Neither. Everybody and their frickin' brother packs a Hoochie-Mama and a Powerbugle around the woods anymore. For the most part elk have become very well educated and will often only vocalize at night.
Location: 30 miles from park city UT on 1,500 acres.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AK Jeff
Neither. Everybody and their frickin' brother packs a Hoochie-Mama and a Powerbugle around the woods anymore. For the most part elk have become very well educated and will often only vocalize at night.
Where do you hunt? I have not noticed this change at all
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Bugles do help locate the bulls, but rarely get them to come in. Cow calls sometimes can get a bull to come in, but often don't seem to get any response at all.
The area that I've been hunting the last few years has a very large wolf population and that has really limited the vocalization of the elk in that area.
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Own and hunt on 160 acres in Fisher county.
The first year I elk hunted, 2008, I got a bull to respond to a cow call well after the rut and stalked within 80 yds of him before his cows drew him away. The next day I got the same bull to respond to a bugle and took him down.
Last year I hunted the same are but wolves had moved in. There were still elk there but they responded to nothing. The weather was quite different so it's hard to draw conclusions.
Well, I have no problem getting the elk to talk. Last season, a friend and I had cow elk tags during the rut. My dad came along. One one particular day, we forgot the bugle, and only had the cow call. The bulls were already bugling down below, so we set up on a little ridge. A couple chirps on that hoochie mamma had a young bull charging into us. He came within a few feet of my friend, and still had all of the bulls bugling.
A couple days later, I walked into the middle of a timber patch. There was a wallow in their that seemed pretty active. That was about 10:30 in the morning. I let out a scratchy bugle, and had an immediate response. A couple more bugles later, on each side, and I had a 300 inch 6 point inside 20 yards.
Later that day, we saw a small herd of elk on a knob. There were about 30 cows and calves, and one herd bull. He was strutting his stuff and keeping the girls inline. If one would wander off, he would get over, and bugle and get her back with the herd. I snuck in under his distraction and got to inside 50 yards, missed a head shot with my muzzle loader, and then connected with the lead cow at about 100 yards.
With elk, it all depends on what they are doing, and what you are doing. Generally, if I want the elk to come to me, I cow call. If I am going to the elk, and need to figure out where they are at, I bugle.
With that 6 point bull. It would be like me walking into your house, and saying to your wife, "honey, I'm home, lets go upstairs." You WILL get a response if there is a bull in their that has cows.
Later,
Marcial
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Where do you hunt? I have not noticed this change at all
Montana, mostly the central part of the state, but I've hunted the west/southwest portions of the state plenty too. Your original question was very broad so obviously it doesn't apply everywhere, but from what I've found calling usually isn't all that helpful. I honestly think more often than not hunters do themselves more harm than good by wandering around the woods tootin' on their elk calls. My grandpa was a hunting guide in northern Wyoming back in the 60's and the old calls he had from back then were almost comical sounding, but they were highly effective. A lot of the areas I've hunted recently you can stay up at night and listen to the elk make all kinds of noise, and by daybreak they've gone completely silent. Just my two cents.
Best to carry both and be efficient with both. I think the guy that is very good with either will get more responses than the guy that we all hear every year and immidiately can recognize that his calls are human made. Some guys certainly should leave the calls in the truck.
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No doubt about it, the bugle reigns supreme. I called in multiple bulls last year, all but one with the bugle. The simple truth is, I believe 90% of the elk callers out there have no idea what they are saying. I can't count how many times I have heard a guy doing a lost cow call, heard a bull respond and he continues to use the same call. Once a bull answeres, I switch to an excited cow call and start closing the gap, he'll come in. Bugling has a reputation of sending a bull packing, but the truth is, a bull is a herd bull for a reason, he is willing to fight, and fight he must to retain is crown as herd bull. I have seen nasty fights, I have seen blood and hair in torn up areas were to bulls got into it. As far as bulls being vocal only at night, thats absurd, we are hearing and calling them constantly. I have heard many bulls bugling all the while wolves are howling in the area. They bugle as much today as 15 years ago.
As far as bulls being vocal only at night, thats absurd, we are hearing and calling them constantly. I have heard many bulls bugling all the while wolves are howling in the area. They bugle as much today as 15 years ago.
Apparently I'm absurd, but that has been my observation time and again. Obviously it doesn't apply everywhere because elk act differently everywhere based on hunting pressure, natural predation levels, bull to cow ratio, moon phase, weather conditions, habitat type, blah, blah, blah.
If you really want to call elk then it's best to get proficient with both cows calls and bugles and then use appropriate restraint in their use. More often than not people call too much when they'd be better off keeping their trap shut, and that holds true more often than not for calling any type of wildlife. One thing I have noticed over the years is that it elicits much more of a response if you bugle at a bull the same way he sounds. If he has a high pitched squeal with three chirps at the end, then do the same back at him. If he has a raspy growl with no chirps, then it's best to follow suit. If anybody tells you they can judge a bull by his bugle alone they're completely full of it. I've simultaneously watched a dinky raghorn let out the nastiest red stag roar, while in the adjacent valley a 380 bull was throwing out the highest pitch squeal I've ever heard out of a bull. Voice is certainly no indication of size. I intend to stick to my original statement though. If I'm going out after wapiti I'll probably have both calls with me, but I probably won't use them unless it's an absolute last resort. That's just my two cents.
Cow call, or Bugle?
