Clear something up for me please

[good2eat]

So I've read conflicting information regarding speed and sounds when looking for elk. On the one hand, I've read "mo e fast and don't worry about making noise. On the other hand, I've read mo e sliw and be as quiet as you can.

Help me understand when and where each should be used.

[powderhogg01]

If pursuing a small herd or lone animal silence is golden. when perusing a larger herd, noise seems to matter less. each encounter has its own rules.. judge the moment and do what matches the time. If the elk are noise be noise, if they are silent move slow and silent

[GobbleFarmer]

I think it mostly depends on what you are doing. What I mean is -are you trying to sneak up to them? Or are you pretending to be a cow or bull and you are going toward these other Elk(s). The situation dictates whether you should silently sneak up to them or if you need to get there fast as you can and maybe the terrain is impossible to pull a quiet sneak so you imitate an Elk and making noise is less likely to alarm the Elk(s) you are trying to sneak up on. I'm no expert (way far from it ) but this is what I gather, I bet someone will chime in with details?

[ElkNut1]

GobbleFarmer explained it well!

If sneaking in on a bugling bull & staying undetected then yes you would be in stealth mode! If cow calling or bugling your way to a bull then noise is not a factor, the bull expects to hear noise then! It's similar to calling a bull in & raking & stomping are required to make it real. During these noisy type times we are painting a picture in the minds eye of a bull.

If you have more specific encounters that you are questioning then please mention them & we will be happy to help out!

ElkNut1

[BRazz]

I typically start my morning in the dark at a likely spot, and if nothing happens after the first 30-60 minutes I move to another. Rinse and repeat... So, what about the times when you don't know whether elk are around or not, and you're moving from one spot to another? Suppose that you believe it's more likely that elk are at your destination a 1/2 mile away (maybe the next ridge over or something), but they could easily be somewhere in between here and there. How fast/noisy or slow/stealthy do you try to be?

[WapitiTalk1]

Non-verbal elk sounds always go with verbal sounds/calling from my perspective as these sounds...well, complete the picture in a target elk's mind (as Elknut mentioned) that you are in fact an elk or multiple elk. What kinds of non-verbal sounds could/should be used to accompany verbal calling? Non-verbal elk sounds may include any of the following dependent on the type of calling being done: raking, ground scraping/stomping, light brush shaking/brushing, twig snapping, water splashing, rolling a small rock or three down the steep hillside you're set up on, moving physical calling location left/right/up/down/diagnal "through" the terrain, etc.. These non verbal sounds tend to produce a more realistic picture to the target elk that you are in fact, an elk (or multiple elk) yourself. Do you know how I can tell (most of the time) that a hunter is a hunter when they are calling (in addition to their calling qualilty)? Oftentimes, a hunter will be static/immobile during their calling session, and, do not mix in any non-verbal sounds; elk are pretty smart and pick up on that also. So yes sir, one more vote for stealthing in when you're trying to get a shot on an a completely unaware elk (pretty much still hunting), or, "being the elk" through use of non-verbal elk noises for calling situations.

[good2eat]

I probably need to provide a bit more info. I hunted hard this year, scouted several areas, found tons of sign and great terrain. Opening day, the elk are gone, no fresh sign, no animals.

I spent the entire season trying to local them. When trying to locate, I moved quickly, covered a ton of ground, called as I moved along, but not too much (as far as I know!). I was able to call in 1 bull (to less than 5 yards) but he was so quiet I didn't know he was there until I blew him out. Bumped one other bull and then a group of 6 elk but they were gone in a flash. The entire time I was in the woods I didn't hear a peep.

My concern was I was moving quickly and bumped them out ahead of me because there was no way to local them? so I'm not sure if I was moving too quickly or what - advice I've read and heard is move fast until you find them and then slow down but I don't know if that works well in the situation where they are quiet, quiet, quiet.

[GobbleFarmer]

I may be completely wrong, and the Elk hunting vets are more than welcome to correct me or slap me if need be, but this is how I see it...

As far as I know, when you are calling when you are moving thats basically cold calling and generally you stay put for a while after calling. Or were you bugling and not getting responses and just kept going? Try to keep your eyes peeled! look as far as you can into the woods and everywhere in between- constantly! This is something I have to mentally remind myself almost every time I'm in the woods.
If you are running straight into Elk, then perhaps you are going too fast, again- eyes peeled, and constantly scanning. If you didn't hear a peep then that means the Elk must have been silent at the time of year (duh, Gobble ) but if they are silent then you need to employ other strategy's of finding them. You aren't going to feel or taste them yet, as this is the end result, and you can't hear them, so this leaves seeing and smelling them. If you smell them than you are down wind of them or an area they have fairly recently been and this is a good head start. So glass for them if you can, but this may not always be possible so sometimes you need to dive right in and creep through the woods trying to find them with your eyes at a fairly close range, so then you probably want to quietly sneak more than anything else.

[Tigger]

I have often struggled with this question as well and I think I can kinda answer the question sometimes! The mountains are big. Lots of territory. elk are relatively few. Kinda like finding the needle in the haystack. Some areas are more likely to hold elk. Many areas only hold elk occasionally. So when you are hunting, it pays to move quickly over terrain that is less likely to hold elk and slow down in the elky stuff. The problem is, how do you know when to slow down? Experience, luck, and paying close attention to the keys. Are you finding beds, fresh poop, poop in piles vs all strung out, smelling elk, flat areas on slopes, feeding areas, areas by saddles, etc. Not saying you wont bump an elk on a slope with no other indicators, but that is an area I would move faster on. You are playing the odds. Sometimes the long odds are gonna burn you, but over time, you should begin to see more elk in the good spots than you would see in the not-so-good spots. But believe me, I know, it is hard!