Ever Been Fooled?

[WapitiTalk1]

Have you ever been fooled by a hunter's calls, thinking they are for sure an elk by the quality of the calling you hear? I have not been 100% fooled by a hunter yet (although I've ran into a few that sound pretty realistic and give them due diligence for a time), but, have been absolutely duped by quite a few elk over the years thinking that there is "no way that is an elk making that God awful sound"! My point being that elk make some very "non typical/text book sounds". Just offering that wapiti groan, growl, moan, chirp, wheeze, cough, bay like a brahma bull, and yep, even bugle like a newbie trying to squeak out his first elk sounds ever during their SEP/OCT rutting ritual. Give these odd sounds a moment before you dispense them as a hunter or some other type of forest animal. When encountering any sound you feel that you think "may" be an elk sound in the woods, consider "where you are" and if there could possibly be a hunter in the area at that time of day. If not a possibility, treat these strange sounds as an elk exercising his vocal cords and react appropriately. Just a tip for some of you younger elk stalkers.. RJ

[JohnFitzgerald]

I've only been fooled once but have called in many of a hunter. The look on their face is tough. It's the same look kids get when they are told that Santa Clause isn't real.

jf

[CrazyElkHunter]

I've called in a lot of hunters, but my best one was a guide in New Mexico with his client. His client thought it was funny, but the guide was very embarrassed and ticked off because I called him into a steep canyon to 30 yards.

[Migolito]

My very first Elk hunt in unit 76 Colorado before it was a Once in a lifetime draw. I walked out of my camp the first morning and in about 5 minutes I started hearing a very poor imitation of an Elk. This guy was calling way too much, the tone was off and kinda cracking and he was very very loud. It sounded like this guy was practicing...on opening morning! After about 15 minutes I decided to move towards the guy, so I worked a cow call just in case I ran into something. I rounded a little rock outcropping and walked right into a herd of elk. I don't mean I was 50 yards away, I mean I could have 'slapped a cow on the rear' close. Standing not 10 yards away was a monster. More horns and just plain old big. It was the biggest elk I've ever seen anywhere/anytime, TV or magazine period. He just looked at me. I took aim at him(rem 7mm mag) and just couldn't get a clean shot-too dang many cows and I was at their level. I stood and watched this monster walk away into the thick aspen jungle without a clean shot. I can still see him today, I swear he gave me a snort of disgust before he disappeared. This was one Herd Bull that had no idea how to bugle!

[elkmtngear]

Like others, I've been fooled several times by what I thought was a poor imitation of a bull, only to find out it was the real deal.

We have only called hunters in one time that I can remember over the years; we bugled 3 guys right in. The comical thing was, they came in bugling and raking....directly upwind from us

[tdiesel]

Yep I'll never forget the time I bugled in a "hunter" sounded more like a donkey braying with a bugle tube so I got in a little clearing cause muzzle loading was going on standing there big as Texas waiting for this hunter when a 5x trots around the corner on the trail. I was sure something sounding that awful had to be a poor hunter but sure made an @$$ out of me. Once in a while a hunter from a ways off has fooled me but as I get closer I can usually tell at least I hope all those were hunters. Dang maybe I should have checked them out

[bnsafe]

havnt hunted elk enuf to be fooled or fool anybody, but, i can tell a real turkey from a fake almost everytime. cant remember once that i was ever wrong bout it being a human. although ive heard some turkeys that leave me scratching my head and wondering. if i hadnt seem them i wouldnt have believed it.

[Mikeha33]

Ive not had any experience elk hunting, but late last October, while whitetail hunting, I put on a tremendous rattling sequence over a food plot, and ended it with a set of buck roars. A few minutes later, I heard a twig snap behind me, so I prepared myself to draw if the opportunity presented itself with a shot, and as the noise got closer and louder, I peeked over my shoulder, and I wanted to draw, but it was a tresspasser, belly-crawling with his bow in hand, putting on one hell of a noisy stalk on 2 bucks that didn't exist. I turned around and started to give my best bobwhite quail call, hoping to draw his attention, so I could let him know I was there without ruining my hunt, but he didn't hear me. By this time I was pretty mad, so I threw my water bottle at him. He jumped up and looked at me like "what the hell are you doing here???" I ended up getting down and talking to him, getting his name before he left, and listed to his BS story about how he has been hunting this property for 20 years (not true), and calling the C.O., and he ended up with a tresspassing fine. Turns out, this guy has been caught several times. His wife will drop him off at a section (in KS, everything is pretty much 1 sq. mile sections) and he will sneak around all day, hunting other peoples property. I got a picture of the same guy, not a month later, on my Cuddeback, sneaking through a food plot. Once again, called the C.O., and he was fined again. Some people never learn...

