quiet elk

[wawhitey]

okay so here is the deal. after a few years i feel ive somewhat figured out how a small isolated elk population moves around in an area with very few elk. im planning on doing an ambush setup on a well used travel corridor. however, if nothing happens after the first week or so of my 12 day season, i want to try calling, but the elk in this area dont seem to be vocal. this isnt just an observation made by my greenhorn ass, but the same thing was said by a very woods saavy guy i know in the area who gets a quality bull almost every single year. he says he occasionally gets action with locator bugles, but all in all the elk here arent like they are elsewhere, theyre very non-vocal. what type of call would you guys suggest i use if the ambush thing isnt working out for me? this season im going to hunt is september 3-14th, so kinda pre ruttish.

[elkflunky]

I am everything but an expert on this but my suggestion would be a cow call only. Different scenarios call for different techniques but mainly just cow calls are what I would use. I am not as nearly experienced as most of these other guys here though.

[otcWill]

Use raking and stomping/stick breaking with or without anything else when you think they can hear you. Amazing how well this works! Best call I have is a stick and my foot

[Swede]

Another thing you can try is to make a single one second long single note bugle, then move to where you wait. You could throw in a little raking and stomping if you like. before you move to where you wait.

[JohnFitzgerald]

Do you always hunt the first part of the season?

[wawhitey]

Do you always hunt the first part of the season?

no, ive always just bought modern firearm elk tags in the past, and have yet to fill one, so this year im going archery. the seasons in my area this year are : archery sept 3-15 / nov 25-dec8
muzzleloader oct 5-11
modern oct 26-nov 3
theyre not really giving us the best time as an option, and i figure if i buy the archery tag and i crap out in september ill have the late season to make something happen. last year in the late season there was fresh snow and it was quite easy to see where they were moving.

[WapitiTalk1]

JF, 3-15th is the early archery season here. The late season isn't until November. WA really sticks it to us bow hunters as far as making us miss the peak of the elk rut. It's been getting progressively worse for the past 10 years.

That said, elk are still in the beginning phase of the rut during our early season. If anything is to be said good about having such an early season is that the bull's are still running around a bit more than towards the end of the month, cowing up and "are still" susceptible to calling. Cold calling setups are one of my staples when I do hunt the early season in WA. I'll start with some cow/herd talk for up to two minutes and then listen and watch for a few minutes. I'll repeat this for 10 to 15 minutes or more in a good area (strong sign, fresher droppings), mixing in a locator or scream once or twice with the sequence.. Again, sit, listen, watch. I've had a bunch of them come in quiet this early part of SEP. I also use locators before daylight, or my favorite, an hour or so after dark to try and get an answer from feeding/rut areas. The bulls and cows are much more likely to be vocal under the cover of darkness here. Agree with what some of the others have said also, raking brush and stomping is a great tactic especially in areas that you "know" holds elk. Do you have more than one target area for this fall? If area A doesn't seem to be panning out, you may wish to have an area B and C to relocate to, maximizing your potential success. Anyways, I wish you best of luck this fall.

[wawhitey]

i do have plans b c and d if it comes down to it, but my confidence for plan a is pretty damn high right now. im going to pass on the locator bugling tho, since im fairly certain i know where theyll be and id hate to spook em with crappy bugling. so ill give it a week of ambush on their travel corridor and if that doesnt work start getting noisy. sounding like cow calls or general elk noise is the way to go over bugling huh?

[JohnFitzgerald]

i do have plans b c and d if it comes down to it, but my confidence for plan a is pretty damn high right now. im going to pass on the locator bugling tho, since im fairly certain i know where theyll be and id hate to spook em with crappy bugling. so ill give it a week of ambush on their travel corridor and if that doesnt work start getting noisy. sounding like cow calls or general elk noise is the way to go over bugling huh?

Even in the area's I hunt, the elk don't do much talking at the beginning September. They aren't quiet elk, just early season elk!

My advice is to paint a picture in the elks mind with cold call setups. Start with some raking and stomping(ie simple noises). Then if nothing responds ratchet up the aggressiveness. Maybe bring it up to the point of imitating a breading sequence or trying to pressure the bull.

Off season is a great time to review your calling sequences. Here's some ordered key points to remember when building your strategy.

1) Elk are curious.
2) Elk are social and herd animals.
3) Bulls would rather you go to them.
4) All bulls have the instinct to rut.
5) Bulls will try to keep every cow.
6) Bulls will try gain any cow but not at the risk of loosing one of their own.
7) Herd bulls can be challenged and threatened for leadership, when you're in close.

As for the location bugle, are you sure you know exactly where every elk is in your area? The area's I hunt I know where my big herds are but surprised every year by rouge bulls. Things change from year to year.

