Those bulls leave the cows after the rut and form small bachelor herds. If you find a herd this time of year, they'll mostly be either cows or bulls. They'll start getting back together next month. This same thing happened to me about 5 years ago. I could see elk in the timber way up above me but I couldn't make out what they were. After a 2000' vertical climb I finely got a look - a dozen bulls and I had my precious cow tag.
