For all you elk callers out there, especially bowhunters. What are the top reasons for failed hunts in your experience? I mean tactically, at the point where the bull is out there, coming closer, then suddenly he's going away and it's all over. What caused that?

My personal list:

1) Swirling winds. Especially during the evening hunt. I have become so disgruntled with swirling evening winds that I use the last two hours of daylight more for locating elk to hunt the next morning than for actual hunting.

2) "Hung up" bulls. This problem is probably unique to bow hunters, since they tend to hang up at 50-100 yards.

3) Overaggression. I'm referring to overadherence to Mike Lapinski/Larry Jones tactics. They say, push that bull, go after him! In my experience this approach pushes the bull alright, pushes him right out of the country. I say, "Don't just do something, STAND THERE!"

Just my opinions, I've only done this for 3 years. I'm hoping some of the real experts on this site will let their hair down and share some nuggets with novices like me.