I\'m not a good caller so should I even try?

[JohnFitzgerald]

That question has been given to me several times. My answer is alway, no I\'ll handle all the calling during the hunt. Can bad calling bring in elk? Or are the elk educated enough that they don\'t buy it anymore?

 

[Swede]

John, maybe you are too eager to take on the calling chores. There is no better time to teach a new hunter than when you are together hunting.

Sure he/she should do some calling. How else will they learn? Even if you are out alone and want to get an elk, try something. Cow calls and short one or two note bugles are not threatening. Maybe something will answer. Sit tight in the shadows and wait. Maybe something will come in silent to investigate.
If you get an answer move in as close as you safely can and call again. Remember the simple calls Troy from Glacier Country Hunting Calls explained, or the example we saw from Corey Jacobson on the video.
If there is any encouragement in this, remember, Swede has made some awful calls that brought in elk.

 

[WW]

Swede: You mentioned simple calls that Troy and Cory use. But you need to remember that both of these guys are world champion class callers. And their simple calls (DO) sound real for sure.

There is a time and place to practice and learn to be a better caller. But it certainly isn\'t in the elk woods.

 

[Swede]

WW, I agree but Troy and Corey\'s calls were simple in that you do not need to be able to produce a large variety of sounds. Anyone with just a little practice can make great cow sounds with Glacier Country Hunting Calls High Heel Hottie. I have not tried the Demanding Diva call yet, but I am satisfied a new caller could make excellent sounds with it too. There are some good bite and blow bugles that work also.
What I think you are getting to is that, the hunter needs to know what sound to make when. That takes me back to using infrequent cow sounds and Troy and Corey\'s simple bugle/cow call routines. The worst thing you can do is run and gun, blowing on a bugle squawking and just being clueless.
That takes me to another point. Just because you know how to make a great elk bugle sound, does not mean you are a good elk caller. You need to know your area and what works in that location. Contrary to some opinions, one routine does not work universally. The best elk sounds I ever heard made in the woods came from a caller, that ran two herds out of my hunting area one morning. Both herds blew by my stand, beyond my bow range, like they were late getting to the ranch.

 

[OldMan]

If someone is a bad caller. They\'ll stay that way if they don\'t try to get better.

It\'s that way for everything in life. If you don\'t try to improve. You never will.

 

[JohnFitzgerald]

Do we give away great opperunities to allow callers to learn or like WW state, shouldn\'t they practice in the off season instead? Isn\'t elk hunting hard enough so why would we give those antlered devils any more advantage.

 

[OldMan]

If someone is a bad shot. Do you shoot for them?

You need to help the bad caller get better.

 

[Swede]

John, you can learn to make good elk sounds at home. You can watch videos and read about applications too, but there comes that time when you make your first successful attempt on a cold September morning. When you hear that first bugle come back at you from 300-400 yards off in the dark timber, you are still a rookie, and deep down you know it. Are you going to wait and reread a book or watch a I Phone app, or are you going hunting?

 

[cnelk]

If someone that elk hunts in a group is a bad caller, that person has been allowed to be a bad caller.
Shame on the others for allowing it.

With the many easy bite n blow open reed calls to choose from these days, it should take someone about 15 min to be \'proficient\', with a little instruction.

If someone that shows up at elk camp and is a bad caller, I would definitely look at his broadheads to make sure they are sharp....

 

[Scot320]

I use to go to the local elk farm and practice in till the owner ran me off for getting his bulls all riled up.

 

[mtnmutt]

That question has been given to me several times. My answer is alway, no I\'ll handle all the calling during the hunt. Can bad calling bring in elk? Or are the elk educated enough that they don\'t buy it anymore?

I am not a good consistent caller, but that doesn\'t stop me from trying to get better in the off season. Perhaps, I have had rookie luck with having some elk come into my less than stellar calling. Sometimes in the field, I slip up and totally botch my intended call. Bad calling of single mews can bring in a curious elk. It has happened to me in my heavily pressured hunting area days into opening week. A single bad cow mew or calf chirp may work better in places where you may shoot Spikes. Unfortunately, I cannot shoot a Spike, so the one broadside @20 yds in 2013 got a pass. That was my first year I tried a mouth reed and the Spike liked my rookie mouth reed calling or maybe he was just thrilled to see a woman hunter. :eh:

Does bad calling educate elk? Elk don\'t always sound \"good\". My gut says that frequently making the exact same single call (no variance) whether with hoochie mamma, mouth reed or bite and blow is what would educate an elk to avoid that sound.

Over the years, I have tried different bite & blow calls and added using mouth reeds. I can get unique varying sounds out of these if I practice with them. I do a lot of weird against the instruction manual things with my calls to try to see what I can make them do.

IMHO, if you have the luxury in pre-season teaching someone how to call, please insist that the inexperienced caller take some short lessons from you with the expectations that they practice on their own after the lessons and be prepared to call during the season. If they refuse to learn how to call and that is a key tactic in your hunting, then stop taking them hunting. Seriously, isn\'t everyone suppose to pitch in with all the duties? I find it a bit of a cop out to say I am not good at something, therefore, I won\'t try. Everyone should carry the load and responsibilities equally. Does that sound too harsh?

Last season, when I had the pleasure of hunting with someone who has great calling skills, I asked occasionally if I could call just for a single mew. He gave me feedback on my calling. I did let him do most of the calling because I was learning and he was really good. However, I never made the assumption that he had to do all the calling.

