I use the cow call during regular rifle season, long after the rut. Elk get noisy moving thru the woods, and so do I. Found if I move slow and useit now and again, I sound more like an elk, so I appear to more natural inthe woods. In the five years I have been doing it, I have seen more game of all kinds, and have had elk talk back to help me locate them. My favorite was when 2 bulls wandered to me thinking I was the tail end of a herd I was following.