% of sucessful call setups ?

[Bowhunter]

The thread about which Elk Nut would we like to hunt with lead me to a question. Ok my question is for those guys honestly what is the percentage of your calling setups that work. I am sure they don't allways come in on a string. Just to make us amateures feel better when it doesn't work for us.

[ctdad]

What constitutes success? Dead elk or having one in bow range or hearing a response or seeing an elk, etc?

[Bowhunter]

I would say success would be calling one in and having the opportunity to shoot. The shot being taken or not would be up to the shooter.

[cnelk]

In 2011, I called in 37 elk in just over a week.
All elk were called within 50yds or less
We went 3 for 3 during that time - calf/cow/bull

That works out to over 4 elk a day and each day we setup approx 8 times, depending on the day

So that equates to about 50%

But that comes with variables:
Many times the elk come in so fast you dont have a shot
There is a shot obstruction
Non-legal elk
Etc

I like to have as many 'possible' opportunities as I can, sooner or later the stars will align

[Bow4Elk]

Last year in 14 hunts we had 45 different bulls answer. If the same bull answered a different day we still called it an answer. We tried calling all in but some were at a distance and just a hope. We set up on 17 bulls and had 11 of those moving in our direction. Five of those made it into bow range (brushy area--in range was under 35 yards). Of the five we were able to get one shot. Always brush in the way. The other 6 bulls that were coming in either smelled us or got suspicious and left. I have a tally sheet for every day of our hunting season and keep track of this kind of stuff. Logs go back to 1989. They are fun to look at and remember. Also to compare the past to the present.

[Bowhunter]

Bow4elk, Thats the info I am looking for. I have kept note about whitetail hunting for years. Wind, temp direction and speed, cloud or sun, where I was what I saw and which direction they came and went. Great stuff to look over.

[welka]

I wish we were at 50% "approach" the call. My % sounds closer to more like Bow4elk. I don't keep logs, but my best guess is that we are at about 20% of successful call set ups. Successful being from either a blind set up, stalk after calling or hearing an elk and the bull responds with movement your way within 100 yards AND you see him. Wish it were higher, but with no ability to live pre-scout and 7 days to hunt, I'll take the 25% and hope we get two shots out of 14 chances. good luck to all.

[lang]

I should probably right stuff down, cause I can't remember what happened just the last day of the last season lol. That may just be because it didn't turn out the way I was hoping for. Probably run 15-20% in overly thick north idaho, tough to see even within 50 yards in most of this jungle.

[Trophyhill]

I think if you took the 10-20 % of hunters that kill elk every year and multiply their success x 50-90 % the numbers are pretttty low

[Solitude]

Not exactly answering your question given the way you asked it, but typically I only get 1-2 opportunities for a shot over a 5-7 day hunt on a bull. I always take the shot when the opportunity presents i

[Bullnuts]

Back in the good old days (haha) it was easy to call in elk. We might call in 10 - 20 elk a day and have opportunities at half of those. Nowadays, and for the past 15 years or so, we average 20-30 elk per 2 week hunt. That includes bulls, cows, and calves. Shot opportunities are less, with maybe 1/3 of those elk presenting a shot, but success in my camp is still high, at around 75% for our group so that's still pretty good for an OTC DIY hunt. Things change from year to year, and we may only have one or two opportunities during an entire season one year but come back the next year and have elk crawling all over us in the same areas. The most important thing about set ups is this: If you're in an area with elk and you're playing the wind and everything else is right, EXPECT an elk to show up. I've blown more set ups by getting too antsy and moving at the wrong time, just to spot an elk that was coming in wheeling around and heading in the opposite direction. They don't all come in fast and hard and they don't all sound off as they do.

[Slow1]

I’m going to have to disagree with your guys definition of successful set up if I wonder( how much adrenalin can one little gland produce !) that is what I call success.
But to answer your question we probably get a shot one in about 6 (17%) set ups (set up were we have actually heard a bull). Guys ask me how hard is it to call one in?
I tell them calling one in is not really that hard calling one in and getting him killed is a whole other thing.

[elkmtngear]

If we can get a bull to vocalize more than once...I think we have almost a 50 percent chance of either getting into bow range or calling/decoying him into bow range. Whether we can kill him or not is another ball game altogether

[Swede]

If you consider success as having a significant response to my calling, then it is poor. If success is dead elk on the ground it is lousy. Where I hunt things starting going bad for calling in the late 1990s. It has only gotten worse.

[Bullnuts]

If you consider success as having a significant response to my calling, then it is poor. If success is dead elk on the ground it is lousy. Where I hunt things starting going bad for calling in the late 1990s. It has only gotten worse.

Those city park elk finally wised up? LOL. Sounds like it's time for a new area Swede.