[Lefty]

Not much bugling action where I hunt. Even fewer hunters.
Most guys spot and stalk. or use too.

[Jaquomo]

I've been goofed many times by real elk. One bull we named "Larry Jones" because his call sounded so fake and commercial, and he totally over-called... I tried to find him to tell him to shut up so he wouldn't make all the elk call shy. Came over a rise and right on top of a nice little 6x.

Rarely by other hunters since the Hoochie Mama appears to be the Official Call in N. CO.

Once had a ML hunter camped near us who was sort of a jerk. One morning I made him climb a very steep mountainside covered with deadfall, coming to my voice bugles. He never did figure out it was me. I've fooled plenty of other hunters over the years.

[Swede]

I do not remember how many times over the years I have been fooled or fooled someone. It happens. Unless I can be absolutely certain I operate on the assumption it is a bull. Sometimes I am skeptical, but that is a part of the game too.
A few years ago I was totally taken in by a hunter. I heard this bull bugling. He was slowly working his way up the draw below where I was waiting. His sounds were perfect. I knew it was a real bull. He even had those guttural sounds that only a bull can make. I had several cows, in two small groups, run past my tree stand. I was standing with bow in hand, waiting as the bull was about to break out of the woods below, when I saw him. The bull was Mike Slinkard of Winners Choice Bowstrings, followed by a companion. I got out of my stand and visited with him a few minutes. It was getting late in the morning and the hunt was about over for the morning.
I do not know how Mike did it, but he makes those guttural sounds that I never heard any human make. I assume, in part, it is sound waves being distorted going through the timber, but it was sure disappointing to see him at that time. Yes I have been fooled over the years, and I have fooled others too, but never more so than the time M. S., with the cooperation of some cows,was able to do it. The problem for Mike was he did not know about the cows being there.

[Swede]

Another thought here. This is my second thought for the day, so I am already over my quota. LOL
Anyway: One call that I can get fooled on is the perfect 3 note bugle. The Elknut1 location bugle, is a classic call that I think more hunters make than bulls, in my neck of the woods. When I hear that perfect bugle, I am suspicious. This call is too good, so it must be a human. Of coarse I get fooled there too.

[one_elk]

Yep I have been fooled a time or two, by elk pretending to humans (or whatever it was they were doing, one of my favorites is the bull that I swear sounded like a mule…) and humans trying to sound like an elk (but kind of interesting most, or at least a lot of humans bugle three times with less than minute between bugles then they wait a few minutes bugle three more times, wait a few minutes and bugle three more times then they are off…). But one of my favorites was when I called a guide and his very attractive (ok so I had been in the woods for a week or so) female muzzle load hunter in would’ve thought it was a mirage but I was hunting was hunting with my buddy and he agreed to the fact that it was indeed a good looking female and a less than friendly guide I called in. Now I have tried that same sequence of calls since then but never with the same results……I guess that’s probably best, you know to keep on the home front and all….rrrr

[Bartfrncs]

Where I hunt most of the noise is made by Elk. So I will always treat the situation as if its a shooter bull.

[Da White Shoe]

I remember the worst bugle I've ever heard.
Sounded like he would choke out halfway through it.
I wouldn't have even checked it out, but I wanted to go that direction anyway.
I was chuckling to myself all the way... until I saw him!
Turned out to be a smallish 6x6... bedded down.
I could have easily snuck close to him... if I would've planned my approach.
Winded me, but I did get to watch him do that goofy bugle once.
Probably just as well... he looked tired.

Another time, we were packing the spike camp out and heard a bugle as we were riding... it sounded good and it was within 200 yards.
Well, lets see...
we were within 1 mile of the trail head, (our main camp, granola-head parking lot),
it was a mile and a half from a major highway,
it was 75 degrees,
there was a clear, blue sky,
straight-up NOON,
and, are you ready for this...
it was the 2nd day of muzzleloader season!

Well, we never even stopped, got off the horses and tied up.
We should have.

Rode right into a 280, 6x6 with 5 cows....

[elkmtngear]

My partner and I were headed back to camp one evening when all of the sudden a bull bugled just down the hill from us. I answered him with a bugle. He fired back a couple of times. I finally realized that we had just been fooled. That ol' boy sounded good! Probably the best I've heard! We walked up to the guy and I told him that he sounded really good. He told me that I didn't sound good. We talked to the guy and I told him that I had killed a cow the night before. He was trying to be nice and told me congrats. I told him that I bugled her in . He called me a few choice names as we walked off!

If you "didn't sound good", why did he fire back at you??

Wow, complement a guy and he insults you.