I Call

[Swampcruiser]

Good info either way in this thread!

 

[Swede]

Mr Trophyhill, elk are elk alright, but they are very adaptive. They can go nocturnal and stay quiet in the daytime. It has been several years since I have heard a breeding sequence. They can also leave the area and go where you are not permitted to follow. A little more experience will help you a lot.
My apology to Cmbbulldog. I thought your post was a misinterpretation of mine.

 

[ShakeDown]

“You can’t call in big bulls in this unit. There’s too much outfitter pressure.”

”Cow call only, really big bulls won’t come into bugles.”

”Sit water. That’s the only way to kill big bulls.”

“Big N.M. bulls will take their cows and go. Don’t bother to call.”



So obviously... I bugled this bull in for my youngest brother. This is his 1st bull. The whole hunt we kept joking... IF THEY AINT TALKIN, WE WALKIN.

 

[Indian Summer]

Does anybody hear remember the calling philosophies of Danny “Big Dan” Moore? A guy who before he passed bow killed more big herd bulls than almost anyone?

 

[cnelk]

This bull never made a sound. Came came walking right in to cow calls, right before I killed him. August 31

 

[elkduds]

“You can’t call in big bulls in this unit. There’s too much outfitter pressure.”

”Cow call only, really big bulls won’t come into bugles.”

”Sit water. That’s the only way to kill big bulls.”

“Big N.M. bulls will take their cows and go. Don’t bother to call.”



So obviously... I bugled this bull in for my youngest brother. This is his 1st bull. The whole hunt we kept joking... IF THEY AINT TALKIN, WE WALKIN.


View attachment 169257

Man, that is an epic Euro. Thanks for posting.

 

[cmbbulldog]

Shakedown - amazing bull!

 

[ridgefire]

My style of hunting is to call til they fall and wouldn't want it any other way. Nothing like getting them fired up with a bugle and then calling him in with the bugle.

 

[kylem]

I've relied on calling mainly because of the terrain I hunt. One of these years I'll hunt a little more open country when I can put my binos to work and see if I can stalk in and kill a bull.

 

[trophyhill]

Does anybody hear remember the calling philosophies of Danny “Big Dan” Moore? A guy who before he passed bow killed more big herd bulls than almost anyone?

Yes as I recall he hated cow calls and would toss them in the fire if you showed up to camp with one. As I remember, and correct me if I'm wrong, he liked to bugle them in.

 

[trophyhill]

Mr Trophyhill, elk are elk alright, but they are very adaptive. They can go nocturnal and stay quiet in the daytime. It has been several years since I have heard a breeding sequence. They can also leave the area and go where you are not permitted to follow. A little more experience will help you a lot.
My apology to Cmbbulldog. I thought your post was a misinterpretation of mine.

We can all use a little more experience. Sounds like you could use a little more experience yourself. The DVD's, PlayBook and app will tell you all you need to know about the art of calling and killing elk. It will tell you what different sounds mean so you can make the appropriate sounds at the Moment of Truth. You will learn how to read the encounters correctly so you start to recognize which sounds of your own increase your odds and aren't likely to run bulls off. Unlike a piece of surveyor tape

 

[JPD350]

In my opinion elk don't just "go nocturnal" they love the night time regardless if there is hunting pressure, hunting pressure effects the daytime activity, meaning elk "go inactive" during the day.

Edit; inactive was the wrong term to use, less active would be better because they never stop being active.

 

[Swede]

I will admit that with almost 60 years of hunting experience, I am still learning. I do not know some things about elk. I know enough things that work, and just continue to repeat them. The only possible season I did not learn several things was when I killed my elk the first day.
Hunting wisdom comes from experience and can be supplemented with advise from other experienced hunters. Wisdom will make it possible to sort between the wheat and the chaff. Remember both are available. Once you have more experience you will quit touting new dvds and apps, and relate more to what you have actually observed. Greenhorns point to some guru. Seasoned hunters know from experience what works.

The truth is that most elk breeding has always taken place at night.

 

[rob86jeep]

"calls are an essential tool". For what? I get most of my elk with no calls at all. They sure are not essential if you are talking about killing elk, and where they are not used carefully or in the wrong place, they are a liability. I will go farther in saying the average tree stand hunter will outkill even the advanced caller on otc units.

Swede, just curious about a couple of things. When you say most of your elk are taken with no calls, is this during archery/ML (the rut) or after? Also, when you did your poll about tree stand hunters, was it just during the rut the whole season?

 

[Swede]

Rob, the vast majority of elk have been killed with an arrow in the general archery season. Most of my archery kills (about 20) came in the first half of the season.
I did the survey on Bowsite after the archery seasons were over. I would like to see State statistics on the subject, as they would have been better than the 50 responses I received, but they do not break it down by hunting method. I tend to think the responses were biased toward the more successful, but not toward tree stand or call particularly. I think the days of hunting reported were accurate enough.

 

[trophyhill]

Ok back on topic for a moment as I want to get to the number 1 reason on why "I Call". It really is simple and it's not a dig on those who never utter a peep and hunt solely spot n stalk or hunting out of a stand. More power to ya, but the #1 reason I call is because it works! Whether elk are rutting at day or night. It works whether they are vocal or silent. I am talking about archery hunting btw. But it works during muzzy season as well.

 

[5MilesBack]

the #1 reason I call is because it works! Whether elk are rutting at day or night. It works whether they are vocal or silent. I am talking about archery hunting btw. But it works during muzzy season as well.

Ya, it works. But I've always said "If I could sit for more than 5 minutes, I could kill an elk every single year opening weekend over water". And I have no doubts about that. But what fun is that? You can't control what elk actually come in......it's all random.....and boring. Sitting works too. Bottom line is.......the reason you and I call (the way we do) is because it's a blast to go one on one with mature bulls.