Summer vocalizations

[Clawsar]

Hey everyone,
I have a whirlwind of questions as we close in on opening day of my third year archery hunting. I never big game hunted until I bought a recurve and for the 2013 season. I quickly realized I was only lethal to 15 yards and bought a compound bow and rifle for the next year. 2014 I got my first buck and was officially HOOKED! The problem I have is finding the elk (pretty common, right?). I have a specific area I hunt (MT 285) due to other constraints (inlaws near by so my wife visits while I go out). Most the time it's a day hunt but for opening weekend a buddy and I have been doing a 1-2 night bivy hunt. I'll post another thread with details of where and look for recommendations, but my problem is this:
I set up a trail am and for one picture of a bull (only elk) over three weeks. I can find poop from this year, but not recent, and I find tracks in mud holes I can't age. The terrain is THICK so glassing has limited application across draws. Does anyone here know about elk vocLizations in the summer? Would hiking up to a ridge at sunrise and ripping a one note location bugle draw any response? I'm trying to do my due diligence with the limited time I have for scouting, but I can't physically find the elk.

Any thoughts are appreciated as I have lots of questions
Thanks

[twinkieman]

I'd probably try to find a new area in the unit, and hope for more elk sightings.

[Clawsar]

Thanks Twinkieman. The wildlife biologist for the area pointed me to this spot saying it was one of the more worthwhile spots in the area, but perhaps you're right and I should move on to a different hillside. Does everyone hike around new spots until you're ankle deep in elk scat or see them?

[Ridge Ghost]

Don't freak out just because you aren't seeing elk sign in June. Look for rubs and wallows from the past few years. If you can find these rut signs, it's a good bet that elk will end up there again in September.

[Luckyman]

I'm new too and curious, does the location bugle at night like elknut suggests still get them to sound off in the summer and all year long? or not so much? Also, a friend of mine in Idaho said "early season, if there's water, the elk will be in it!" You guys find this to be true?

[Heartwood]

I ocassionally get kicked out of the house for exessive bugling in the evening and have to go a half mile down the road to continue calling. A few weeks ago I had a bull come in after 15 minutes of continuous bugling and cow sounds. (after sundown)
This bull would chuckle every few minutes as he was feeding in a meadow nearby and he came as close as 30 yards. After about 30 minutes he popped at me but continued to stay around. I think he was simply curious about all the elk talk and had to come investigate. So yes, bulls will talk some in summer but bugles or any sounds that can be heard from far away are not very common. Your chances of locating elk by sound in summer are slim. There are elk in some of the areas where I mountian bike and it is obvious by the tracks alone (not hard to tell) That said, there could still be elk in your area, just not exactly where you have looked. Generally there are not elk in every canyon and hollow so you may not have looked far enough. Like others have said, look for rut sign from past years. Bulls will come back to the same general stomping grounds each fall. If the harvest stats. are average or above for your area, rest assured that there will be bulls to be reckoned with come September.

[Clawsar]

Thanks guys! I'll press on

[twinkieman]

Also, keep in mind at this time of the year, the bulls will be off in bachelor herds, away from the cow herds. the bulls will join up with the cows later, towards the end of summer. Generally, though not always, at this time of the year, the bulls will be at higher elevations than the cows. I misread your post, and thought you had hunted elk the previous season there. Location bugling at night, during the rut phase is a great way to locate elk, and usually you can relocate them early the next morning, close to where you heard them the previous night. If you got a thrill out of your first bow kill on a deer, just wait until you arrow an elk! You are going about it right, do the legwork, find elk, and do your homework on Elknut's methods, they work. Practice calling as often as you can. Don't just try to learn off of these pages, save yourself YEARS, buy the DVD's offered, and learn them..... Flat out, the methods on them WORK!