New hunter intimated to call elk.

[Waddi]

Thanks man that’s sound advice and matches what I’ve learned on the elknut app. Do you ever bugle at night to locate them?

 

[cnelk]

Are you going to tell him or wait for somebody else?

Lessons cost money.
Good ones cost lots.

 

[Marble]

The longer I hunt elk in the rut, the better I get at reading the mood of the bull. Being able to see the bull while he bugles or how his cows act when I call, let's me know which direction I need to go Auth calling. I have screwed it up more times then I've got it right. But I'm not afraid to screw it up again, because I'll learn something I can pull from the bag of tricks to use on the next one.

I've been as successful with cow calls as I have been with bugles. It just depends.

My last bull responded to a horrible bugle. Them I turned it on and the fight was on. But I have had that same thing happen and when I get aggressive, the bull turns and runs.

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[Dos Perros]

Bugling is absolutely effective for locating bulls. Some here have success using calls to call in elk. I have before many times, but I think I like my odds better of using the bugle (or cow calls) to locate elk and then stalking in silently.

 

[Elite]

As a guide, I have a bugle tube but use it 1% of the time, bugling is my last resort, or only at night to locate. Otherwise it’s cow calls only or ambush hunting. To many people in many units walk around blowing bugles like a tuba in the back of the band. My experience even though I’m in an OTC unit, guys bugle, bulls go
Silent gather cows and walk out.

Social media and influencers have ruined the dream of bugling bulls in the rut. Unit 66 may be different as it’s a draw tag and I know guys in that area that call several bulls a day. I will say in a less pressured area even bad bugles can bring elk, but I prefer techniques like rubbing, stomping, soft cow calls, over bugling. The RMEF bugle competition isn’t IMO how elk actually sound. It’s a competition to make the “perfect” bugle but like I said sometimes my worst bugle has brought in the biggest bulls. Elk all have different bugles, and honestly if you are going to bugle learn what every bugle means! There’s 15 sounds bulls make that all mean something different and throwing a challenge bugle out at the wrong time can ruin the hunt. If you don’t know what the bugles mean in each situation ur basically arguing with someone in a different language.


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Seems odd to have this analogy on elk and then the elk nut Paul always bugles on high pressure areas.

I have also used cow calls and got nothing then threw a bugle out and bulls lite up


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[11boo]

Be aware there is a 50/50 chance any replies will be another hunter. Or another hunter silently hunting you.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Yes sorry I meant per square mile, was riding in a vehicle while I typed this post so excuse the typos please. That stat was per the OnX research tool.

That's what I thought. I don't know how onx comes up with that stat but .04 hunters per square mile doesn't sound accurate at all even in a limited unit so don't be surprised if you get several miles in and run into other hunters and outfitters. It's just part of the gig in Colorado. Just something to be prepared for.

 

[Waddi]

That's what I thought. I don't know how onx comes up with that stat but .04 hunters per square mile doesn't sound accurate at all even in a limited unit so don't be surprised if you get several miles in and run into other hunters and outfitters. It's just part of the gig in Colorado. Just something to be prepared for.

Yeah I just did the math and it must only be the number of hunters hunting that specific MZ tag divided by the square mileage of the unit. It doesn’t account for others that are hunting an archery tag or another species, but according to that same chart it’s one of the lesser pressured units. A lot of that data in the onX research system seems to be pretty unrefined but I still think it provides a good baseline.

 

[Waddi]

Bugling is absolutely effective for locating bulls. Some here have success using calls to call in elk. I have before many times, but I think I like my odds better of using the bugle (or cow calls) to locate elk and then stalking in silently.

That approach makes sense to me, that’s probably what I’ll do unless I’m on an aggressive bull and feeling pretty confident.

The longer I hunt elk in the rut, the better I get at reading the mood of the bull. Being able to see the bull while he bugles or how his cows act when I call, let's me know which direction I need to go Auth calling. I have screwed it up more times then I've got it right. But I'm not afraid to screw it up again, because I'll learn something I can pull from the bag of tricks to use on the next one.

I've been as successful with cow calls as I have been with bugles. It just depends.

My last bull responded to a horrible bugle. Them I turned it on and the fight was on. But I have had that same thing happen and when I get aggressive, the bull turns and runs.

