Elk Sounds, Feedback Thread

[WapitiTalk1]

As many of you know, I run some "post up your elk sounds" threads on occasion so folks can throw out their cow/herd talk, various bull sounds, special elk sounds (estrus buzz, nervous grunt, etc.), for other hunters and some of the top callers out there to comment on and provide some constructive comments on how to adjust/improve our elk sounds.

Let's do it a bit differently this time. I won't specify the types of elk sounds to post up. Instead, you choose what you wish to record and post up for feedback. You may post cow sounds, bull sounds, or a combination of any types of elk sounds.

Let's hear them! Less than 90 days till season opens in many states. If you have any questions on how to record and post up your noises, PM me. RJ

[WapitiTalk1]

Post up a sound or two if you wish. Give Gregg (GSElkhunter), Troy (GCHCs), Travis (WRO), Jeff (EMG), and Paul (Elknut) just to name a few, some sounds to comment on and perhaps, make some recommendations to help you get to the next level. It's free

[Miller1]

Ok, this is from a cheap primos bugle that was given to me and i have played with it for 5 minute s, i know i need a lot deeper tone but not sure how with this one, i need to get a good one from paul, so tell me how bad it is, lol

[ Play Quicktime file ] My recording _2.mp3 [ 22.47 KiB | Viewed 11199 times ]

[WapitiTalk1]

Nothing wrong with that Rick. It's a classic locator bugle. The only thing I'd recommend is to hold the high note for a few seconds longer, concentrate on putting the majority of the loudness, crispness of sound, in that last note and just letting the sound die when you're done. No need to taper it off at the end or end it with anything except silence. In many cases, the high note is all the stinky beasts hear in many situations from sometimes, up to a mile away, in calm weather You'll get answers with your locator bugle buddy.

[Miller1]

Thanks for the reply, ill work on that and some cow calls for you to listen to.

[nrocchio]

I am kind of embarrassed to post these, but would like the feedback. I recorded these in the car on my cell phone, when you combine that with just starting to call about a month ago these aren't great. Here are the bull sounds I have been practicing on my way to and from work. I'll post one more with my attempt at cow sounds. 3 attachments was the max allowed.
Thanks for your feedback any critique and advice is appreciated.
- Nick

[nrocchio]

Here are the cow sounds.

[rowdycwby1]

Just started practicing with a deadly weapon I just got from Troy at Glacier Country
http://soundcloud.com/matthew-arreola/l ... dly-weapon

[WapitiTalk1]

nrocchio (Nick). I'm not one of the calling experts here for sure but always willing to share my thoughts from a fellow hunter's perspective Pretty dang good for just starting out buddy!

1st sound clip - chuckles. Tone is actually pretty good which shows that you can vary your tongue pressure and apply proper air flow through reed to get various sounds. That's a very good thing! Try to keep the cadence tighter, that is, keep the same spacing between the noises. Chuckles are pretty rhythmical (chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck) without much of a gap in between, 4, 5, or more at times. It's tough to master, but sucking in air between the chuckles adds realism... You blow out (using the same tongue pressure/air flow you used on the your practice clip), then, suck in a bit of air before you blow out again.... kind of a "Shah (blow out), Ahh (suck in with a bit of throat noise)".... Shah, "Ahh", Shah, "Ahh", Shah, "Ahh". Hope this makes some sense

2nd sound clip - Grunts. Same principal as the chuckles, but deeper tone, a bit louder, and spaced a bit farther apart. The "Ahh" is more pronounced. Grunts are hard hitting, adversarial (screw you and the horse your rode in on) sounds. Just a few grunts can be heard by themselves or in conjunction with a nasty challenge scream! Throaty, raspy challenge SCREAM, with SHAH (out), AHH (in), SHAH (out), AHH (in). Elknut sais chuckles and grunts are what he gets the most inquiries about when talking about making elk sounds. They are tough but both have their place in the elk woods, moreso chuckles than grunts as chuckles are normally inviting other elk (particularly cows) their way.. It is a power tool

3rd sound clip - Bugle. Your locator doesn't sound too bad. Just work on getting two or three solid notes and holding the high note for several or more seconds.

4th sound clip - Cow Sounds. Nicely done and please, keep it up. The only thing I noticed is a bit of air escaping on your first cow sounds.. probably just an improper seal on your reed. The last couple you did had "great" voice inflection! Those are very close to being quality estrus cow noises.

These are just my thoughts buddy. I'm hoping a few of the really good callers jump in and comment on the sounds you cats are posting up.. RJ

[WapitiTalk1]

Just started practicing with a deadly weapon I just got from Troy at Glacier Country http://soundcloud.com/matthew-arreola/l ... dly-weapon

I think you meant "secret weapon" maybe. I've tried this reed and you could certainly call it "deadly". Great call!

