Late Season Cow Calling

[artyman1775]

I'm a flat lander from Mississippi. A couple buddies and I have been elk hunting in Colorado for the past 3 years and we're hooked. Last year, I ran into a local guy hunting with his wife. He was cow calling and we were in 4th rifle season in November. He said he would use the cow call to help locate elk and then move to contact, not necessarily to call bulls in to him. Who else has had luck using this method? As a fairly new elk hunter, I believed using calls was primarily a method for use during earlier seasons. Thanks for your input.

 

[Wrench]

Elk talk all year. Cow talk is really active when they herd up or get ready to move. The odds of getting bulls to come in are fair, but they will not be hot like September if they do....more like cautious and curious. You're not looking to get a conversation going as much as a location and identification sound and then back to silence.

 

[artyman1775]

Right. It didn't sound like it would work great to call a bull in that late in the year like it does during the rut. But if I can use it just to locate the herd or a lone bull that'd be great. It's much easier to get within range if I have an idea where they are. Now I can evaluate the wind direction and plan my approach.

 

[Wrench]

Honestly the tracks in the snow and learning where they feed and where they bed will be much more beneficial for late hunts. They're going to feed till light to possibly a couple hours into light, then travel .5-2 miles to a safe bedding area if there is any kind of pressure....then return, almost never the same way they left a hour or so before dark to feed again.

Learning the two places they want to be will be the hot ticket.

Most elk like to be able to see and smell as much as possible from decent cover....so expect bedding areas to be typically higher on ridges, but low enough to catch swirling winds over ridges and thermals.

 

[Idaho_Potato]

I had an interesting experience with cow calling last year. On October 10 There were multiple bulls using a ridgeline and they all seemed to have groups of cows. The bulls would go through periods of bugling throughout the morning and late evenings. They would bugle back but move off pretty quick.

I had a cow tag so I got within about 200 yards of a bugling bull in thick brush that I assumed had cows. Couldn't see the bull or any other elk. I started a lost calf call and didn't let up - short burst cow calls with a higher pitch. Within 30 seconds I had 4 or 5 cows coming at me through the brush in a panic. They all got within 30-40 yards and were calling at me looking for the calf.