Are You Always The Caller?

[ElkNut1]

So how about that thought? Do you hunt with a group of guys where most are very limited in their calling abilities so you are the "designated caller". That's great you are well rounded enough & put in practice throughout the year so you can help yourself & members in your hunting party but wouldn't it be nice if the other hunters had the same type of dedication that you do so you too can have equal "shooter" opportunities! I see this every year in the Elkwoods & read this very thought throughout the internet hunting sites. Who here feels they wished their hunting partners took their elk hunting/calling more serious?

ElkNut1

[otcWill]

It's as if you read my mind, Paul. I get my bull solo every year for that very reason. I'm the caller so I damn well better be tagged out come the time when my friends show up. My buddies laugh when I tell em "its a full time job". Most of my free time is spent hunting or improving my hunt game. Its not a hobby for me at all. Its my passion. Yes, I wish my buddies would take it this seriously, but I don't judge them for it and I'm proud to be the guy who "makes it happen" for a handful of guys each year

[ElkNut1]

Will, thanks for your thoughts! You are spot on when you refer to elk hunting as a year around commitment, many do not see it that way & do look at it as a hobby. I realize serious elk hunting isn't for all but it would be nice to the others in the group to have a part & take that part serious enough to be an asset! It's just food for thought for those who have members in their group that wish they'd take their calling more seriously as well as other features that may need work! (grin) Thanks!

Sent you a PM.

ElkNut1

[LckyTylr]

I still haven't found a archery-hunting partner that will hunt the way I do or can get away for long weekends like I do . . . so I'm always the caller as I'm solo . . . except this year.

I don't know that it made that much of a difference, I think I could have called that bull in all by myself as my buddies (one of which doesn't even own a call) weren't calling very much to my bull. As I'd instructed to one of my buddies, I was going to do 75% or more of the calling and I needed him to pitch in with whatever he could contribute to make it sound like we were a small herd dispersed on the hillside in the scattered timber. It worked perfectly, he called occasionally with a very basic mew with little variation, but it was enough for me to play off of with more excited cow and calf talk.

I'd hate to think that my last 5 years of struggle could have been filled with opportunities had I been hunting with another person that could call . . . but there's a very high probability that I could have tagged out in my first few seasons looking back on all of the opportunities I had where I needed "just one more step" that a 2nd caller could have likely aided with.

Anyways, yes, I always have been and will likely continue to be the only caller until I can find a hunting partner . . . but that's like getting the stars to align for someone that didn't grow up here and doesn't have hunting family nearby.

[Heartwood]

I'm greatful to have one elk hunting partner who is as dedicated as i am. Twinkieman is a fantastic caller with an exceptional ability to read a situation and respond appropriately. Unfortunately we don't hunt together most of the time. This past season we each harvested our bulls on solo missions but packed quarters together with the help of his two mules. I have many years of solo elk hunting in my past but after seeing how deadly the team calling method is i am sold. We have been using Elknuts system of calling for about five years and our success has increased greatly. We now average a bull within archery range once every other day in the field which allows for a lot of opportunities for a harvest. The various other members of our camp do not have the dedication or ability to back us up as callers so we often call for them. Don't get me wrong, i enjoy the excitement of calling for these guys especially after i'm tagged out but it would be nice to have them call also. As it stands right now, none of them are able to produce accurate elk sounds or use those sounds appropriately in an elk sentence. My goal for next season is to use a team approach on most elk setups. I'm not sure yet how to make this happen but it could involve some new blood along with teaming up more often. I'm fairly certian that we have a shot at going 100% success in coming seasons with a few changes.

[under H2O hunter]

Yep sure am. But thats ok by me as I enjoy seeing others be successful more then my own success. When you have killed lots of elk, that feeling of accomplishment starts to fade and and become a feeling of routine and normal. So by calling elk in for others and sharing in their excitement of success is what I personally enjoy more now. That being said this past hunting season I was privlidged to hunt a few days with another bow hunter who has the same skill set as I do as well as the motivation to go into some really nasty places. It was a different feeling for sure. To know that our odds were increased simply by having someone else who knows how to play the game is a powerful feeling.

[pointysticks]

last time i made elk noises with mouth calls..my brother gave me the best look and whispered..."shut the eff up!!..what is that?"

hhahhaha...i've gotten much better.

[MT_Nate]

I'd hate to think that my last 5 years of struggle could have been filled with opportunities had I been hunting with another person that could call . . . but there's a very high probability that I could have tagged out in my first few seasons looking back on all of the opportunities I had where I needed "just one more step" that a 2nd caller could have likely aided with.

Anyways, yes, I always have been and will likely continue to be the only caller until I can find a hunting partner . . . but that's like getting the stars to align for someone that didn't grow up here and doesn't have hunting family nearby.

+1 to that LckyTylr. The stars definitely have to align to get a partner to hunt with who shares the same dedication and passion for the hunt as you do. As it turns out, my most reliable hunting partner is my 15 year-old daughter - I only wish my kids had more time to hunt with me between school commitments, etc. - we get just a few days each season as a result. So I basically have a couple days per season that I have a caller available...

She drew a cow tag this year in a difficult, thick and steep unit in NW Montana and continued to be a good luck charm on every hunt we're on... 2 days of big effort and she scored. During archery season (when we can get out), she plays the cards perfectly every time.

[twinkieman]

I'm greatful to have one elk hunting partner who is as dedicated as i am. Twinkieman is a fantastic caller with an exceptional ability to read a situation and respond appropriately. Unfortunately we don't hunt together most of the time. This past season we each harvested our bulls on solo missions but packed quarters together with the help of his two mules. I have many years of solo elk hunting in my past but after seeing how deadly the team calling method is i am sold. We have been using Elknuts system of calling for about five years and our success has increased greatly. We now average a bull within archery range once every other day in the field which allows for a lot of opportunities for a harvest. The various other members of our camp do not have the dedication or ability to back us up as callers so we often call for them. Don't get me wrong, i enjoy the excitement of calling for these guys especially after i'm tagged out but it would be nice to have them call also. As it stands right now, none of them are able to produce accurate elk sounds or use those sounds appropriately in an elk sentence. My goal for next season is to use a team approach on most elk setups. I'm not sure yet how to make this happen but it could involve some new blood along with teaming up more often. I'm fairly certian that we have a shot at going 100% success in coming seasons with a few changes.

The reason Heartwood and I don't get to hunt as much together is entirely my fault. I spend the first part of hunting time making sure others are in elk, and trying to call elk in for them, spread me pretty thin for the first 4 days this past season. Then I reach a point where I absolutely have to hunt solo, just to keep my frustration with the others from becoming a problem, and my first day solo, I tagged out. If we do change a couple of things, and others will at least work a 50% harder, we will be at 100%. This season we should have been 80% ( 5 missed shots, 3 shots not even taken, and at least 4 encounters w here the shooter's weren't aggressive enough, wanting the bull to do all the work) I don't know how others will overcome their "bull fever". I have made some new rules for those who wish to hunt with Heartwood and I, nothing extreme, but it has to happen. So Paul this question you posed hit the nail on the head. Both of us want other's to be able to return the favor. Both Heartwood and myself have called in bulls for one another, and two hunters on the same page are a deadly combination.

[twinkieman]

Heartwood Is also an exceptional caller, and we ARE on the same page. He is the only one I hunt with who I would allow to setup behind me. Next season will be different, we will hunt tag team from the getgo.

[Rizzy]

I hunted solo the whole season so by default I was always the caller. Having done that I can really see the benefit of a team, especially in the more open areas I like to hunt. A hunting partner and a compound bow would have been a big advantage