[Elkaddict]

Using a locater bugle, I feel it's a success when a bull answers. Then when I slip in and use some cow calls and he gets worked up I feel as if I am winning. If I see him it's a huge success! At that point if I get some film or a shot its just a bonus. Like I said at the start, if I can get a bull bugling back I feel like I have had a successful hunt, and what comes after is just icing. Love buglin bulls!
If you need a number I would have to say I will get a bull going about 90% of the mornings and 75% of the evenings I hunt. It's been my experience I have better luck pullig a bull in close in the evening. It's my thought that in the morning they have been rutting all night and are tired and heading to rest. The evenings they have been laying around thinking about the women and seem to be a little more eager to show them selves.
Far from an expert, but IMHO that's how I se it.

[Bowhunter]

If you need a number I would have to say I will get a bull going about 90% of the mornings and 75% of the evenings I hunt. It's been my experience I have better luck pullig a bull in close in the evening. It's my thought that in the morning they have been rutting all night and are tired and heading to rest. The evenings they have been laying around thinking about the women and seem to be a little more eager to show them selves.
Far from an expert, but IMHO that's how I se it.

I see the same thing with whitetail deer. Evenings seem to be better. They just can't wait to start chaseing the girls. I never thought about it much for elk. I would imagine if they are looking for cows evening might be better.

[Bullnuts]

Using a locater bugle, I feel it's a success when a bull answers. Then when I slip in and use some cow calls and he gets worked up I feel as if I am winning. If I see him it's a huge success! At that point if I get some film or a shot its just a bonus. Like I said at the start, if I can get a bull bugling back I feel like I have had a successful hunt, and what comes after is just icing. Love buglin bulls!
If you need a number I would have to say I will get a bull going about 90% of the mornings and 75% of the evenings I hunt. It's been my experience I have better luck pullig a bull in close in the evening. It's my thought that in the morning they have been rutting all night and are tired and heading to rest. The evenings they have been laying around thinking about the women and seem to be a little more eager to show them selves.
Far from an expert, but IMHO that's how I se it.

That's interesting. I have experienced the exact opposite in my area. It seems like the morning hunts are always more productive because the elk are on their feet longer and I'm not having to fight the setting sun. I've had plenty of encounters in the afternoon, but I find that the elk tend to not get up and start moving around good until just before dark. Then it's one or two quick encounters where I'm having to hurry to try and get a shot before it gets dark.

[cnelk]

I'm with Bullnuts.
I get many more elk contact opportunities in the mornings compared to evenings

[Elkaddict]

Using a locater bugle, I feel it's a success when a bull answers. Then when I slip in and use some cow calls and he gets worked up I feel as if I am winning. If I see him it's a huge success! At that point if I get some film or a shot its just a bonus. Like I said at the start, if I can get a bull bugling back I feel like I have had a successful hunt, and what comes after is just icing. Love buglin bulls!
If you need a number I would have to say I will get a bull going about 90% of the mornings and 75% of the evenings I hunt. It's been my experience I have better luck pullig a bull in close in the evening. It's my thought that in the morning they have been rutting all night and are tired and heading to rest. The evenings they have been laying around thinking about the women and seem to be a little more eager to show them selves.
Far from an expert, but IMHO that's how I se it.

That's interesting. I have experienced the exact opposite in my area. It seems like the morning hunts are always more productive because the elk are on their feet longer and I'm not having to fight the setting sun. I've had plenty of encounters in the afternoon, but I find that the elk tend to not get up and start moving around good until just before dark. Then it's one or two quick encounters where I'm having to hurry to try and get a shot before it gets dark.

Guess that's why we hunt both.

[Bullnuts]

Yup. Sun coming up or sun going down, stop right there before me and we're heading off to town!
Original poetry by the Bullnut....

[Swede]

Bullnuts: I actually like your idea of moving to a new area. I have several problems going. #1 We are still killing elk every year where we are. We are getting them from tree stands and not calling. #2. My son and hunting friends don't want to, or can't go and they are important to me. As soon as they are ready, I would like to head farther east.

[Bullnuts]

Bullnuts: I actually like your idea of moving to a new area. I have several problems going. #1 We are still killing elk every year where we are. We are getting them from tree stands and not calling. #2. My son and hunting friends don't want to, or can't go and they are important to me. As soon as they are ready, I would like to head farther east.

Seems like elk everywhere are becoming better educated every year. In your case, if your party is killing elk every year you're definitely doing better than most!

[ORelksniper]

Swede, I hear Tennessee has elk. Is that too far east? Seriously though, I hear ya about making a move. In fact, that's what I'm doing this year. Got tired of not hearing the bugles of love starved PO'ed bulls so I'm striking out for some distant mountains. Scouted a couple places a little but mostly trying to recover from ailing shoulders. If I had known I was gonna get this old I would not have done so many stupid things when I was young.

Just so nobody thinks I'm mucking up this thread....when we started hunting our area seven years ago our % of successful setups was approx 40%. (Successful meaning elk coming in). The last couple of years the % has dropped to a pitiful level. So, it's time to go mobile. There must be some place in these mountains where the elk still act like elk.

[Swede]

I hunt right next to where Sniper has been. I know folks like Elknut have a hard time with the idea that calling, and running and gunning don't work well here, but it is pretty much a tool of yesteryear. If you are selective and careful you can still coax in a bull now and then, but don't squak too much on your grunt tube. Be selective, be patient.