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I gotta ask!

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Re: I gotta ask!

Postby Swede » 03 11, 2013 •  [Post 1]

I have tried it and yes it works. The key is not to get too carried away with the calling part. I make a short small bull. one note bugle. It is kind of a squeal. You can do something different, but the idea is that it is not threatening to anything. You are making your elk presence known and trying to draw in something curious in to see who is there. I admit to making some weird whiney calls, but they work too. Usually I follow up the squeal with a little raking of a small tree. then I move 20-25 yards, to where I can watch for an incoming bull. I wait for about 15-30 minutes then go back and call again the same way I did the first time. Then I move back to where I was waiting. I like to do this during mid day when I am not in my stand. That way I am hunting, but getting away from the confinement of the stand. I always go well away from where my stand is, so I am not messing with elk in that area.
I have not had the same kind of experience Paul describes. If I am remembering the sequence in the DVD you refer to, Paul had the bull come in on the run. I have always had them sneak in.
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Re: I gotta ask!

Postby wideangle » 03 11, 2013 •  [Post 2]

Two seasons ago on opening day I did call for a half hour mostly location calls. A small 5 point came in quiet to 30 yards and started looking for other elk. I had a spike and cow tag only in my pocket. He never made a peep.
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Re: I gotta ask!

Postby ElkNut1 » 03 12, 2013 •  [Post 3]

Nothing wrong with asking! It's not a method we use all the time, it's only used when it's needed but has called in many bulls for us & yes they normally come in silent but we have had them come on a dead run like a herd of elk. Rare is the case a bull bugles his way to you as he comes in to this setup. I would estimate we've brought in 15 bulls to this calling sequence over the years, it could be higher if we used it more.

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Re: I gotta ask!

Postby >>>---WW----> » 03 12, 2013 •  [Post 4]

Been there, done that! Mostly started out with a location bugle and ended up with a shouting match with a bull that was on private property I couldn't hunt. Many times I have had other bulls come in other than the one I was talking to. Some silent, some not. Just don't over do it. I never answer a bull any quicker that he answers me.

The other method is with mostly cow calls. It is often referred to as silent calling or cold calling. It is very effective in the early part of the season and has been discussed here on the forum at length many times.
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Re: I gotta ask!

Postby Indian Summer » 03 12, 2013 •  [Post 5]

I call that type of tactic a Hail Mary pass which, when it works is amazing. 0ne time I was in the middle of a burn not far from timber. (9/21) Earlier that day I had bugled a bull into 40 yards but he was over a rise and all I could see was the top of his 6 point rack. He was H0T! He kept running away and coming right back and bugling his brains out. I bet we bugled at each other for 45 minutes at that distance. Pretty cool. But he wouldn't come further. That was at noon sharp.

Back to the burn.... last light I'm giving "the signal", which means come here N0W, to my brother who is about a half mile uphill. I can hear him and a bull going back and forth but it's getting to the point of too late to shoot and I want him to come down so we can bail out til morning.

"The signal" is repeated full blown herd bull bugles with massive chuckles at the end, so a guy can hear them from far away and have no doubt it's the other guy. What the heck right.

I'm staring straight uphill saying to myself "don't do it dummy" and a twig snaps to my right. Halfway between me and the burn is that 6 point strolling along sidehill right toward me wagging his head back and forth without a worry in the world. I had bugled hard at least 40 times. Like a dream, at 20 yards he turns straight downhill and walks behind the only green tree in the burn, about 5 feet tall. Yep.. time to draw. He must have saw a little movement because he then started to quarter way from me looking out of the corner of his eye when the arrow zipped through his lungs. He crashed and burned about 80 yards downhill from there.

How long do you think I pondered that scenario in my mind? :idea: I won't use it until I'm about to leave an area but when I do I have high hopes having seen it work. After all... what hunter would try to call in an elk like that? Bet they never experienced that "silly" technique before.

That bull is the one on the right. Since I heard that bull bugle more than any other I decided to get him mounted doing what he liked to do most... BUGLE! What a day.

