Elk Hunters.......what calls do you use or like?

[ron w]

Looks like I may have an Elk hunt in the fall. New to this whole calling thing. What cow calls do you use or recommend to a rookie on his first DIY elk hunt!  

[Over&Under]

The Primos mouth calls with the palate plate work well for me.  I get the smallest size and they are easy to produce sound out of.  Also one reed can do all your calls for you even a quick cow call if the need arises.

[motorhead7963]

get the "Hoochie Mamma" by far the easiest to use and productive.

[4dogs]

I like one made by montana calls, real simple small plastic call with rubber bands in it, very realistic and you have alot control with it but for close up work nothing really beats diaphram calls...leaves your hands free, you can use alot of "english" with them and can control volume easy and can make any call you want or need. As Over & Under said the ones with the plate are quicker to learn....PM sent

[slivrslingr]

Sceery for me.  Easy to use, realistic sounding and at least for me, a short learning curve.

The diaphragm or palate calls work well, especially since they're hands free, but they take some practice.  My palate is really high so they don't work for me.  Not to mention they make me gag.

[Elkchaser]

I carry a Hoochie Mama and have a Primos single reed call in my mouth or teeth most of the day. Ready for use, should the need arise.

[PAPA BEAR]

hoochie mama/baby hoochie......my go to cow call after 15plus years of trying them all out is the cowgirl by primos...works great and you can remove the gray rubber bell and tone it down to a soft suttle mew when youre in close.

[Whip]

Do yourself a favor and learn to use a mouth diaphragm.  I have one tucked in my cheek all day long in the mountains. I also have at least a couple different reed calls around my neck. I like to be able to throw different sounds at them. One of my favorites is an estrus whine reed call.  Although I have my preferences I don't think the specific brand makes as much difference as the type of call.
Elknut sells my favorite mouth diaphragms as well as other calls and some great how to call dvd's and cd's.

[ron w]

Thanks guys, that's the kind of info I need     Thanks ron w

[4Blade]

Hoochie Mama and the Primos bugle.  Almost impossible to mess up with these two.  Mouth diaphrams are great but when your huffing and puffing and your hearts pounding and your mouth is dry as popcorn it is hard to sweet talk.  I have scared a few bulls by sounding like a dying rabbit in heat in all the excitement with a diaphram.  But learn to use them all, they can come in handy when you least expect it.  I've been crouched outside my tent in my skivies with an arra on the string in the early morning mist, so always keep your calls handy.

[Benoli]

The very first elk I saw called in was by my cousin using a 18" piece of gas line he took off an old dryer. He was small 4x3 on on the very first day of our very first elk hunt in Colorado. Neither of us thought to shoot because we so amazed at seeing our first elk even though he came within 20 yards before spooking. I prefer to use a diaphram call. Just settle down before calling just like youn ned to settle down before shooting. Good Hunting!

[Pete McMiller]

I carry several cow calls and almost never a bugle.  My favorites are

1.  Sceery - accounted for several bulls and seems to pull them in regularly.  It's always my go-to call.

2.  Wayne Carlton cow call with the rubber bands.  This is the only cow call that I can get quiet enough for the softest mews.  I saw a bull mewing one time that could not be heard past about 25 yards (at least by my ears).

3.  The diaphrams that Elknut uses - I got several last year and they are easy to use and produce a good cow call.

Practice, practice, practice and don't over call.  Several bulls I have called in only took two mews from the Sceery every 20 minutes.  Unless the bulls are really active IMO you can't rush them - take it easy and let their curiosity bring them in.

[East Coast archer]

My suggestion is the hoochie momma mentioned and a couple of diaphrams.  If I were buying all new stuff, I would take a hard look at Elk Nuts website.  I bought his Lil Chuckler grunt tube and was very impressed with it last year.  I have 3 or 4 of Primos mouth diaphrams and when they wear out am going to replace them with some of his.  That is how impressed I was with his grunt tube.  Numerous times last season I had bulls responding but could never close the deal, while others in my group could not get them to answer and they were using big name grunt tubes and can bugle alot better then me. Last season was also a very hot and slow season where I hunted in Colorado. The hoochie momma is a great call for a beginner and still works great in low pressure areas, but it seems everyone has one and uses the snot out of it. My other suggestion is get a DVD or CD of real elk sounds if you are not intimately familiar with them all ready.  One word of caution, practicing in the house can drive your wife and dogs nuts!

[Montanawidower]

I'm a big believer in diaphrams. (I would caution against a hoochie momma.)  I can pick that call out from across a draw.  Its flat and  repetetive. Nothing screams hunter like. Eeow... Eeow... Eeow....Eeow...Eeow...


A herd of elk is a symphony of tones and sounds. Spend the time to learn a diaphram and it will make the difference between 80-100yd encounters and in your face encounters.
PS  The Sceery open reed call has probably been our best estrus call over the last 10 years.

[jhg]

Originally posted by Whip:
Do yourself a favor and learn to use a mouth diaphragm....  

Worth repeating. And practice until you can make the sounds in the field. I found out that when a bull elk is in front of you and you think you knew how to use that call... well you don't.

Its very hard to make a good call when it counts the first time or two.

Practice in the field, even if its out back the house.
I like both single and double diaphram mouth calls. The dbl will let you make a lot more sounds once you have some time on it. And several calls in the pocket are good- no elk sounds like its neighbor- all different sounding voices, just like us.

Joshua

[Whip]

It was mentioned how practicing in the house can drive your wife and dog nuts - how true that is!  And if you live in town your neighbors might not apppreciate it much either.  Either way, you probably won't practice nearly enough.

I have a diaphram call in my truck all summer and practice on it all the time when I head to town or where ever.  Just me to bother, so I tend to do it a lot more often.

[Montanawidower]

" I found out that when a bull elk is in front of you and you think you knew how to use that call... well you don't. "

That is well said.  Anybody who has never been inside thirty yards with a mature bull will probably shake like they have never shook before.  Its addictive.  I have had one partner nearly faint and another partner actually throw up.   No exaggeration. (The bull was a 350 bull that charged in and horned the satellite bull right out from under us at about 20 yards.  That was '94 and the sight of such violence from a huge bull at point blank was too much for my pal.)  Its that intense.  Come on September!!!

[steadman]

Be careful with the Hoochie mama, it gets overused even more than other elk calls. I use a carlton's diaphram, you can make a lot of different sounds with any diaphram. I also use the carltons reed call at times. Get in close BEFORE you start to call. Have fun.

[scedvm]

I carry two different diaphragms and a reed call just to get some variation.  A diaphragm call is the toughest to learn but also the most versatile so I think since you still have quite a bit of time until elk season that is what I would focus on learning.  Elk are very unpredictable and they all sound different and will respond differently to calling and pressure.  Knowing what to "say" and when is more important than quality of sound most of the time.  Get a CD from Elknut (or an old cassette of Wayne Carlton or Larry Jones which is what I had as a kid in the 80's) and practice, practice, practice.  Good luck...Shawn

[snag]

We can tell you the types of calls we like to use. But more important is how to use these calls. You can do more damage than good if you don't know how to use any call.
Like Whip and others have said a mouth diaphram can give you a wide range of expression and making it more realistic to the elk. If you don't like or don't want to learn to use these properly then just go with a cow call like the Hoochie momma. But learn when to use it and when to shut up!