I read in an article not long ago, that you need to start practicing with elk calls long before you go hunt. I am looking foward to hunting fo elk in colorado this upcoming season. My problem is that since I am stationed in South Korea with the Army, Hunting shops are um, let's say nonexistant. I would like to start practicing now, but any calls I get will be from the internet. I need some advice on what calls people here have found to be the most versatile and work the best.
Hunt, Fish, What else is there????
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wahunterinrok,
I would go to www.primos.com and pickup the hyperlip single pack for 12 bucks. You get a tape and a hyperlip single cow call. Its a really good place to start. They also have a call called the "Hoochie Mama" that works by pushing a plunger with your thumb. It makes a very realistic cow sound, its simple to use and it may keep you from over complicating the process or calling too much. Primos also has some instructional videos that are available for some of their elk calls.
I'm sure some other manufacturers have great products too but I can speak first hand for the simple effectiveness of the products that I have mentioned.
Good luck,
Will
I'll third the "Hoochie Mama" call by primos, it is one of the easiest cow calls you can get and it works!
I like primos elk calls in general I use the Terminator & Hyper Lip Bugle, Hoochie Mama, Lead Cow reed call and several of the primos diaphrams as well. In combo the Hoochie Mama and lead cow call have worked excellent for me. I prefer the Terminator Bugle for tone and sound but is a bit bulkier than the Hyper lip, just depends on your situation (if you want a bugle that is small and compact try the Hyper lip, if you want tone and loads of sound the Terminator is among the best I have used.....both are pretty easy to use with some practice.)
For a bugle the Primos terminator is by far the best I have heard and is very easy to learn to use. It uses silicone reeds that do not rot or break. You can really get agressive with growls with out worrying about a latex reed splitting or dry rotting on you. If you do happen to break or loose one the new one simply slips on the call in a little slot to hold it in place. There is no streching to find the right pitch and tone sweet spot. It's as easy as it gets. I have had the same reed on for two seasons now and it still sounds great and has not cracked yet.
For cow calls I really like the Sceerey A.C.E. calls. Again these are super easy to use and sound very realistic. I prefer the bite type calls as opposed to the open reed type of calls. I just find them a lot easier to use. With these type of calls you get a couple of advantages over the Primos hoochie mama, which is a good call but it is limited in the sounds it can make. First you can produce the whiney "I need sex now" calls and the "fighting cows" calls. These two sounds will really get a bull gong if he is in the mood. Second is that you do not have to use your hands to call with them. This is a great advantage if you are bow hunting and need to stop a bull after you are at full draw. Sceerey makes a very small A.C.E. call for just this purpose.
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Hootchie Cootchies Cow calls? Not a very good choice, but it will probaly work, might just as well go out with a recording and continually play it as you'll sound like every other hunter out in the woods and all it takes is one time to bump one and your not going to get another oppurtunity at him again. Best thing to do now is start doing your homework and start mixing up calls for different times of the season, there are going to be times when you may wish to imedtate a hot cow, lost cow, calf call and when you get a little more experience, different types of bull calls, but you cannot get this from a hootchie cootchie momma call. RMEF elk contest has never been won by anyone using the hootchie cootchies. If you are serious about elk hunting then get cassettes and vidieos on the subject which are very helpful, but it takes practice, practice and some more practice.
Rockie Jacobsen has won the RMEF a number of times using his own calls and his son beat him out of it last year and his daughter won the female calling last year or the previous year. The guy is patented under primos. I had a chance to meet him in a seminar last year and is he ever good. I use his Rut Buster to imitate a big or small bull, the Palate Plate reed and use his hot cow call also. It takes a little figuring out to know when to call elk and to know which call to use at the right time of the year. Cheque out his site as he has everything you need to get you started and will help you out with any questions you may have.
Bugling Bull Game Call Co.
P.O. Box 55
Kamiah, ID 83536
1 (888) 355-8663 www.buglingbull.com
Good Luck, Bobby
If you get good with a diaphram it will be the only call you will ever need to carry. It will make a reasonable approximation of about any elk sound that is reproducible by a human. Also light and easy to carry. You can manipulatesound unlike some of the others like the Hootchie Mama which basically produces the same tone each squeeze. The shipping to Korea has got to be less on a 1/10 ounce diaphram than some of the larger tubes, too.
Elk calls
