Solo Calling Strategies

[Dillon.Curtin]

Anyone have advice on solo calling strategies? For background: Colorado, mid sept. archery.

Have been practicing with bugling and cow calling with diaphragm and external for about 8 months so getting better but still have a lot of room for improvement.


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[Dave0317]

I can’t speak from much real world experience, but I have downloaded the ElkNut app that I saw recommended here.

There is a section on Solo calling and lots of other good tips and advice in general. I’d definitely recommend it.

 

[11boo]

I called in two bulls last season solo. Its no magic trick, and I’m not that great at calling.

 

[ElkNut1]

As a Solo Elk Hunter learn the Cow Party, Advertising Sequence & Cow Mews & Raking along with the small subtleties that can be tweaked depending on your situation. Those Tactics alone will go a long ways. Too, remember that you are playing both roles of caller/shooter when using calling as a solo guy.

No need to over think things, those Tactics are money. Of course there's always sitting water sources & active used trails leading to destination spots.

If hunting terrain that a quiet enough stalk is possible & elk are spotted or bugles are heard in the timber then seriously consider slipping in with no calling. Be prepared for all or anything when there, it truly sucks when opportunities slip by because you didn't know what to do. Practice these tactics before ever entering the woods, this will instill confidence in all phases of your hunt!

ElkNut

 

[Dillon.Curtin]

As a Solo Elk Hunter learn the Cow Party, Advertising Sequence & Cow Mews & Raking along with the small subtleties that can be tweaked depending on your situation. Those Tactics alone will go a long ways. Too, remember that you are playing both roles of caller/shooter when using calling as a solo guy.

No need to over think things, those Tactics are money. Of course there's always sitting water sources & active used trails leading to destination spots.

If hunting terrain that a quiet enough stalk is possible & elk are spotted or bugles are heard in the timber then seriously consider slipping in with no calling. Be prepared for all or anything when there, it truly sucks when opportunities slip by because you didn't know what to do. Practice these tactics before ever entering the woods, this will instill confidence in all phases of your hunt!

ElkNut

I appreciate the advice. Feeling more confident with calling but definitely going to use it only as needed.


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[trophyhill]

If i get a response i wait a minute or 5 and use the same call again. If he answers and is coming, i immediately start moving toward him. The elk will let me know how and when to respond again at that point. My next response may or may not be calling. If hes coming, he's looking so i may not even need to make another call. If he stays put I go to him. If he moves away I go looking for other elk.

 

[Ron.C]

A Bristish Columbia hunter here so not sure if any of this would apply where you are hunting, but I do most of my elk hunting solo. I'm not in any way an authority on calling or an elk expert but have done ok.

Be flexible. If it isn't working for you, try something else.

I do bugle but sparringly as I hunt higher pressure area and typically reserve my bugles for pre dawn location or last hour of daylight, or on the odd occassion late at night if I haven't found them yet (I've found they can be quite chatty between 10pm and midnight in my area when they are very quiet during the day, like they know the daytime bugleing is BS ). If I were in a less pressured area, I'd probably bugle more then I do.

I do well with cow talk and hot cow call. I can whip out a pretty loud cow call and get bugles in response but do also call in allot of silent elk. When I get a bull talking, unless I know the bull is within a couple hundred yards, I move very fast to close the distance (and I'm not quiet about it).

I ALWAYS avoid setting up in any area that an elk can survey from a distance. I want to make him come looking for the source of the sound. You can also use terrain features to your advantage to accomplish this.

Stalking in on elk is also easier solo. If you find good sign in dark timber, this is a real good technique. As is sitting on wallows if you find a hot one.

In the area I hunt, I do my best to get into spots others don't and do whatever I can not to sound like the other hunters cruising the area. . Like I said, I hunt a high pressure area and when everyone is screaming away on bugle tubes, I often put mine away and put distance in between myself and them.

I still have my old Renzo's cow elk decoy that is with me whenever I'm bowhunting. Have used it successfully on several elk and had them come in, lock onto the decoy and give me a great shot. A great tool for a solo hunter, (but can be a pain to yard around at times).

Have had good luck late in the evening. Shot 3 within the last 10 minutes of legal light. In my experience, they just seem very willing to come right in at this time of day. But word of caution here. If you are not prepared/willing to work solo in the dark buthering and packing, don't pull the trigger or loose the arrow. It's not exactly enjoyable solo task when you are elbows deep late at night in griz country.

 

[Marble]

A Bristish Columbia hunter here so not sure if any of this would apply where you are hunting, but I do most of my elk hunting solo. I'm not in any way an authority on calling or an elk expert but have done ok.

Be flexible. If it isn't working for you, try something else.

I do bugle but sparringly as I hunt higher pressure area and typically reserve my bugles for pre dawn location or last hour of daylight, or on the odd occassion late at night if I haven't found them yet (I've found they can be quite chatty between 10pm and midnight in my area when they are very quiet during the day, like they know the daytime bugleing is BS ). If I were in a less pressured area, I'd probably bugle more then I do.

I do well with cow talk and hot cow call. I can whip out a pretty loud cow call and get bugles in response but do also call in allot of silent elk. When I get a bull talking, unless I know the bull is within a couple hundred yards, I move very fast to close the distance (and I'm not quiet about it).

I ALWAYS avoid setting up in any area that an elk can survey from a distance. I want to make him come looking for the source of the sound. You can also use terrain features to your advantage to accomplish this.

Stalking in on elk is also easier solo. If you find good sign in dark timber, this is a real good technique. As is sitting on wallows if you find a hot one.

