I won't say faster Rather Be, but by not calling like everybody else in the woods I tend to get answers some don't. Also by having control of the reed[from years of hard practice] I can match elk calls that the average caller can't. It does give me an edge. Because calls do fail I never carry just one call. I carry 4, 3.5 bugling reeds and 2 ea[triple/double] cow calling reeds. I do not put brand new reeds in my call caddy. I have a system of breaking calls in to get them to do what I want them to do.
The fastest way I know to kill a call is put it on the dash of your car on a warm/hot day. Just for point of reference I use both metal and plastic frame calls. The plastic frame calls are damaged by heat more so than metal frame calls. Once the metal frame starts to weaken calls will go down hill fast. Plastic frame calls last longer for me.
Learning to call elk takes time and practice. I have gone through a lot of calls finding what works best for me. Of course learning what or how to call in a situation use to be trial and error. That has been changed with Elknut putting his products on the market. Elknut has changed the learning curve for many elk hunters.
Wapitiwallowcrkoutfitters, I can trash a call in one season if I am out a lot and the elk are vocal but standoffish. I know I don't win every encounter but I do pretty good.