Elk; When to Call & When not to

[whitingja]

Nice bulls Justin. Where in Colorado are you killing these beasts.

 

[gelton]

Crickets Ya might of just killed one of the hot threads on the forum! He wouldn't continually kill bulls of that size if their whereabouts were let known in a public domain like this one.

So to get back on track, what does a guy from Texas who is damn good at calling just about any kind of game that is just getting started elk hunting (this will be my third year) do when he has never heard an elk call in the wild? I feel fairly confident with my cow calls but my bugles down right suck. Does one just start bugling before even hearing or seeing elk to try to stir up some action, say in SW Colorado mid October? I personally haven't because I know my bugling skills aren't up to par. Further, most people in these parts have never heard an elk and in my "residential neighborhood" its hard to practice without someone thinking there is some type of domestic disturbance taking place with all the shrieking going on

 

[123 4/8 P&Y]

Crickets Ya might of just killed one of the hot threads on the forum! He wouldn't continually kill bulls of that size if their whereabouts were let known in a public domain like this one.

So to get back on track, what does a guy from Texas who is damn good at calling just about any kind of game that is just getting started elk hunting (this will be my third year) do when he has never heard an elk call in the wild? I feel fairly confident with my cow calls but my bugles down right suck. Does one just start bugling before even hearing or seeing elk to try to stir up some action, say in SW Colorado mid October? I personally haven't because I know my bugling skills aren't up to par. Further, most people in these parts have never heard an elk and in my "residential neighborhood" its hard to practice without someone thinking there is some type of domestic disturbance taking place with all the shrieking going on

Ha I noticed this thread died too. There is nothing that kills a good elk hunting conversation faster than when one guy asks the other exactly where he's killing his elk. My best friends don't even know exactly where I hunt. Just the guys I hunt with.

You can stir up the woods plenty with your cow calls. Satellite bulls love to hear cows without an accompaniment of bugles. They see it as easy poontang and they come running (sometimes bugling) in.

Locate bugles help you find bulls too. But I wouldn't get real aggressive bugling unless you were in real close to a herd. The objective in that scenario would be to get the big boy to come run off a potential intruder.

 

[Z Barebow]

gelton- My advice is get Elknuts videos. Do a search for Paul Medel- aka Elknut and you will find his site) Straight shooter and guy will answer any questions you might have.

There are plenty of instructional videos out there, but it is another thing to know what they animals are saying and what are you trying to say with specific call sequences.

As far as practicing, I used to be on the road and practiced them when behind the wheel. (I did wonder if someone would call 911 reporting someone smoking a dope from a camo bong! LOL!) Just don't leave your dipharagms on the dash or you will kill them.

 

[thebugler]

Seems like every year is a little different for me in N/Idaho. That is- some years bulls will respond to a cow call, and most years they respond best to bugling. Initially I will throw out a couple quiet cow calls and wait a couple minutes. If no response, a couple more and a but louder this time. No response, I will give a locator bugle. If Im lucky enough to hear a bull reply, I will wait for two to three responses from him if he is quite a distance away so I can pin point his position. Then I clam up and move as quickly as I can to where I think Im within a hundred yards of the bull. 2 quite cow calls and I wait for his response. When and if he does, I hammer him with a challenge bugle. Works really well to get him coming in, but like Ross said, you can call them into 25 yards and still have no shot due to the brush factor Sometimes it will turn into a foot race if the bull is still on the move, and I will fill in between bugles with an occasional cow call if I get a response. If the bull isnt eating up the cow calls, I drop them and just go to bugles,grunts, and raking.

 

[justin davis]

I just saw this thread again. Forgot about it.

Nice bulls Justin. Where in Colorado are you killing these beasts.

I'll post GPS coordinates for you guys if you want.

 

[darcytribe]

I just saw this thread again. Forgot about it.



I'll post GPS coordinates for you guys if you want.

Yes Justin,

if you could give us those coordinates that would be great, also could you let us know your social security number as well?

 

[Sunspot]

IMO it depends on areas you hunt too. Where I shot my bull, a herd bull might only have 2-5 cows - a far cry from the big bull with 10+ cows you commonly see in videos. Most of them either wanted the cow to come to him or he was busy sneaking his mini-harem away from other bulls. The 400+ guy I had at 35 and 45 yards (no shot - still crying) stayed very local to his core area and cherry-picked cows coming back from the early morning feed. All required different strategies that continually changed. You can read and watch all the videos but nothing trumps plain old experience. Don't just run out to the wilderness and make noise - learn how to talk to them.

As an example, one day it was good to be aggressive: bugle, get response and quickly chop-step rapidly toward bulls. Man is that fun when you have 1-3 bulls come running at you thinking you want to get it on. The next day might be more finesse with light mews and working traffic areas. The next you might have to mew at a herd bull to check him up (thinks he is waiting for a cow to join) only to swiftly move in for a shot. The next bed that monster and try to sneak in if the wind works for you. The bull I ended up shooting with my bow was fun. I did nothing but bugle but pissed him off. First did a locate call, got answer, bugled more aggressively (tone and cadence), cut-off bugle towards end of his reply, went silent for 2-3 more of his bugles and on the next hard-cut him early on his bugle. He came crashing to me and started tearing up a tree at 27 yards when I double lunged him. Also, think like turkey hunting and try not to call bulls downhill. It might work for some but most respond better to even or uphill.

Think of the consequences of your approach too.

 

[Manosteel]

"how do you recognize a calling situation and when is it best to just shut up and let the situation develop?"


Trophyhill, there's not just one answer that relates to all encounters to the questions above. Why, because if elk are rutting hard & aggressive in nature that day we will be extremely aggressive in return. Sometimes there is no calling by the elk for days on end, it doesn't mean calling of sorts shouldn't be used, it means the calling chosen must raise curiosity, this can turn into a calling situation! There is no day in late Aug. all of Sept & Oct where elk cannot be called too!

It's best to limit ones calling when elk are vocal on their own, this means you can move in on them as they provide us with the needed direction. Once direction or known travel routes are intact a great ambush can take place without any calling back & giving our position or existence away. There are times selective aggressive action will be taken on our part if we are after a particular bull during these high rutting times. Calling to elk is "situational" understand what you're hearing & act accordingly, this means you are "fitting in" -- The sounds you use are ones elk expect to hear in a specific situation, this can lead to your success!

ElkNut1

Exactly what he said. I rarely bugle unless it is to locate the general direction of bulls after dark in a new area, then at least I know where to head out to in the morning. But ofcourse there is no one shoe fits all to calling any game animals. Sometimes bugling is exactly want is needed but after 20 years, I have learned that once you locate the bull you want - the longer you can go without alerting him to your presence the better. Its amazing how close you can get into a heard this way.