Get in Close to Monster Bull Elk with Your Bow with Randy Ulmer
How to Take the Trophy Bull
 Editor’s Note: In the world of arch ery, Randy Ulmer of Arizona is one of the most-recognized names in the history of competition shooting. But Ulmer is more than a tournament-archery pro. He’s used his tournament skills to become one of the most- efficient and accurate trophy elk hunters. This week Ulmer will help you learn how to get in close to a big bull elk with a bow.
Once Randy Ulmer knows a monster-sized bull holds in a region, he lets the wind dictate the hunt. "If I can't approach the bull from downwind, I leave the area and plan to hunt the animal on another day," Ulmer emphasizes. "If the wind changes while I stalk and carries my scent to the bull, I'll back out of these and return another day. When you hunt the biggest bull in the country, you must realize that to take the animal, you need an almost-perfect hunt. If you spook the bull, you never may see him again."
Ulmer carries a small, plastic bottle with unscented talcum powder to use as a puffer to test the wind.  Throughout the stalk, he constantly squeezes the puffer and checks the wind's direction to ensure that his human odor doesn't spoil the hunt. He anticipates the animal's line of travel and attempt s to set up an ambush point where the elk will walk within 20 yards of the stand site. Ulmer realizes the best-laid plan may not work, and that he may have to move in closer in his stocking feet for a shot. "I've compared the success my friends have had hunting in stocking feet with the success of those hunting in boots," Ulmer says. "The stocking-feet stalkers consistently take more and bigger elk than the sportsmen who hunt wearing their boots."
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