In the area I hunt, I do my best to get into spots others don't and do whatever I can not to sound like the other hunters cruising the area. . Like I said, I hunt a high pressure area and when everyone is screaming away on bugle tubes, I often put mine away and put distance in between myself and them.

I still have my old Renzo's cow elk decoy that is with me whenever I'm bowhunting. Have used it successfully on several elk and had them come in, lock onto the decoy and give me a great shot. A great tool for a solo hunter, (but can be a pain to yard around at times).

Have had good luck late in the evening. Shot 3 within the last 10 minutes of legal light. In my experience, they just seem very willing to come right in at this time of day. But word of caution here. If you are not prepared/willing to work solo in the dark buthering and packing, don't pull the trigger or loose the arrow. It's not exactly enjoyable solo task when you are elbows deep late at night in griz country.

Thank you for saying that!!

What can be gleamed by reading your post is that after years of experience, you have learned a lot of tactics by being in the woods and learning.

It's hard to put into words a lot of your experience, but you did it well!

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[Hnthrdr]

Solo hunted last year for a week and called in 3 big bulls which all hung up on me. I learned a ton though! 1. If the elk are talking maybe just slip in silent. I pinned myself down because I was having too much fun making a fired up bull bugle. 2. Remember that the elk is coming to the sound so be more mobile than you would, call where you want him to come but often set up in front of that to shoot or use terrain to make that bull have to crest a visibility line to see the noise. 3. Don’t be afraid to get aggressive. Later in the season I was calling for buddy and we crept in on a herd bull… got to under 70 yards and should have ripped a bugle to get him to come out of the timber for a shot, we played it safe and my buddy never got a shot. Like a lot of guys said be flexible and just remember the elk will hand your butt to you, just don’t quit

 

[5MilesBack]

My calling isn't any different for myself solo than it is when I'm calling for someone else.

 

[trophyhill]

My calling isn't any different for myself solo than it is when I'm calling for someone else.

I have to agree. When calling for my buddy’s the only difference is there are 2 or 3 of us.

 

[bcnorth]

A Bristish Columbia hunter here so not sure if any of this would apply where you are hunting, but I do most of my elk hunting solo. I'm not in any way an authority on calling or an elk expert but have done ok.

Be flexible. If it isn't working for you, try something else.

I do bugle but sparringly as I hunt higher pressure area and typically reserve my bugles for pre dawn location or last hour of daylight, or on the odd occassion late at night if I haven't found them yet (I've found they can be quite chatty between 10pm and midnight in my area when they are very quiet during the day, like they know the daytime bugleing is BS ). If I were in a less pressured area, I'd probably bugle more then I do.

I do well with cow talk and hot cow call. I can whip out a pretty loud cow call and get bugles in response but do also call in allot of silent elk. When I get a bull talking, unless I know the bull is within a couple hundred yards, I move very fast to close the distance (and I'm not quiet about it).

I ALWAYS avoid setting up in any area that an elk can survey from a distance. I want to make him come looking for the source of the sound. You can also use terrain features to your advantage to accomplish this.

Stalking in on elk is also easier solo. If you find good sign in dark timber, this is a real good technique. As is sitting on wallows if you find a hot one.

In the area I hunt, I do my best to get into spots others don't and do whatever I can not to sound like the other hunters cruising the area. . Like I said, I hunt a high pressure area and when everyone is screaming away on bugle tubes, I often put mine away and put distance in between myself and them.

I still have my old Renzo's cow elk decoy that is with me whenever I'm bowhunting. Have used it successfully on several elk and had them come in, lock onto the decoy and give me a great shot. A great tool for a solo hunter, (but can be a pain to yard around at times).

Have had good luck late in the evening. Shot 3 within the last 10 minutes of legal light. In my experience, they just seem very willing to come right in at this time of day. But word of caution here. If you are not prepared/willing to work solo in the dark buthering and packing, don't pull the trigger or loose the arrow. It's not exactly enjoyable solo task when you are elbows deep late at night in griz country.

I solo hunt BC as well and i hunt both higher pressure and low pressure areas and have some success but still havent been able get my elk every year. I have taken 3 solo hunting and always on last day or two. Its tough, frustrating but also super fun. I improve every year and see quality chances go up.

I havent tried the decoy yet but have been looking at them, seems like a nice tool to pull out. I do believe i might have had a chance at other bulls that hung up and were looking for the cow.

Over the years i have learned that finding and spending time in around active wallows and stalking into bedding areas during the day are providing equal opportunites to the morning and last light hunts. It seems on average there is 1 very good quality chance every 2 days where i hunt doing this.

I am also finding there are more and more bugle tubes and callers are getting better so i need to change tactics like raking trees and using quiet and bugles aimed in close at the herd and bugles that just sound different from all the others.

I have hunting partners but they all suck at calling and wont put the time in. I think they secretly like to suck so they are always the shooter! My partner this year promised he was better, well see! Otherwise i will be solo stalking around again.

 

[TradLife406]

Chris Roe specializes in this stuff.
Set up so when the elk first see you you can kill him. Stick to thicker cover.

 

[live2huntelk]

Elk typically will hang up at the “threshold” ….only come in to where they feel they should be able to see the source of the call. They can pinpoint the tree/spot the call was made from even from 100+ yards away. Assess the terrain around you, call 40-60 yards(or whatever distance needed) from a threshold (ie knoll/crest of a flat) then hurry and move to the threshold playing the wind to which way you think the elk will come in based on where it answered you from or think it will come in silent… look for game trails and setup up 15~20 yards off trail for broadside shot. If at all possible dont call anymore once at threshold…. Play the silent game with them…. Wait up to 30 minutes … in early season or heavily called/ pressured elk will come in silent. This is what has worked for me.