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Most important elk sound to know

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Most important elk sound to know

Postby >>>---WW----> » 06 07, 2021 •  [Post 1]

Over my 40+ years of elk hunting, I have used just about every imaginable elk sound know to man (or elk) :o ! You name it and chances are, I've used it at one time or another.

Each and every sound has it's purpose if used at the right time during the right circumstance. But out of all the calls I have ever used, there is only one that works darn near 100% of the time to stop an elk on a dime for the shot. And that sound is what I call the nervous bark.

Elk have two distinct barks. The warning bark and the nervous bark. Sometimes it is hard to tell one from the other unless you have a trained ear for knowing what each one means. The nervous bark is usually a little sharper sound with more emotion to it. And it is usually only done once. Sometimes but rarely twice. Whereas the warning bark, to the trained ear, is slightly deeper in sound and may be used multiple times.

Try it the next time you need to stop a bull for the shot before he steps into cover or isn't slowing down. You'll be amazed! :shock:

What's you favorite elk sound and why?
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Re: Most important elk sound to know

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 06 07, 2021 •  [Post 2]

Most important? I agree 100%; its the nervous bark by a landslide. This sound is deadly effective to stop a bull in his tracks in many close quarters situations. Timing is very important when you use the nervous bark. Do it at the right time in the situation, to afford a clear shot opportunity for the shooter/your partner, and you'll be packing meat. Do it too early or too late and yes, the bull will stop but...there may not be a shot at the vitals by the shooter; timing is everything. I'll say that I can make most elk noises pretty darn well. Not the most important, but my favorite, has gotta be the old school two to three note locator bugle. There is nothing like getting an answer ringing throughout that high alpine draw on a chilly morning.
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Re: Most important elk sound to know

Postby Swede » 06 07, 2021 •  [Post 3]

>>>---WW----> wrote:Sometimes it is hard to tell one from the other unless you have a trained ear for knowing what each one means.


If an alarm (warning) bark and a nervous bark sound so similar that only the "trained ear" can differentiate between the two, and if one sound stops them, and the other (Warning bark) puts them on on the run, how does a person with an untrained ear know they are not chasing them off instead of stopping them?

As far as the nervous bark only being used once or occasionally twice, I have had bulls use it many times as they try to figure out what they just observed. I had one barking off and on for about five hours, when I was hunting in Idaho with RJ a few years ago.
It was not an alarm bark, as he was by himself, and he stayed around nearly half a day.
To my ear the two barks sound exactly the same. The difference is limited to the voice of the animal. The simple way I recognize one from the other is the follow-up sound. If I hear the beating of hooves and see tan butts heading out, I heard an alarm bark. If I do not hear hooves and they stick around, it was a nervous bark.
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Re: Most important elk sound to know

Postby >>>---WW----> » 06 07, 2021 •  [Post 4]

Swede said, "As far as the nervous bark only being used once or occasionally twice, I have had bulls use it many times as they try to figure out what they just observed. I had one barking off and on for about five hours, when I was hunting in Idaho with RJ a few years ago.
It was not an alarm bark, as he was by himself, and he stayed around nearly half a day".
.[/quote]

5 hours, REALLY :shock: :o :? Give me a break Swede. We all know that was RJ trying to call you out of your treestand so you could learn how to be more than just a one dementional hunter! :D
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Re: Most important elk sound to know

Postby ElkNut1 » 06 07, 2021 •  [Post 5]

Swede, you're spot on. For hunters wanting to know the difference between an Alarm Bark & a Nervous Grunt/Bark (they're the same) it's the action or reaction from an elk once heard by the hunter. If the elk sticks around & continues with this sound it's a nervous grunt/bark. If the elk evacuate the area continuing with this sound then it's an Alarm sound as this elk can warn other elk in the area of a possible threat, they vamoose!

Bottom line, don't worry about this sound being to close to one another, it's what takes place after you hear it!

Too, I agree with WW, it's the best sound in the world to anchor any elk for the shot!

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Re: Most important elk sound to know

Postby Swede » 06 07, 2021 •  [Post 6]

"For the first time in my hunting experience I had a bull bark for about 75 times over a span of nearly five hours. He never left the area until evening and never came into the opening where I was waiting."

The above quote was posted by me on 10/04/17 on a thread titled What Lessons Were Learned. Several years before I had a bull standing and barking at me for about 10 minutes. It walked up the hill barking occasionally several times as it left the area.
I don't argue that a nervous bark, or whatever you want to call it, works well in the right situation. What I don't understand is why. Why do they stop and not run. I can't tell the difference between the alarm bark and the nervous bark. I doubt they can. I suspect they stop for a few seconds to wait for the direction to run if that is the intent of the elk making the bark. If no elk runs then they are just on the alert since they neither saw, heard or scented anything amiss.

OK, you jerks please explain your rotten theories. :lol:
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Re: Most important elk sound to know

Postby Elkhunttoo » 06 07, 2021 •  [Post 7]

Time to change the subject and go back to the “most important sound to know”

Maybe the bark is the most fun and maybe for some it is the most important. For me its not. Sports analogy here. I feel like saying the nervous bark to stop them is the most important is like saying in a basketball game the last possession won or lost the game. Where this can be true at times I guess. Most likely the games was won or lost in the 60-70 possessions before that. The last shot going in really doesn’t matter if your down by 75 and the other team (bull) has left the building.

Therefore with that reasoning I’m going to say the most important 2 sounds I feel are…. 8-) Panting/breathing hard and glunking.

Bugles are fun and cow calls are great but I watched a few bulls last year and when they were coming out of the sage brush slope towards there bedding area the old bulls would pant super heavy every 15-20 seconds while trailing there cows. Heard it several times last year. Also Glunking, a sound that is super hard imo to replicate but a sound that means great stuff to the other bulls in ear shot.


In saying all of that I guess the best sound is the one that works for you. I’ve got in the middle of elk with 1 simple bugle before. With a couple cow calls, and on some of the set ups where I thought I did my best the bulls just wanted nothing to do with me.
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Re: Most important elk sound to know

Postby saddlesore » 06 08, 2021 •  [Post 8]

Best one for me is that death rattle or gurgle as they die in thick timber or high weeds when you can't see them
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Re: Most important elk sound to know

Postby Tigger » 06 08, 2021 •  [Post 9]

I don't know about most important. For the tree stand hunter, probably the nervous grunt as previously pointed out. But as a guy calling, you can't stop him for the shot if you havent called him in. You can't call him in if you haven't located him. So I don't know about the most important, but my favorite sound is the thwump of the arrow (or bullet).
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Re: Most important elk sound to know

Postby 7mmfan » 06 09, 2021 •  [Post 10]

Tigger wrote:I don't know about most important. For the tree stand hunter, probably the nervous grunt as previously pointed out. But as a guy calling, you can't stop him for the shot if you havent called him in. You can't call him in if you haven't located him. So I don't know about the most important, but my favorite sound is the thwump of the arrow (or bullet).


This! WHOP!
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Re: Most important elk sound to know

Postby Lefty » 06 26, 2021 •  [Post 11]

saddlesore wrote:Best one for me is that death rattle or gurgle as they die in thick timber or high weeds when you can't see them


:D ;) :D
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