Calling Elk?

[Rich.]

I'm planning to hunt elk for the first time next year during first rifle season in CO. Should I worry about learning to call or just spot and stalk them without trying to call them in?

 

[Ross]

What are the dates for this hunt?

 

[ssliger]

It's always good to learn how to make cow calls with a mouth diaphragm. This way you can make calls while walking through timber to help cover the noise made in walking, you could try and stop a moving elk as well.

 

[trophyhill]

if the elk are vocal I'd definitely be calling! hell I think I'd be calling even if they weren't very vocal too. there will still be cows coming into estrus so elk will respond to calling during that first rifle hunt. you have to be hunting where the elk are for it to work though. you have plenty of time to become a good caller if you start now and lots of great calls on the market as well as how to videos/cd's etc. try to avoid the mistake of over calling.

 

[Scoot]

Call!

Not only should you learn to call, but you should learn well enough to not be afraid to do it. More importantly, you should learn it so you know when to use what calls. There are plenty of schools of thought when it comes to calling, but I drank the Elknut Koolaid in the mid-2000's and it's treated me very well. Similarly, I've taken bits and pieces from Bigdan on bowsite and Corey at Elk101 and I'm a confident caller. I love to use my bugle too- unlike many who will tell you to use only cow calling, I love to get in their face and scream at them!

 

[Rich.]

Which call(s) should I be looking at?

 

[Ross]

If this hunt is only in October and unless you can become very proficient at bull cows I would only be looking to make cow and calf cows...check out bugling bull calls, primos, and other manuf to find a call that you can become proficient with and buy an elk sound cd.

 

[Ridge Ghost]

Go to Elknut.com and get his DVDs. The Playbook is also good. His stuff will help you understand what the elk are saying, and what you should say in response.

For calls, pick up several different ones and determine which works best for you. Get a few diaphram calls and a few external reeds. Personally, for diaphrams my favorite is Bugling Bull's Mellow Yellow. For external I like Bugling Bulls Temptress and Primos Hyper Lip Single.

 

[5MilesBack]

I love to use my bugle too- unlike many who will tell you to use only cow calling

I would guess that over 90% of my calling is bugling......and most successful too. However, during the rifle seasons........just depends on the weather, the region, how late a season.......etc. I rifle hunted elk for 25 years and when it is hot and dry there's a great chance to call them in....especially the raghorns that have been shut out the rest of the rut. But I would use coaxing cow calls for that. Hard to get a herd type bull interested too much after the rut. Many first rifle seasons in Colorado, the herd bulls are already back by themselves by then.

 

[Rich.]

What is the best way to hunt the herd bulls in first season then?

 

[krueger]

I may be the odd man out here but i hunt elk in colorado every year almost every season from archery to 4th rifle with friends and family. Calling usually is pretty pointless once the shooting starts at first light of first rifle season. If fact depending on the area it could be quite dangerous. Calling works best during archery and muzzy season, before the rifle season orange tidal wave hits the woods. In a unit with lots of elk and public land, there will be tons of hunters. The majority of elk i see during first rifle season are running for there lifes with their tongues hanging out. After opening day, they go into hiding mode and don't move or make any sounds during the day. The way i see it, the only real use of a call during rifle season would be to stop a moving/running elk for a shot. I have experienced this in almost every unit i have hunted in colorado except very limited draw units. It usually sounds like WWIII during rifles season

 

[krueger]

One last thing, I'm sure i can happen but i have never seen a elk get called in during rifle season. I have called in lots of elk every year during archery and muzzy, but never during rifle season. My advise, for first rifle, is to sit on an escape route and wait and don't go tromping through the woods. Elk hunting first rifle season in colorado is absolutely nothing like you see on the TV shows, that is unless you are on private ground or in a very limited draw unit.

 

[bigeasygator]

What is the best way to hunt the herd bulls in first season then?

First season in Colorado is mid-October, which is either at the tailend or post-rut. There may be the few cows out there still looking to get bred. I'd call this a transitional period and it's tough to say exactly what the elk might be doing...which makes it hard to determine the "best way" to hunt them.

I've always been a bigger fan of calling as little as possible. Most people I know that kill big bulls seem to take this strategy (again, this is based on people I've talked to). Largely, the use calling just to locate elk and then work to cut the distance from there. That being said, sometimes that distance can't be cut and calling is tool that can be used successfully to bring that elk to you. Sometimes based on how a bull is bugling you can determine how interested he is and sometimes you can tell that he's definitely interested and on his way! In those scenarios, I'd just keep doing whatever it is that you were doing. There's no one answer -- sometimes it's bugling, sometimes it's cow calling, sometimes it's nothing at all. You'll have to read the situation and make that call.

 

[5MilesBack]

What is the best way to hunt the herd bulls in first season then?

It can be tough....depends on how much pressure there is. You can do spot and stalk, or try to ambush one between feeding and bedding but you need to know the area for that. Lots of times the elk go nocturnal in rifle seasons, meaning that they don't come out of the timber before dark and they are back in the timber by first light. My most successful rifle hunting techniques were always catching them coming off the feeding areas, or busting the timber looking for them in their beds.