about being aggressive and what tips would you pass on to people?

Constantly bumping elk is not being aggressive, it is bad hunting.

 

[razorback]

Only having one season, I know I wasn\'t aggressive at all. Next year I want to be more aggressive. I think I\'ve become pretty decent at making elk sounds but not calling. There\'s obviously a difference. If I can get into elk I want to be aggressive and go for broke as that is what draws me to elk hunting, calling in a bugling bull. That would be a dream come true!