Why did I see a herd with several bulls in it today?

S

Sixty

New member
Aug 23, 2018
2
I'm a new elk hunter trying to learn as much as I can. I have been going through the course and putting boots on the ground to try to get things figured out.


I live in Oregon and will be hunting Roosevelt Elk in the tangle of jungle that is the west side of the state. I was out scouting today and I found a herd of 24 with 3 bulls in it. Two were spikes, the third one was a nice mature bull. They were all bedded together in a clear cut.


Everything I have read, watched, etc. says that this time of year the bulls should be off by themselves staging for the rut. Before this they should have been in bachelor groups. The next thing to happen is for them to move in and start trying to gather cows. So why were they all just hanging out together today like a big family? One of the spikes was even laying right next to the big bull. No tension there! lol.


Are Roosevelt different in the way they behave? Is it just "one of those things"? I'm just trying to figure out why what I saw goes against everything I have read.


Thanks for any advice or input!
 
Spikes tend to stick with cows year round. Even during the rut, mature bulls will tolerate them.

As for the other branch antlered bull, some younger bulls will hang around cows during the summer. Once they get their butt whooped a few times they'll become a satellite.

Time stamp is very wrong, but this is from the end of June this year. Cows, calves, spike, young bulls. I've got weeks worth of photos of this herd.
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Welcome to the site sixty!  :welcome:


My guess would be that the mature bull you saw is one of the smaller mature bulls in the area. This time of year, smaller bulls can start gathering harems, but the big boys will wait a bit and then come take over once they get closer to coming into estrus. As far as spikes go, they aren't too much cause for concern to bulls, especially this time of year.
 
Was typing when UtahJimmy was as well, but what he said could be true too. Right around this time of year is when most bulls start moving closer to the cows, so smaller bulls could definitely be in there already.
 
So the spikes will likely stay with that herd but the branch bull will get knocked around and probably pushed out? He looks like a decent 5 but I think there are bigger ones in the area. I found a rub today with the upper most marks at least 7' off the ground and all the branches of the tree ripped off laying on the ground. It was impressive! It was in the area of the herd but I don't think it was Mr. 5 point.
 
I watched several different bull bachelor groups this past Saturday and the light sparring and setting of the pecking order is already taking place. Bigger bulls were already chasing off smaller bulls "out" of the bachelor group. There was a lot of playing, bucking and running but the messages were already being sent. Some of those "smaller" mature bulls are literally finding themselves in "no man's" land and moving off into the cows where they will try to start gathering cows. They will "believe" they are big dawgs for a while until big boys shadow and move in once the cows come in heat.
By the first, in 9 days...the future satellites will be pushing cows hard and the screaming begins.
:clap:
 
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