ELK CALLING ADVICE

[leatherneck]

Man, a lot of great info here guys. I've learned a lot just reading these posts. I expect to make many of mistakes. We are hunting in pairs and have talked extensively on hung bulls. It appears we were thinking the right things in reference to pair hunting. The elk nut video will be ordered in the morning. Keep the intel coming folks, I'm a sponge when it comes to trying to gain knowledge. Thanks to all.

Mike

BTW- We are hunting unit 71 in SW Colorado from 9-9-08 to 9-24-08.

[yotekillrr]

man go to elknut.com!  i talked to paul the owner on the phone and he is one hellva nice guy.  he helped me and sold me some stuff at the sametime! lol  great guy and he knows what HE is talking about.

[leatherneck]

Thanks yote. I'll be calling him for sure.

[Brian Krebs]

YIPES

JoeM is SOOOO right; you can call in bulls without any calls at all.

 Bulls like to rub trees; and if you watch them do it; when they do it they make most trees move back and forth- producing a kind of swishing sound. You can of course; find a tree and push it back and forth; and bring in bulls.

 You can rattle them in. Its a bit difficult to carry antlers in with you; risky in that when your camoed and walking with an elk rack... its dangerous.

 But rattling does work. I have done it.

And danger though it is; when you have one coming into a rattle; holding the antler up so the bull can see it works well to.

 Big problem is the weight and bulk while stalking.

 You can also take a baseball bat size FRESH tree limb and smack a rub size tree with it; then drag it slowly up and down the tree; and then beat up dead branches on CLOSE trees ( as you might have an elk watching).

 I have also called them in taking a branch and dragging it back and forth on the ground.

 Theory to me is that when the bulls lose the velvet; they rub trees and get sap on them; and then rub the ground to darken their antlers. Just a theory - but I shot a bull doing just that once.

 JoeM - a tip of the hat to you for mentioning it.    

[Roughcountry]

Did you ever notice that the mt lion never calls when hunting elk? Seems to make his run at about the same distance we'd fling a arrow from also.

Just thought I'd throw that one in after looking at a lot of lion kills  

[yotekillrr]

good point but their noses, ears, eyes and ability to be stealthy are much better than any human i know.

[Missouri Sherpa]

If a mountain lion could run an elk bugle or a cow call they might call more often.

[chsnelk03]

One thing I learned last time out is to be very aware of what's happening all around your position. If you are hunting in pairs, you both need to be looking in all directions for elk. I was calling and raking trees and rolling rocks for my bro last time out and the biggest bull I have seen to date was 30 yards to the left of me and my bow was sitting on the ground! Also, make sure when you start calling you are ready. We had a small bull come in within 13 yards while we were standing out in the open calling. He wasn't a legal shooter, but it was a bull nonetheless. I feel my hunt is successful if I learn something each time I'm out. It's definetly not like hunting Ohio whitetails!

[Steertalker]

One comment I would like to add is that a lot of first time elk hunters expect it to be long range shooting.  That is definitely possible....but in my experience not the norm.  More times than I can count I have had elk literally walk right too me or over me making it very difficult to get a shot off if not impossible.  I've had a bull destoy a tree within feet of me while I was praying he didn't decide to tear up the tree was hiding behind.  So...the point is....it really is best to work out a "buddy" system of one caller and one shooter.  That way when a bull "zeroes" in on a caller it gives the shooter a better chance.  Unless, of course, the bull walks over the shooter to get to the caller    which has happened to me.  It makes for a few tense moments...that's for sure!!!

Brett

[Roughcountry]

I noticed that the cats blow a lot of stalks due to the game winding them, the canines don't hunt with the wind behind them.

Just a few things I noticed, I'm pretty much quiet in the woods these days. I cow call very seldom any more, and only bugle at night to locate bulls. I'm seeing better bulls due to being quiet I think.

[yotekillrr]

man those elknut dvd's are the cats meow!

[Sharpster]

Paul Medel (Elknut.com) is THE AUTHORITY when it comes to an intimate knowledge of elk vocalizations.

He knows every sound elk make (bulls and cows) and what each sound means. He can teach you when to call, and more importantly when not to call. The man literally "speaks" elk as a second language. If you haven't called him yet, I would strongly recommend it.

Ron

[leatherneck]

My order is on it's way. I even got a couple of his calls. I figure they work for him.