A little side note: That was day 10 of a 10 day bivy hunt. Another fine lesson learned on that trip. How's that go Paul?.... "An ElkNut hunts until he drops, or drops what he hunts" or something like that.
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Re: I gotta ask!

Postby ORelksniper » 03 12, 2013 •  [Post 6]

Okay, so I gotta ask. How does that technique work in an area with lots or FS roads/goat trails, low hunting pressure, and elk that don't talk much?

Anyone have experience in that type of hunting environment?
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Re: I gotta ask!

Postby Swede » 03 12, 2013 •  [Post 7]

Theelkhunter: That guy in the back of the truck with a bugle sure gets around. He has gotten in my way a few times too. Has he moved permanently into your area near Buttcrack? :D
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Re: I gotta ask!

Postby Swede » 03 12, 2013 •  [Post 8]

Theelkhunter: I have complained about that rascal here before. One person who replied to my post said the rascal could be one of his inlaws. :D I think if that is the case he married into a very large family. LOL
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Re: I gotta ask!

Postby ElkNut1 » 03 13, 2013 •  [Post 9]

sniper, aside from the many roads you described much of our hunting area & pressure. (grin)

Too guys, this technique is not the same as substituting cow calls for bugles. It's different & your results are different because you use this method for a totally different reason. The bugling you are imitating can be for two main reasons depending on your sound choices. You can be the (lonesome charlie young bull) or a bull advertising himself into a new area. Both of these will result in 85% chance of pulling bulls in to your setup 1st, not cows! -- Using mostly cow calling in your setup during non rutting phases will most likely net you cows & spikes 1st.

You have to understand what's going on when you are around elk that are not rutting, (no cows in or near estrus) there are bulls & cows not far off from one another, any bull can wander in the cows direction for whatever reason & see or hear cows & show little interest in them outside of the rut. But, bulls want to know what the competition is like during rutting times & non rutting times so are intrigued when a new bull shows up especially in an advertising manner & they can't physically see him, they want to size him up as they've done throughout the Summer when in their bachelor groups with the other bulls. So displaying this technique is directed toward the bulls & that is what normally shows up. In cow calling sequences the bulls are generally the last to show up outside rutting times.

Evaluate the the day & it's activities no matter the date & play your cards right, just because you don't hear bugling doesn't mean all is lost, you can still attract & kill those curious bulls, they generally come in quiet to check you out.

As far as when to use it, use common sense, lots of hunters in earshot is not a good time, be selective in its use & time of its use. This is just another option to consider for your bag of tricks. (grin)

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Re: I gotta ask!

Postby ORelksniper » 03 13, 2013 •  [Post 10]

Thanks, Paul. Makes a lot of sense when you put it that way.

Swede just about has me convinced to climb back in a tree but I like having lots of different tools to use.
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Re: I gotta ask!

Postby Swede » 03 13, 2013 •  [Post 11]

Sniper: It has been over 10 years since I have spent any significant time in your hunting area, but I am surprised you classify it as "low pressure." When I was last over there about 60% of the good water holes had a tree stand. There were places where it was good elk hunting the first few days of the season, but was worthless soon after due to pressure. Many of the elk leave right away for parts unknown, aka the ranch. With the closeness of roads the rifle hunters drive around, when there is snow, until they see where elk crossed the road. Then they drive around that area and if the elk did not leave that timber stand, they drop off people on the other side and go back and send a couple hunters in to drive the elk out. Your area has a few relatively large blocks that hide elk, plus other hidey holes, and I believe a few bedding areas near the ranch where you can set up for them. Your area is well suited to tree stand hunting and using the "Lonesome Charlie" calling technique Elknut describes. There are different variations of the lone bull call that can work. I like the "Lonesome Charlie" call (Elknut's name for it) as it reminds me of a kid sent to his room to meditate on his misbehavior. Actually it reminds me of our youngest daughter sitting on her bed and talking to her stuffed animal during those difficult times.
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