Callers......

[iccyman001]

When you are doing location bugles or cow calls, can you tell when the bull is honed in on you specifically?
And not just returning calls to something else?

 

[cnelk]

One word - Yes
And they can come is real fast, squealing the whole way

 

[JohnFitzgerald]

+1 CNEK. Sqealing like little piggies!

The nice thing abou calling for elk is you usually get a response within minutes . But I\'ve had, on special occasion, responses come a lot later. Anybody know why that is?

The best is when bulls are bugling off each other. If you encounter this, put away your bugle and get in close. What the **** ! John just said put away your bugle. :shock: :shock: Sweeeeeet cow calls work very well in this situation.

 

[Guest]

That is a great question and honestly never thought about it. I always just assumed they were just talking back to my sounds. There are times when bulls will just bugle randomly though and that is them calling to cows.

I have also been bugling back and forth with one elk and another bull in a different direction started bugling his head off and in that instance I am still not sure who he was talking to...........

But for most of the time if you call out with either a cow or bull sound and you get an answer you are now in that bulls head ! That bull will then have your sounds pin pointed right down and they have the uncanny ability to walk to that exact spot !! How they can do that is beyond me but it happens time after time every year !!

So always move after you have made any elk sounds as this will give you the upper hand as you won\'t be where the elk is looking for you !!

Trav

 

[Swede]

I have noticed the same thing Travis mentioned. I guess those Canadian elk are similar to the ones we have down our way.

 

[Deertick]

I wonder if sometime elk bugling isn\'t like dogs howling.

I have 3 dogs, and if one gets to howling, the others do, too. It\'s not communicative, it\'s more like singing a song together.

 

[Swede]

Tick, you have an interesting question. I don\'t think it works that way with elk. Dogs will yap, bark and just carry on, even after what got them started is over. I think they believe they are still supporting the other dogs that are barking. Elk don\'t seem to do that. Instead they speak to one another.

 

[cnelk]

Let me put my perspective on how an elk can pin your position down.

Let\'s say its 1am. You can\'t sleep so you are watching tv in bed.
The volume isn\'t up real loud.
Then suddenly you hear a THUMP!!! from somewhere in your house.
You know your house very well.
You know it didn\'t come from the bathroom.
Nor the spare bedroom.
You quickly deduce that it came from the kitchen.
So what do you do?
I bet you don\'t go to the spare bedroom via the bathroom.

You go directly to the kitchen

 

[Jaquomo]

Yep, when they cut you off or call immediately after you\'ve called.

To John\'s question, the ones I\'ve had answer long after I called to them (or blind called) were coming to me, getting closer before the impulse to bugle struck. I\'ve watched this often in open country, when they look up, hear my bugle, start walking or sometimes trotting, and they may not bugle until they get close to pinpoint my location. That\'s when I let them know, then move 40 yards to the side and downwind.

Last year I hunted a new area that was very thick timber. About 2/3 of the bulls I had respond came in silently, or only made a little whine or maybe one bugle at some point. One bull I called in off a high bedding plateau about 500 yards away. He was a big, mature bull, and he didn\'t make a sound until he was about 70 yards out, just a whine, more than 20 minutes after I started calling. If not for that little whine I wouldn\'t have known he was coming until he stepped into the clearing.

With a hot bull, when you cut off his bugle and he roars back, you KNOW he\'s responding to you. If you are good enough to exactly mimic each of his calls the instant he finishes or is almost finished, it drives them nuts. I can do this with a voice bugle better than with a diaphragm.

 

[iccyman001]

T
So always move after you have made any elk sounds as this will give you the upper hand as you won\'t be where the elk is looking for you !!

Trav

I wounded if you knew a bull was close enough, could you make a little solo set up.



Do some call cows, set up a decoy, and then move real quick.....
This way he comes in and they see a decoy and won\'t get hung up and run away?



If only we had a decoy expert to weigh in on this


Jeff? What do you say?

Do you ever set up your decoys while solo and move away from it?

 

[Jaquomo]

Whenever I\'m decoying with the hat or flashing I always have a plan on where to move as soon as the bull starts to come. That\'s a big part of all my solo setups. Otherwise the bull is in my lap and I have to wait for him to turn before I can draw and shoot (with trad bows). I\'ve killed quite a few at 3-10 yards this way but prefer to move to the side and have a more relaxed opportunity.

 

[iccyman001]

Whenever I\'m decoying with the hat or flashing I always have a plan on where to move as soon as the bull starts to come. That\'s a big part of all my solo setups. Otherwise the bull is in my lap and I have to wait for him to turn before I can draw and shoot (with trad bows). I\'ve killed quite a few at 3-10 yards this way but prefer to move to the side and have a more relaxed opportunity.

Thanks Lou!
I can definitely try this out. I am sure I will mess it up a few times until I can get it down, but this seems like it can be very effective!