I would recommend to just work on several crisp, clear notes for your locator bugle or for that matter, to just start making any bull noises. Don't try to inject any voice at first, that'll come later . Practice could consist of starting with a clear high note, dropping down one note, and hitting that high note again. This helps you create the tongue pressure/air flow "memory" needed to consistently make the sounds you're after. Get good at hitting various notes and then, work into voice inflection later. Hope this helps at least a bit.

[rowdycwby1]

Thanks RJ I just got the call last nite so I figured I'd play with it at work the voice sound was actually a pumpjack running I didn't think my phone would pick up the sound of it lol. I'll take all the help I can get.

[Glacier Country]

Just started practicing with a deadly weapon I just got from Troy at Glacier Country http://soundcloud.com/matthew-arreola/l ... dly-weapon

I think you meant "secret weapon" maybe. I've tried this reed and you could certainly call it "deadly". Great call!

I would recommend to just work on several crisp, clear notes for your locator bugle or for that matter, to just start making any bull noises. Don't try to inject any voice at first, that'll come later . Practice could consist of starting with a clear high note, dropping down one note, and hitting that high note again. This helps you create the tongue pressure/air flow "memory" needed to consistently make the sounds you're after. Get good at hitting various notes and then, work into voice inflection later. Hope this helps at least a bit.

Rj, rowdycowboy was right that one is from the Deadly Weapon Series. It is a new call that I have been testing on the local guys and a few others. Some guys here like it even better than the Orange Enrager.
They are not on my website But guys that are interested can order a Sweet Seduction call and in the instructions put Switch The Sweet Seduction, for a Deadly Weapon.

What I am going for with this call is a medium bugle and with easy cow sounds with pretty light pressure.

Rowdy, start out your bugle by just making the latex vibrate on the low tone with light to medium pressure the call will break to a higher pitch, then put more tongue pressure to get to the higher pitches. At first slow down and go up the scale from a low note progressively higher then hold the high pitch and growl it off.I included a sound clip here to help illustrate what I mean. Hope this helps Troy GCHC

[nrocchio]

These are just my thoughts buddy. I'm hoping a few of the really good callers jump in and comment on the sounds you cats are posting up.. RJ

Thank you! It really helps to get some direction based on the sounds I am making. I watch the videos elknut posted on here and try to copy other elk sounds, but some times it feels a little like stabbing in the dark after a while. Thanks for taking time to write such a detailed response. I really appreciate it.

[nrocchio]

Hey RJ. Before this thread dies down I was hoping to get some feed back on one other sound. I came across a good post on this forum talking about challenge bugles. It basically covered if you are in close to a vocal, or maybe even quiet bull, use a few cow calls to get him to call you over. After he calls you can follow it up with a challenge bugle to let him know to stop calling your cows. My first question is do I have that situation right, and second, is this sound I started practicing a challenge bugle? I just wanted to see if this is how it should sound, and what I can fix to make it better. Thanks again.
- Nick

[Glacier Country]

nrocchio, The Challenge bugle is the best elk sound you have done so far.Do that sound when you are within 75 yards, the bull bugles you cut him off with that challenge bugle.... have an arrow nocked he is coming. especially if you have also done some raking. Also your grunt above is not a grunt. Just do it like your chuckles but with more force and not as fast. I will post up a sound clip you can listen to to practice,thenI will post up a real scenario with me and a real bull that kind of illustrated what you should do.I had escalated the calling and now he is mimicking me cutting me off and grunting at me. Most of the time it is the other way around ...I try to mimic them, cut them off etc. I had bugled with this bull and had done some cow calls some raking previously. This is a 275 class herd bull. I am using an Orange Enrager as to not sound too big. Anyhow I called this bull in 5 different times that morning. Hope this helps --->Troy Glacier Country Hunting Calls

[nrocchio]

Thank you Troy. The first clip will be really helpful to try and mimic your grunts and bugles. The second clip is awesome! Thank you for your help.
- Nick

[ElkNut1]

nrocchio , I agree your challenge bugle sounds just fine, it's not how big you are, it's does your bugle fit the encounter & yours does! Don't lengthen the challenge out any longer than you did, keep it short powerful & sweet, it will get the point across as your message to the real bull.

