Importance of bugling, cow calling, etc

[schoolhousegrizz]

I will be archery hunting elk in Wyoming this year. I have usually hunted elk in the late season. I have very little experience using elk calls. What calls do you guys think are essential for me to know. I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to just try and sneak in on them instead of scaring the hell out of them by calling.

 

[grosventrehunter]

Shane what are you worried about I have your bull tied to a tree and eating big piles of corn. I just need to know how big you want me to grow him.

 

[Gazelle]

Learn Both. You have plenty of time , and it's kinda fun. Plenty of choices with calls. Good luck!!

 

[schoolhousegrizz]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-20-15 AT 09:24PM (MST)[p]Haha sounds good Bryon! Good to hear from ya. I was hoping you could grow him at least 350. It won't be long now. I will be over that way in August, maybe July at the earliest. I'm looking forward to it. It would be cool to get it done with a bow. Hope all is well with you and yours.

 

[txhunter58]

I would recommend getting some of Elknuts DVDS.

http://www.elknut.com/

They are not hunting videos with a few hunting tips thrown in, so if you want to see some animals killed you will be disappointed. What he does very well is tell you what the elk are saying and what to say back. If you have trouble deciding which to get, email him and tell him what you know already and he will give you some good recommendations

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)

 

[schoolhousegrizz]

>I would recommend getting some of
>Elknuts DVDS.
>
>http://www.elknut.com/
>
>They are not hunting videos with
>a few hunting tips thrown
>in, so if you want
>to see some animals killed
>you will be disappointed.
>What he does very well
>is tell you what the
>elk are saying and what
>to say back. If
>you have trouble deciding which
>to get, email him and
>tell him what you know
>already and he will give
>you some good recommendations
>
>txhunter58
>
>venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore
>I am)

Thanks tx.

 

[Elkduds]

+1 on Elknuts. See the website.

http://www.elknutforums.com/Hunting/viewforum.php?f=5

 

[BRUIN4L]

Using calls is one of the main reasons for early elk hunts! It's much like fly fishing. It adds a dimension to the hunt that you don't normally get. Watch some demo and hunt vids and start playing with a call. It's actually pretty easy and fun. There is really no right or wrong- only what works. Less is usually more to start with though. My 2 cents.

 

[Zeke]

Calling isn't what it used to be.... or should I say, elk don't seem to respond to calling like they used to.

I've been calling and playing with elk for about 4.5 decades and have seen the trend of more elk being spooked than called in.
I'd bugle to locate only and soft cow call to keep track of them while I stalked them.

I could be wrong but if you think that you'll become a "caller" over the summer, you're probably mistaken. There's WAY more to calling than just mastering the sounds!

Zeke

 

[wildfin]

If you have mastered the art of calling elk they will come,I had a gamewarden tell me the mallards wont come to calls any more in ca. well he is wrong, all duck hunters have calls around there necks but it is rare to here one done right,some days the birds may fly well and most guys believe they were calling them in,no.the case with elk is the same, timing of the rut,are they calling all day,some times ill be in a herd and they wont be talking at all so I dont either.most times I will avoid as much as I can locating bulls by bugling over spotting them,once I am in I and cant close the deal I will start in calling with every thing I have and ajust to the reactions. I believe that a mature bull has heard every bull on the mountain knows them and has fought with them,growls and small bull chirps have worked best for me in tight.If your calling is not right you will also say they dont come to calls,if your on your in.

 

[elkhunterUT]

I highly recommend NOT squeezing the crap out of a Primos Hoochie Mama cow call every 5 minutes as so many hunters seem to do now. It is a quick & easy call to learn because it is hand held but it gets way overused and often backfires on those using it to an extreme.

I would recommend buying a mouth diaphragm call, listening to a lot of elk sounds from calling tapes or hunting videos (elknut's tapes are a good recommendation) and learn how to imitate a soft cow call with the diaphragm. If the elk are already vocal, I would spend most your time keeping the wind right and sneaking in/ambushing the herd without making a sound. I think your odds go way up if you can get close without the bull every knowing you are there. Use a bugle call sparingly to locate a bull, and soft cow calls to coax a bull in the last little bit for a shot, or to stop a moving animal for a shot.