My 2-cents!
jf

[wawhitey]

of course i dont know where every one is, but i know where the enough of them are hanging out / feeding / bedding. enough of them anyway that doing locator bugles isnt going to be my first day tactic. i think i have em pegged enough that i can do an ambush thing, but if that doesnt work out for me i want to step up and try some calling. guess what im really after is whether i should just stick to cow calls being as how it will be second week of september, sounds like that might be a bit early to try challenging the bulls? also i should add that , being as how if i get an elk it will be my first, and im going to be using a home made bow, im after any elk. a bull would be great, but i will take a cow given the opportunity. need to pop my elk cherry.

[Wapiti]

Some of the biggest bulls breed the best cows early as soon as they come into heat. Alot of times this is early season before the bugling even starts. The big ones are done breeding and gone leaving the you young bulls with the left overs !! We call in herd bulls the first week of archery season every year. Our season starts Aug 24th. Some of these bulls come in screaming there heads of after we get in on them and challenge them !! Last year I called in an 8x7 the second day of the season. I could see his whole neck head and massive rack while the rest of his body was hidden in the willows..... no shot ! Don't be affraid to call just because you feel your calls are weak.... elk are elk and they don't all sound awesome. Some sound very pathetic. You have three months so practise every day and you'll be fine. Good luck !!

[CrazyElkHunter]

Modern day elk in heavily hunted areas are very quiet during those dates. They will start getting vocal more towards the 3rd and 4th week of Sept. Sit in a good spot and use mostly cow and calf calls with occasional spike squeals and a little raking. Elk are curious and will come in quiet during early bow season. it's what we call quiet calling. Every 30 to 45 min, move to another spot and repeat. Keep your eyes open for elk that might be close from your last calls when you move. Sometimes bulls come from a very long distance and you might get caught. Been there done that more times than I want to admit. If I bump a elk, I always give a quick bark, with my reed and grunt tube to stop them. You may not see them stop, but you can tell when they stop running. Continue with short barks for a few minutes, and you might be surprised when that elk starts returning barks and circles to find you. I call it a show me what you are bark. I have done this many times and videoed a few. Most hunters would assume when they bumped the elk they are gone, but if you learn this little sound it can give you that 2nd chance. If they smell you, this usually will not work. I have had 3 different hunters shoot,(archery), miss, elk charges off and I call them back with that bark. All 3 hunters filled there tag on the same elk they had just missed. One took almost a hour of barking back and forth before he circled and came back for a 10 yard shot. Learn the difference between the warning bark and the show me what you are bark and it can be rewarding. Every time I see experienced elk hunters that work for big call companies, making hunting shows, bumping a elk and giving up, blows my mind. I see it every year on the Outdoor Channel.

[Trophyhill]

Since you have a good idea of travel routes, keep your eyes and ears peeled. I learned 2 years ago early season that the "elk volume" was turned way down and if I wasn't close enough I never would have heard them talking up a storm. I witnessed a herd bull leading a big group of cows over a ridge (where I was) from 1 drainage to another with the bull being very vocal but not loud. The cows were all talking with typical cow/herd sounds and so was the bull. No bugles. Another thing I've been hearing these last couple of years particularly early season is the lazy bugle. When I hear this I now know his bedding area is close.

[JohnFitzgerald]

I would recommend against limiting your calls. Everything should be considered. Including location bugles and challenging setups. Calling elk can't be black and white. There's a lot of gray area. Take the pursuit and environment then make a decision on what calls you need to use .

One of the biggest misconceptions is that the location bugle should only be used to locate elk. This is simply not true. When you give a location bugle you are saying "I am here, where are you?" This can play on their curiosity and can bring them in to investigate the "new bull on the block".

My 2 - cents!

[Glacier Country]

Even in the area's I hunt, the elk don't do much talking at the beginning September. They aren't quiet elk, just early season elk!

My advice is to paint a picture in the elks mind with cold call setups. Start with some raking and stomping(ie simple noises). Then if nothing responds ratchet up the aggressiveness. Maybe bring it up to the point of imitating a breading sequence or trying to pressure the bull.

Off season is a great time to review your calling sequences. Here's some ordered key points to remember when building your strategy.

1) Elk are curious.
2) Elk are social and herd animals.
3) Bulls would rather you go to them.
4) All bulls have the instinct to rut.
5) Bulls will try to keep every cow.
6) Bulls will try gain any cow but not at the risk of loosing one of their own.
7) Herd bulls can be challenged and threatened for leadership, when you're in close.

As for the location bugle, are you sure you know exactly where every elk is in your area? The area's I hunt I know where my big herds are but surprised every year by rouge bulls. Things change from year to year.

My 2-cents!
jf[/quote]

This is some excellent advice right here! Way to break it down John!