As far as does your method of interest fit that encounter, yes it can, it's what I call level ! of the Threat! There are 3 levels to it & at times you will have to climb the ladder of momentum to induce a physical appearance from the real bull. It depends on the mood of the bull & if there's rutting action in the area at the time. If multiple bulls in the area that bugle your sounds make sure to single out the bull you want to go after & only respond to his bugles this way he knows he's the one you're showing interest in, go after this bull. You also will find that different bulls may require different aggressive action on the hunters part! For instance if you're dealing with a herd bull & he will not budge from his cows & come your way but bugles you to come over to him then you may need to go to him as you cow call your way over with wind in your favor. Reading the situation is important when dealing with elk, they don't all respond alike just because they have cows, you may have to adapt to a situation & get creative. Good luck with your calling!

ElkNut1

[BrentLaBere]

nrochico, sounding good on that challenge. Your location bugle wasnt bad either but I would try to hit that higher note and hold it out for a little bit longer. Try instead of the 1, 2 and 3 note bugle just concentrate on hitting the 2 quick and holding out the 3.

I have a few calls I need to work out here and would also like feedback, maybe more people can join in on this? I have heard and discussed with a lot of good callers about mimicking the real bull. Maybe had a good youtube video we could try to mimic against all while discussing the tone and intensity of the bull we are calling to? Ill try to find a good one and post an example of what I mean.

Troy and Travis make some great calls. I have been using the tube and calls I got from you guys and loving them. Really like the soft and sweet cow calls the pink lady makes.
It was also a nice change up from the SW and SW2 I have been using so much. I really like that watermelon call, but not sure enough to replace my SW! They will be in my pocket come September, that much I promise you. So guys, if you want good calls, and feedback from some really good callers. Step up and record some sounds. Its amazing how much better you can get.

[ctdad]

https://soundcloud.com/ctdad/bugles-2

I'd love it if a few others who are more experienced would post up some sounds. Even if you aren't looking for feedback, it helps the rest of us to hear some of your sounds to try to mimic them.

[flystrait]

https://soundcloud.com/ctdad/bugles-2

I'd love it if a few others who are more experienced would post up some sounds. Even if you aren't looking for feedback, it helps the rest of us to hear some of your sounds to try to mimic them.

Here are a couple from my son. Just started last year.

[ctdad]

Flystraight, your son is pretty darn good

[BrentLaBere]

http://soundcloud.com/brentlabere-1/watermelon
Glacier Country


http://soundcloud.com/brentlabere-1/pink-lady
Wapiti River

Two new calls I received that I haven't had much time to practice with but here are a few sounds I did this morning.
One thing I noticed is I need to separate my grunts and give them a harder thump, maybe more of a gut sound? Just a thought on those. Also, Maybe hit a higher note instead of just the growl. What do you guys think?

Cow/calf sounds need to be separated more, I noticed I am still dropping the ahh to the end of some that I am making. Make it more of the EEEEE only. Also not to draw out the cow sounds ahh at the end. Make it shorter. Some higher some lower to distinguish cow calls.......

Just a few thoughts to get it going. I will try and post a video so a few of us can replicate the sounds of a bull from youtube, as well as others recordings on here.

[ElkNut1]

Craig, yes your son is doing awesome, very nice work there!

Brent, your bull sounds are coming along well, you pretty much summed up the areas needing polishing! (grin) For your cow sounds I believe you are using the tip of your tongue as your contact point on the latex? If so try using the center of your tongue instead & breathe out the cow sounds you are imitating instead of pushing or blowing air to produce them. Too, I could not tell the difference from a calf sound to a mature cow sound (mom) A calf mew is short & snappy so to speak where a mom's is not as much, mom will drag it out another 1/2 second or so depending on present situation. I believe you have the Sounds By The Elk CD, listen to the calf sounds on there a few times & you'll start getting an ear for them. A single reed soft latex should work well for them! Thanks.

ElkNut1

[BrentLaBere]

Paul, thanks for the great feedback! Makes a lot of sense with not pushing the air out and have better control by using less force. I know exactly what you mean by that and will give it a try. I am using the center of my tongue for the calls though, just not control the air flow the best, ha. You are right, I do have the CD and need to listen to it a bit more. I had been practicing my bull sounds more so than the cows so I have neglected that area a bit and need to polish it up!
So, if elk are on the move (imitating calf to cow talk) the calf may have a more urgent sound? Always trying to keep tabs on mom. This is where the longer EEE comes in to play right?
When relaxed, maybe in a bedding area, the sounds may resemble bird sounds almost. Softer and shorter....I remember someone saying this before and it makes more sense with the emotion for the right time. Thanks again, ElkNut1.

[nrocchio]

Thank you for your feedback Paul and Brent. The tips are really helping me record better sounds when I practice. I appreciate the detail on the level of threat situation as well! It is pay day so I can finally order the sounds of the Elk CD and Playbook combo and get an even better understanding of the different situations that might present themselves. I think it will go a long way in helping me learn what sounds to make and when to make them. Again thanks to everyone that took the time to give me a few pointers.