Best Elk Calls

[KaibabHntr]

After drawing AZ 5B south archery bull, I'm suddenly in the market for a bugle and some cow calls. I never was too good at the reeds so I'm more interested in an all in one system for the bugle. I hear the hyper hot cow call is good - any recommendations before I buy? Its been a while since I've had the chance to hunt elk. Thanks.

RG
http://www.KeyToTheKaibab.com

 

[4x4elk]

HOOCHIE MOMMA

 

[azoutback]

Most anything primos is a good call. They have some new ones this year also.Elk seem to catch on to calls after a few years so get the newest ones available.good luck

 

[Idahoelk]

Try picking a brand that everyone else isn't using if your hunting public ground. The masses will have all the same calls and the Elk are on to them in short order. This will not hold true if you get off the beaten path and into fresh undisturbed elk.

 

[ixsolracxi]

might want to try some of primos' blue reed bugles, some of the similar calls from hunter specialties (wayne carlton calls)...you still will not get as good of sound as a diaphragm...it took me a while to get used to diaphragms but i did it...my first call was the primos terminator and i hate the sound that comes out of it (i hate the sound it makes on their videos too) dish out some cash for it and determine if you like it, the mouthpiece of my terminator has been retired and i only use the grunt tube with a diaphragm...as mentioned in a prior post, you can try the squeeze me calls, primos hoochie mama or carltons squeeze me, would i use them as my primary call, no...i do have a hoochie mamma but only use it intermittently to sound like different cows...you can also try to the external reed cow calls such as the estrus whine, fighting cow, hyper lip single/double, hot lips...try and few and determine what you like best...

solrac

 

[dleonard3]

I like the Power Bugle mouth piece on an Abe & Sons tube. It give that great big bull volume and tone, and its real easy to use without accidentally making weird noises. Even if you don't call any bulls in, I'm sure you will get lots of attention from the other hunters in the area (it sounds that good). I would stick to cow calls and only use the bugle to locate bulls in the early morning before it gets light. Good luck.

 

[30inchbuck]

There are many great elk calls on the market. I own as many elk calls as do some of those big time duck hunters have duck calls.

I have calls from Rookie Jacobson, Primos, Wood Wise, and Carlton.

The best diaphrams I like are the Rookie Jacobson ones.

Best Reed - Wood Wise.

Best Tube - Primos.

Best Squeeze call - Hoochie Momma.

I also modify those calls to some extent to make a slightly differnt sound than most hunters produce with them.

With that also comes with knowing what to say with your calls at a paticular encounter. I believe that is more important than the sounds you make with any call.

Elk have an extended vocabulary, if you learn the vocabulary then the better you will get to bring em in.

 

[mrelk]

I make my own reed calls. I use a kit from My Elk Call www.myelkcall.com I make a new call every night in 5 minutes and have a fresh reed for the next day. Plus I do not feel bad when I have to throw it away. It only costs me $1.50 each to make. You can cut them to fit your mouth which other pre-manufactured ones are limited.

 

[rackem406]

I just got the elk call kit in yesterday. I'm looking forward to making some calls this weekend.

***************************************************************
?Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!?
~George Carlin

 

[AZDuke2500]

LAST EDITED ON Aug-08-06 AT 04:39PM (MST)[p]Maybe you should look into getting a electronic call. You should've got a call last year and practiced.

Good Luck

 

[ELKMASTER101]

eeeeu eeeuuuuu euueeuuuuu
euueueu eeeuuuueeeuuu, eeuuu eeuuueeuuu,
eeeeuu eeeuuuu eeeeuuuu
eeeeeuuuuuuuuuuuueueuuuu
now thats what i call sweet music.
holy buckets, i can smell those backstraps cooking.

 

[tapehoser]

I just bought the Mac Daddy last week. It works and sounds pretty good. Got a demo disk of Wayne Carlton using it and the sounds he makes with the Mac Daddy sound the same as when he uses the diaphragm/reed call.

