I hunt elk alot by myself also and have had bulls hang up too, I usually always call facing away from the bull to make it sound a little farther away, another thing if he is responding good to bugles dont be afraid to make a little noise, bulls in the rut dont just stand there and bugle, they are walking thru trees breaking sticks and rubbing there antlers on trees, I ve had alot of bulls hang up just out of range and all it took to set them off was grabbing a stick and rubbing on a tree simulating racking antlers, if they are bugling alot bugle right after you do it, if they aren't talking that much just rack the tree and wait