quiet elk woods.....

[the weasel]

Sso,,,,,,,, the area i'm in is very quiet. besides a calf wanting to come to "mama" one early evening when we were scouting / looking for stand locations, My little spot i'm working has no sounds. I've never heard a bugle or a cow call in the last 2 seasons here. I know they are here I've seen sign as in tracks on every logging road I've been down And lotsa poop / pee spots. And rubs all over. Even had a bull tear up a willow bush 60 yrds. behind me while i was in my tree stand.

my question to all the Veterans or maybe not even the Veterans.... HOW WOULD YOU deal with or hunt this area? i know with a visual you could give alot of info, but just imagine your spot or somewhere that is a horseshoe / bowl shape.. and the elk just keep quiet. i plan on hitting the "rim" a;lot more this year and maybe putting my Dad on the tree in the bottom... ???

[WapitiTalk1]

Weasel, what time of year are you hunting (dates)?

[Swede]

Where you are hunting is very important. Are you hunting western Oregon or Washington? You will rarely hear elk bugle there, unless you get them started.

[POk3s]

You also could just be in the "bedroom". You still should be hearing bulls bugle in the heat of the rut but they could be feeding and doing rutting activity just over the mountain and you'd never know it.

[the weasel]

Western,but not too far west.......
and basically the first 3 weeks..


this season i'm 13 th. Sept. on .... have plans first 2 wknds.

thanks guys for the response, just always been ingrained in my head that bugling / calling is just advertising for the hunters in the (Oregon) woods to come check me out. So i tend to stay pretty quiet... maybe i should get vocal this season instead??
i tried cow calling when the bull was trashing the willow behind me.. but he just trashed then walked away instead of coming down the trail or coming to check out the "cow"...

[Trophyhill]

Sometimes you have to "Shock Call" elk into responding when you know elk are in the area but staying tight lipped. Let's link this with fishing for a moment. There are some baits that "trigger" a feeding response just because of the nature of the presentation.

I think the same holds true for calling to silent elk. Find that sound that triggers an instinctual response and it's game on. Wayne Carlton talks about "shock calling" and it makes total sense looking back to some of my experiences over the last few years.

[mongopino915]

Agreed with Trophyhill.

It is good to play it safe and use ninja stocking and/or soft low volume calling if you have plans to hunt the same area repeatedly. A simple rule is if you can see elk, little to no calling is required.

But on the flip side, you might be surprised by the outcome to "Shock Calls".

[mjblowers]

I'll bite... what's a shock call?

I'm imagining getting in .5-1 mile where you want to hunt without making a peep and then going banana's on some estrus buzz or something...

[Trophyhill]

I'll bite... what's a shock call?

I'm imagining getting in .5-1 mile where you want to hunt without making a peep and then going banana's on some estrus buzz or something...

Took me a while but I found the video of Wayne talking about this.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eUqHnINDcbI

[elkmtngear]

Where you are hunting is very important. Are you hunting western Oregon or Washington? You will rarely hear elk bugle there, unless you get them started.

Lol it pretty much sums things up when Swede can guess your location by the way the elk act. Anybody that thinks they have elk figured out needs to try to hunt out there...it's a whole different World.

If I hunt Oregon in the future, I'll be doing a lot of pre-season scouting, and putting up multiple tree stands.

In contrast, this was an encounter we had on day two of our Colorado hunt last Season. These elk actually act like elk. This bull should have died, too much moving around by the camerman and shooter.

[phall]

whats everybody use fore their "shock call"... i know it depends on the situation, but we all have our favorites

[mongopino915]

Just my opinion but a "Shock Call" is creating something that is out of the norm and may include load and obnoxious as what Wayne C. is showing/selling.

Shock calling can lots of different elk scenes like two/three bulls (with some cows) staging for a show down (high intensity bugling with grunts, trees breaking, and excited cows).

Shock calling can be an excited estrus cow whining loudly (non-stop) through the wood.

Shock calling can two bulls about 100 - 200 yards apart and bugling intensely back and forth at each while on the move.

Shock calling is about creating excitement that is not there to basically trigger non-vocal elk to respond.

On a different note: In heavily pressured areas where the elk are sensitive to calling (i.e. quiet), elk do continue to communicate and find each other to fulfill the rut. A satellite bull elk might not respond to your perfect three locating bugle from a ridge top but get close and one soft cow mew is all that it takes for that bull to come to you. A herd bull might not respond to your bugle outside of 200 yards but will definitely let you know when you have entered his zone. Hence, it helps to know the country you are hunting and where the elk are hiding.

As an elk hunter/caller, you should have a full arsenal of tricks up your sleeve to handle all elk mood/behavior. The only requirement is having elk where you are hunting. It also helps to sound as realistic as possible, because if we can tell the difference, I am sure the elk can also.

[Trophyhill]

Well said mongopino915!

[Drawnandpinned]

Curious to know if its always been that way or is it predators elk are vocal animals and they still are hard to get close to

[Trophyhill]

Curious to know if its always been that way or is it predators elk are vocal animals and they still are hard to get close to

Sure, predators, hunting pressure and weather can all be factored in when dealing with silent elk. Doesn't mean they're not killable though

[Trophyhill]

whats everybody use fore their "shock call"... i know it depends on the situation, but we all have our favorites

There are other factors too IMO. Picking your spots and timing of those calls plays a big part.