I have been practicing for 1 week and feel pretty confident with it already.

 

[cmiddleton]

barry game calls got into some trouble last year but the sleezy cow call is my favorite they break easy with use so bring more than one. i go threw three a year
that and the hoochie mamma and carlton squeeze me and a cow talk is what i carry, then the bugle like the cow talk and two monana decoys.
i think the sleezy and the hoochie are the two that get the most action.
there is one bull that i know of that only reacts to bugles
he is a old bull and i think he is gay or a bully he won't even turn his head to a cow call. he likes to fight though by rifle season he is always broken up.

 

[AWHOLELOTTABULL]

The best elk call is the one that is working at the time. What I mean by that is, every call makes a different sound. I own just about every call under the sun and generally will use most of them at least once during the hunting season. What works one year may not work the next. Idaho had the best post yet on this thread when he said to use a call that all the other hunters aren't. Very savy advice.

www.awholelottabull.com

 

[pigbulls]

>After drawing AZ 5B south archery
>bull, I'm suddenly in the
>market for a bugle and
>some cow calls. I never
>was too good at the
>reeds so I'm more interested
>in an all in one
>system for the bugle.
>I hear the hyper hot
>cow call is good -
>any recommendations before I buy?
>Its been a while since
>I've had the chance to
>hunt elk. Thanks.
>
>RG
>http://www.KeyToTheKaibab.com
abe and son.abe and son.abe and son

 

[Cass]

Sleezy Cow.
Get one.




-Cass

 

[Legolas]

I like diaphragm calls, but the second I slide one into my mouth I start salivating and slobbering all over myself. But I tried the Primos dome diaphragms this year and I don't have that problem with them. Maybe it's because they're smaller or made from a different material.

My next door neighbors don't like elk calls at all. Weird, huh?

 

[maddglasser]

The best call is the one you don't use! If your not good with a call don't use it. Let the bulls tell you where they are, then stalk in silently. I know lots of other guides that use this method, it is how many of your bigger bulls are killed.

 

[JohnnyLegend]

I second madglasser. For killing mature bulls, the best call is no call. The area being hunted and amount of pressure on the elk are key factors of course, but we pretty much only use our cow calls for slowing/calming them down after we have stuck'em. Stalking, getting in front/cutting off a big bull is our main strategy with virtually no calling, especially on high pressue elk units.

Last year I hunted three states: warmed up in OR, bugled only 2 times all week, had a guy on me within minutes. In Montana, cow called once to stop a big bull for a shot that was walking out of bow range. In AZ my buddy cow called a few times to a big bull that we were close in on, the bull left us asap, he called again on another big bull and the bull went the other way. No more calling from that point on and my buddy is a former guide who knows how to call and kill bull elk. For young bulls or satellite bulls, calling can be pretty effective, but for old mature bulls, silence may be better. Now with all the above being said, recommend using a diaphragm call first and I historically, but not so much lately, I have fired some bulls up with the Sceery Hyper Hot, which is what I carry to call with after I have connected with a bull, which does not happen for me every year like my buddy in Montana who has killed 5 or 6 nice bulls in a row, no calling at all, getting in front cutting them off every time. Nice bulls, all 280-330 class.

Good luck!


Johnny

 

[proutdoors]

I have had success with with just about every different call out there. I have also had no luck with the same calls on the same day on the same mountian. What works in the am for a bull may not work in the pm. One day a bull might respond to bugles and ignore call calls, the next day he might respond only to a hyper call.
The only rule I believe in is nothing works all the time and any call can work at the right time in the right way. That is why I carry several different types not just different brands. Get in close and keep the wind right and whenever possible stay below the bull and get in as close as possible for best results.

 

[KaibabHntr]

Thanks for all the info everyone. I ended up going with the Power Bugle (which I plan to use very little - stick to the cow calls), the Hootchie Mama, Hyper Cow Double Reed, and a little hands free mini cow call by Screery. Thanks again.

RG
www.KeyToTheKaibab.com