Best of luck to ya - I can't think of many things better than hunting elk in the rut when they are vocal. It is something I look forward to and think about all year long!!

 

[schoolhousegrizz]

Cool, thanks for the advice everyone. I can cow call alright, but not bugle. I think I will keep the calling to a minimum.

 

[Servehim]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-21-15 AT 10:44PM (MST)[p]Griz, I think your on track. I never bugle but will cow call on rare occasions. Get close , never put yourself up wind, and pray you get fortunate after doing all the common sense hunting skills and a Big Bull makes himself venerable . Be persistent with the basics on scent and sound, get as close as you can without being detected and pray for a break. Calling....not so much ? my personal experience is not what you see by the folks selling there calls on a DVDs . Love watch those DVDs but not real world IMHO

 

[BrowningRage]

Having called in numerous other hunters while bugling in the gleaning hours of many Sept days... Learn to cow call and cow call effectively.

If there is one great truth, a bugling hunter NEVER comes into a cow call... Only actual bugling bulls come to cow calls. The bugle is very effective in locating a bull, and should be used sparingly once you "get in close"...

Challenging a herd bull with cows is always a calculated risk. I've seen it push the herd away as much or more than bring the herd bull in for a fight. I believe a better way is to pretend to be a cow that is joining the herd. Stay downwind, cow call softly, and move in close. Then, all you can really do is hope the bull takes interest in your cow call and comes to find out if you're a hot cow or not...

Another tactic involves pretending to be a young bull, with a cow or two... I have used this a couple times to draw in a bull, but neither was "the herd bull"... At least I didn't think so.

"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!" 2 Ne. 28: 24

 

[idropdead]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-22-15 AT 01:59PM (MST)[p]My son and I hunted unit 61 in Colorado 5 years and got bulls to work every day.Some would hang up at 50 or 6o yards and we couldn't see them, others came in where we could see them but were still out range. My son killed a 5x5 and I missed a nice 6x6.Some times we had 2 or 3 bulls working at the same time. Cow calling worked for us every day, there were lots of elk

 

[bowhunt]

I have called in bulls in early August all the way into mid october.
It can be done with regular success, IF you do the right thing at the right time.

Too much info to type it all in, but I would be happy to help some how.
We called in 11 bulls in 6 days of hunting in Wyoming last year...it was awesome.
Of the 11 bulls called in, only 2 presented shots. Both are now dead by the way.
I love hunting elk!
email me some time: [email protected]

 

[nontypical]

+1.

Timing is the most crucial element in calling elk; much more important than actual calling technique, IMO. Keep practicing bugling until you get it down. It's really not that hard. Maybe try a new bugle or something.

You could make yourself so good that no one could discern you from an actual bull and still never call in a bull if your timing isn't right.

Also, calling can be much more effective in units that have smaller numbers of tags; at least I've seen that to be the case.

 

[schoolhousegrizz]

Thanks guys

 

[Buglelk]

I think the amount of elk in the area makes a big difference as well as pressure. I think were there are not lots of elk but there a many hunters like most any bull units in Utah the elk are call shy and bugling is good for locating but that if you are like most people who call ever 30 seconds the bulls are well aware you are not an elk. I think locate them with a bugle then get as close as you can down wind if possible then cow call. I have bugled and had the bulls gather the cows and run them out of there with bugling.

 

[elkcrzy1]

I like what Buglelk said, it depends on the unit you are in, the amount of pressure and amount of elk in the area. Ive seen many times where bugling makes them pack up and leave. Think about it, if youre a herd bull with cows why go looking for a fight and risk losing your girls when you already have them ? This doesnt mean I dont carry a bugle though.

 

[Servehim]

That's my experience as well. Imo the herd Bulls will only advance toward a bugle if you are within their protection zone and they have no choice. They will reply to a distant bugle so bugling helps as a locator for sure. A frustrated Satallite bull will be much more likely to advance to a bugle that the Big Boy.