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Thanks for the reply. The idea of getting one to respond to a bugle sounds about as exciting as it gets but I understand that I need to be cautious and not fire up a bugle every ten minutes. I’m trying to get proficient with the nuanced delivery between a location bugle and a challenge one

 

[BigAntlerGetter]

Seems odd to have this analogy on elk and then the elk nut Paul always bugles on high pressure areas.

I have also used cow calls and got nothing then threw a bugle out and bulls lite up


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Your comparing a first time elk caller to a professional lol, that’s like saying funny way to think of football, but a pro is gonna go to a high school game and throw the ball 55 yards.

Paul knows elk, im sure he could come into my unit and bugle in elk, I also think that most likely he isn’t gonna walk in and just start screaming 1 mile from the trailhead, then turn around if he doesn’t hear a challenge back.


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[Scoot]

Sure but ask those hunters if they are constantly successful or not. I can prefer to hunt bulls by doing a mock scrape and rattling antlers from a tree stand, but may also say been doing it for 15 yrs and killed one elk…. Cause I fell asleep in the stand lol. 10% of the hunters kill 90% of the elk. So 90% of hunters aren’t constantly successful, which proves their tactics obviously aren’t working or they must be hunting a unit with 0 elk

No doubt about the 90/10 part of your reply. However, your reply implies that the consistently successful 10% are all doing it the same (the "right") way. I prefer to call but my buddy will sit water every hour he hunts. We've both been quite successful killing bulls, but use very different techniques. I have another acquaintance who doesn't even carry calls, but stalks bulls when they are talking. He's killed a lot of big bulls too.

There's more than one way to skin a cat and it's possible to be consistently successful killing elk in a wide variety of ways. So many people who kill elk "their way" believe it's "the only way" to kill em and the only way to do so consistently. It's not.

One more suggestion- listen to Jaq. He knows a thing or 3 about elk. He's got more experience than me and definitely more than just about everyone in this thread (many of them combined).

 

[Marble]

That approach makes sense to me, that’s probably what I’ll do unless I’m on an aggressive bull and feeling pretty confident.

Thanks for the reply. The idea of getting one to respond to a bugle sounds about as exciting as it gets but I understand that I need to be cautious and not fire up a bugle every ten minutes. I’m trying to get proficient with the nuanced delivery between a location bugle and a challenge one

It's a learned thing. Each bugle isn't the same, which you probably know. Some want to fight, some want to posture, some want to avoid all bull on bull interaction and some are just curious.

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[Jethro]

@Waddi may I suggest you edit your op and remove the unit number?

 

[South Robert]

Good afternoon everyone just a quick tactic question from a new hunter. I’m doing my first real backcountry muzzleloader hunt in unit 66 this year. I’ve been practicing bugling and elk calling over the summer and I think I’m starting to get it. I was curious on everyone’s opinion if I should break out the bugle or not this September. For context I’m hiking 5 miles deep into a wilderness area and the area seems to have low hunting pressure with 0.04 hunters per square.

Following

 

[GunsAreFun]

Get a subscription to Chris Roe’s Elk Hunting Institute and work through that.

Once you feel a bit more comfortable, get ElkNut app and go through that. ElkNut covers a lot of the basics too, but I think Chris Roe does it a little better. (Paul I know you’re on here and still love you lol). I have personally found Paul a lot more helpful for sequences.

 

[Waddi]

@Waddi may I suggest you edit your op and remove the unit number?

I

@Waddi may I suggest you edit your op and remove the unit number?

I don’t think it’ll allow me too since I’m still in the probie stage of my membership. My bad if I broke etiquette. Wasn’t trying to

 

[Jethro]

I

I don’t think it’ll allow me too since I’m still in the probie stage of my membership. My bad if I broke etiquette. Wasn’t trying to

I don’t think we discussed anything that broke rules, but I was going to comment on pressure but didn’t because the unit was posted.

 

[manitou1]

That's what I thought. I don't know how onx comes up with that stat but .04 hunters per square mile doesn't sound accurate at all even in a limited unit so don't be surprised if you get several miles in and run into other hunters and outfitters. It's just part of the gig in Colorado. Just something to be prepared for.

Also, that .04 will all be in the honey holes next to you.

 

[khunter]

@Waddi may I suggest you edit your op and remove the unit number?

goodness, he is not blowing up 66 by asking bugling advice any more than @5MilesBack is blowing up 61 saying he gets to help a buddy there.

 

[iamthenick]

Your first time is always the hardest, but when you call that first one in to get intimate. You better be ready.