 

[JohnFitzgerald]

Mutt - I don\'t think that\'s harsh at all.

Still - If we are just out to fill their tag then sure let them experience and learn. But I too would like to fill my tag. Do I lower my odds by allowing them to have practice?

Brad - you can only teach so much then the caller has to meet you half way. When someone can\'t even use a bit-n-blow come season you know they\'ve never practiced. Even more apparent when they open it right out of the package right in front of you on the first day of the hunt. LOL!

Does the definition of bad caller == not enough practice? As teachers do we say, do your homework or you\'re not welcome in class?

 

[mainebrdr]

John, I think in this area different circumstances call for varying opinions. I am a new elk hunter and as such have not been using an elk call for that many years. This last year it was just my son and I and having called more than him I did almost all of the calling. Nothing radical, just simple cow calls. Now if I was hunting together with an excellent hunter and caller I for sure would want him to make the call :angle: when it came to elk sounds. I think I sound ok at what I do but I would still bow to his judgment. Sometimes you just go with it and learn when thats all you have.
I\'ll bring some calls on the hog hunt and you can critique my calling!

 

[cnelk]

For someone that isn\'t a good caller, or won\'t meet half way on learning, I know a great tree stand book that would fit their need

 

[Glacier Country]

Hmm, Well I have been in this situation quite a few times. I have helped so many new callers. Most want me to still call in their elk. Which I am ok with... but I will admit sometimes I get frustrated with guys who want to go on a hunt with me in September, and I help them with their calling in March or April and then they show up to hunt and have not blown a call since.
I want to be successful so I tend to do most of the calling in the field and we practice in the truck to and from hunts. If they want to try their luck I am not opposed as long as it doesn\'t impede my hunt.
Swede is right, my High Heel Hottie is a great bite call that takes only a few minutes to learn. That is where you want to start! Master that easy to blow call then move on to the diaphragm.

I guess I do not understand why Someone who thinks they are a serious bow hunter does not practice? I really don\'t understand why they don\'t practice this time of year especially, learning elk sounds.
Squeals and squalks that don\'t sound good in September to an elk, might just be the ticket this time of year to bring in a hungry coyote.
You might find out you are not the best elk caller but are a pretty good predator caller!
I will be the first to admit that I like to make elk sounds.
Some wives, or neighbors might not like the practice, so do it this time of year in your car to and from work. When it is cold out and the calls won\'t get ruined from the heat. Put a call in your mouth and sing along with the radio. You might be surprised as to how much you might learn about how to make sounds on a diaphragm call that way. Troy Glacier Country Hunting Calls.

 

[BTL]

I would say bad calling can bring elk in. Right time and right place. I wouldn\'t count on bad calling to be consistent at harvesting elk or even bringing them in to close range. Not enough practice means a bad caller? I disagree. Some may simply understand it better than others, picking it up quicker. On the other hand of practicing all the time, it doesn\'t mean you are making the right sounds. Even recording yourself and trying to understand how to tweak your sounds takes the ears of a veteran or someone that does get it. I have tried to take what I have learned and share it with others. Buying calls for some and passing on tubes, ect...If they aren\'t better at calling should I really hunt with them? I don\'t want to. But I am still more than happy to share a camp with them. There are a lot of different hunting styles.

 

[otcWill]

Easy for this to get off topic. But, to the original question: If you hoot on a call and it sounds like a dang goose, then no, you shouldn\'t call to elk that you plan on killing. If someone who can\'t make anything but garbage sounds is hunting with me I\'ll have them thrash trees, roll rocks and stomp around while I make the elk sounds. I would agree that there really is no excuse for not being able to make simple noises.

 

[WW]

The question is: I\'M NOT A GOOD CALLER SO SHOULD I EVEN TRY?

The answer is: Yes, if you want to get better, you should try. And here is how you do it. Practice, practice, practice!!! But as I said in an earlier post, the elk woods is not the time or the place to practice. Guys that do this are only educating the elk and ruining other guys hunt.

I have tried to help others. Some get it and others don\'t. And the difference has always been the dedication to learn and the practice they put into it. When I was guiding, I did the calling. I expected them to keep quiet. If they made a sound, regardless of how good or how bad, all they were doing was directing the elks attention towards them. That\'s the last thing you want to do if you are the shooter.

You don\'t have to be the best caller in the world to fool an elk. But it sure doesn\'t hurt! PRACTICE!!!

 

[timberland]

Most of the time I don\'t rely on calls to bring the elk into my lap, but I do use them to make a bull give up his location, then the hunt is ON!

I would consider myself a mediocre caller, but rely on them to increase my odds in this fashion, and so i continue to plug away with them. Sometimes I do struggle with believing in calling when it doesn\'t seem to get the response I am looking for.

 

[OldMan]

Still - If we are just out to fill their tag then sure let them experience and learn. But I too would like to fill my tag. Do I lower my odds by allowing them to have practice?

No of course not John. If you were really in that situation you wouldn\'t let him call for your hunt. Let him call for his own hunt, and help him if he needs it. I find no excuse for going on an elk hunt unprepared. There\'s lots of elk calls that are easy to learn.

I\'ve never called for my whole hunting career, but last year when I was thinking of trying it I got some calls sent to me. After a week of practice I went and visited a friend of mine who is a good caller. I called for him, and he said i\'d have no problem calling in elk, but knowing me he laughed that I was even considering calling. My point is, if I can learn in a week to call. That anybody should be able to do it, and if someone can\'t devote a week of practice before a hunt they should take up fishing.