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What are your favorite elk calling tactics or methods?

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What are your favorite elk calling tactics or methods?

Postby Heartwood » 02 19, 2018 •  [Post 1]

In seasons past, my favorite and most productive calling methods have been:
-Locate a bull with a cow call or lost cow call then call your way to him if that is what he is asking of you. Often times we do not go all the way to the bull but set up when we think we are close. I now know that the contact buzz can be a good call to bring him the rest of the way. When there are multiple bulls bugling, pick one and only answer him, once he realizes that you are only talking to him and moving toward him, he gets very excited. I still have not had the fortitude to just move right in all the way to said bull for the shot.
-Challenge Bugle used in "The Threat" scenario. Only works when there is a hot cow.
-Breeding Sequence especially to call a satellite from a herd with a hot cow. We have had it work on cold calling setup and once on a herd bull with no hot cow. I think the herd bull was willing to come to us 400 yards because he wanted the hot cow represented in the sequence and he was willing to leave his cows because none were in estrus and maybe no other bulls around the herd.
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Re: What are your favorite elk calling tactics or methods?

Postby Joe Schmo » 02 19, 2018 •  [Post 2]

Totally inefficient... I like to call and put on a progressively more intense display...or not, depending. To me there’s nothing like cold calling and having a big bull materialize!! That’s my favorite, probably not my best :)
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Re: What are your favorite elk calling tactics or methods?

Postby Swede » 02 19, 2018 •  [Post 3]

My fav. is to climb into in my tree stand, get everything situated, pull out a book and stay quiet.

Humm? What else? Call for someone else after I have my elk in cold storage. :D The tactic depends on the situation.
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Re: What are your favorite elk calling tactics or methods?

Postby ishy » 02 20, 2018 •  [Post 4]

My favorite-what ever worked last. Located with cow call, closed the distance to about 150 yards. Then cow called, he bugled, I cut him off with a fairly aggressive bugle and here he came! I'll try it all though, loud, silent, challenge lip bawl, estrus buzz, tree stand...I got 30 days and lots of lures to try out!
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Re: What are your favorite elk calling tactics or methods?

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 02 20, 2018 •  [Post 5]

Favorite? Locate a vocal bull, work the wind and the terrain offered to get close, and ask him if he'd like to join me for dinner ;). Doesn't always work but I think its the polite thing to do. Seriously, as I close the distance on a vocal bull, I can usually tell if there are multiple bulls and/or a hot cow in the mix by what I hear/see (usually). That has a bearing on how I play the situation once in close. Second favorite has to be just cold calling in an elk rich area; not much in elk hunting is more exciting than calling a bull in.
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Re: What are your favorite elk calling tactics or methods?

Postby ElkNut1 » 02 20, 2018 •  [Post 6]

No doubt for me it's calling elk! Mostly because of its effectiveness. There are two major things I look for, is the bull aggressive to calling or calling aggressively on his own! Secondly, if not aggressive then I will Slow Play him! With these two methods I generally call in 8 out of 10 bulls. If it ain't broke don't fix it!

My evaluation whether successful or not is to know why it worked or why it didn't, this is where we learn! There's no such thing as the bull wasn't ready or it's too hot or not rutting yet, those are excuses not good valid reasons! The aggressive bull is easy to call, it's the bulls that need to be Slow Played that screw with hunters!

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