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Old 11-29-2004, 10:25 PM
  #9  
elknut1
Typical Buck
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: McCall Idaho USA
Posts: 753
Default RE: Elk bowhunters

justhuntitall---You certainly have the right attitude to both hunt elk by ambush or by calling. Both take skills to be successful. Calling takes a lot of practice, which can be done in the off-season. The more you practice the more confidence you'll have in crunch time. --- Of course your question would be, what do I practice? It takes more than just blowing a cow call or bugle. Like gselkhunter mentions, you want to be able to say the right thing at the right time when calling in elk CLOSE!---You say you want bulls to scream in your face, are you sure?? <grin> just kidding!!

I've called in bulls and ambushed them too, and you're right, calling them to bowrange is as exciting as it gets, I don't blame you for wanting them up close and personal!

Penetrating the woods and getting away from most hunters is the first thing I'd recommend. (muzzloaders) By penetrating you leave most behind and can have an opportunity to hunt elk in their normal daily routines, therefore getting them to respond to certain sounds or sound off on their own. A good way to locate elk is as Idahoelkinstructor mentions, which was by use of location type calls. This can be done in several different ways. With seperated or lost cow sounds or one single note high-pitched bugle minus any grunts, this is the sound bulls use when looking for cows. These simple sounds are easy to learn and most importantly non-challenging. Once a bull is located with one of these sounds, your work has just begun, getting him to bowrange is the tough part, especially hunting OTC public lands. I say this because most hunters can get bulls to respond but getting them to 20yds is where they fail. Main reason is they don't understand an elks language. Once a bull sounds off or responds you can tell if it's a herd bull or sattelite and what he's asking for or wanting. Is he inviting you over or telling you to hit the road? Regardless of a bulls frame of mind can you call him in? You bet!!

Here's one way that you can get bulls screaming in your face. --- Let's say you've called using a location bugle (looking for cows) and a bull responds, you recognize right off it's a bull with cows because of his challenging response for you to hit the road. (you're to close and doesn't want to share his cows) Your next move would be to move in on him to within 100yds, the closer the better, but don't be seen, especially by his cows. Setup!! Make sure of shooting lanes and have wind in your favor. Don't be in the open, but don't be in so much cover you can't draw & shoot, make sure bull has to come looking for you because of cover. Give excited to whiny cow calls, 2 or 3. The bull should respond quickly, when he does it means he's calling you to him, in some cases he'll come over to you, in most he will not. Hit him again with a couple of good excited to pre-estrus whines, don't overdue it. He should respond again demanding you to get over there. If you don't do something fairly quick he'll get nervous and leave because he knows you should be heading his way. In other words the bull is hanging up!! When this happens I use a method I call the "Threat". When I feel the time is right, (bull not coming, but getting nervous) I inject a bull sound, I start with dry huffing. (sounds like a woman in labor) and also low gutteral growls, I have excitement behind them. I immediately give cow in distress sounds, I start off real whiny and nervous followed by more huffing and growls. (no bugles) I escalte the sounds of both rapidly, the huffs now turn into huffing grunts (they're ape like in sound) and stronger growling, the cow distress sounds are almost panicky and painful sounding. --- These sounds show the real bull another bull is trying to intercept this cow and she is resisting him. Too it shows the real bull why she isn't coming when he ask her to. More times than not the real bull will "REACT" and come in quickly to run off the intruder, screaming as he does so!!! -- This is one way to get a bull to scream at you!!

Make sure you do a lot of stomping and breaking of branches or rolling rocks or whatever is around to paint a picture in the bulls eyes that there's elk over there scuffling around. -- If there's 2 of you, move a shooter up in front 20 to 30 yards on this method. If the bull still hangs-up but is really screaming, have the shooter hold his position then have the caller start going backwards as if he was running off with this cow calling the whole time, this is usually more than the bull can handle!! ElkNut1

P.S.---- I use Primos calls and Carlton ones for most sounds. I like the Single reeds and the double reeds.
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