sb: I recently posed a similar question. That thread is below. A lot of these guys have some pretty good thoughts. I' ve hunted elk for a long time, but never specifically for cows during the early archery season. The more I think about it, the more I lean towards getting a visual on them through sign/spotting/tracking (the usual) and then only employing noise if they seem to be in the area but are being shy. I just picked up a Primos cow/calf reed call that comes with a tape (I really needed it for the calf noise) It' s pretty decent. Definitely easier to use than my Sceery cow call.