Elk calling in "the woods"

[wapitibowman]

I posted this in Phantoms thread on the Elk Calling Championship, but decided to start a new thread so as to not hijack the other.


Paul or anyone-

Does it makes a difference in the hunting world to "real elk" how good a person sounds? I'm talking about those instances when an elk hangs up, would a more precise call or a better tone bring that bull in? I know there are lots of animals killed every year by subpar calling. What I'm asking is, the better you sound, the more real you sound, does it make a difference?

I don't have any desire to be a champion elk caller in front of judges, but I do want to sound the most realistic I can. Does the extra practice really help in the Elk woods?


Wapitibowman

[WapitiTalk1]

Great thread topic Wapitbowman! Here's my 2 1/2 cents, I'm sure others will chime in with their thoughts. I truly believe that yes, the more realistic your sounds are, the better your odds are to fool an elk into continuing his (or her as the situation dictates) belief that you are in fact another elk. Do your sounds have to be competition quality? No, I don't believe so but...... the more realistic your sounds are, the better your odds are; this just stands to reason. So sure, practicing our elk sounds year round so they are as realistic as possible is a pretty darn good way help our success rates once we're finally engaged in elk battle (grin). Elk aren't the smartest critters in the world and they are really only interested in a handful of things (eating, sleeping, predator avoidance/survival, and, perpetuating the species/breeding during that special time of the year). They are reactionary creatures and don't necessarily process information with the complexity humans do. All this said, what I feel is at least as important if not more important than being a top notch caller is "understanding elk behavior and timing of our actions during the hunt". It's the "how and when" you use your calling if at all that seems to be an aspect that some folks just don't understand. Example of what I’m talking about: If you’ve dogged a moving herd to their bedding area, ensured you worked the wind to your advantage throughout the process, and now wish get a shot at a bull, what is your best option? Sitting and waiting for the herd bull to make his bed check rounds may be the best/first option in this scenario. If terrain/cover perhaps won’t allow this, then what are some other good options? A few soft cow calls may just do the trick to pull in an immediate satellite, or, get the herd bull hollering at you to “come over here now”.. Another option, if you’re truly close enough (within 70ish yards), is to give a calling cows to him bugle (that oftentimes will make a bull see crimson). Another option, is to deploy some level of the threat. Yet another option is to merely just create a non-verbal elk ruckus (raking brush, stomping the ground). All these methods require a hunter to first and foremost, understand what’s going on in that small patch of elk woods, and secondly, to understand elk behavior (and language) to read the situation correctly and react accordingly. Sorry so long winded but yes, I think it matters that a hunter has a pretty decent mastery of realistic elk sounds (making them and interpreting them), both verbal and non-verbal, but equally important is to be able to read a situation correctly and make the right plan/move to maximize a chance for success.

[wapitibowman]

Rory, I agree 100%. I have had enough conversations with Paul that I believe he would say the same thing. It's more important to understand what the elk are saying and how to respond, then it is to be perfect in your calls. I believe we are all living proof of making non-perfect elk sounds and still harvesting animals.

So, it stands to reason -the better elk caller you are, the better tones and sounds you can make (on a difficult animal) - you will have a greater chance for success.

So, here's the next question. How does a person become better when he doesn't know how to improve? I can practice and practice and practice thinking that I am making great sounds, but without feedback, I have no way of knowing.

We should all try to become the best callers we can be, but how do we get there?

[ElkNut1]

Rocky, listen to real elk! This is something that works well for me. Record real elk or just listen to the Sounds By The Elk CD since these are elk making the various sounds that are defined. Now record yourself & compare. Make adjustments where needed whether it be various bugles or chuckling or grunting! Same with your cow sounds! This can work for everyone!

As far as to your first question on how good do we need to be, we should be fairly good, this can be defined differently depending on the individual! (grin) That entails being better than just average! Like golfing, how good do you want to be, lots of practice from sound instruction will help you a lot in your practice sessions, same with learning & polishing up your elk calling.

Calling elk is situational, the more confident & fluent you are the more you are apt to use either bull or cow sounds when the time is right. So many shy away from bull sounds simply because they know they lack believability in their tones. Be good enough to have confidence in your calling. When you know you sound very similar to real elk as you compare your recordings then you know you are on the right track!

Elk come in various ages & genders, this means some sound immature & some mature. Depending on the elk you are trying to imitate will help you to decide which is needed in a particular encounter. Using the Right Sound at the right time is much more important than using any sound just because you sound good with it! (grin) Right sound right encounter can go a long ways!

It's like fishing, great lure at the wrong depth can net little to nothing, average to below average lure at the right depth can still trigger a strike!

Hangups are generally an issue when the hunter allows elk to get to a point where they know they should see something from the source of the calling they heard from a specific spot. Setups are so important when doing your best to avoid hangups. Of course crappy calling can cause suspicion but it's not as bad as a bad setup where elk have the luxury of staying out of your range because of a bad setup! Other things can come into play as well but that's another thread! (grin)

ElkNut1

[msd1228]

So, here's the next question. How does a person become better when he doesn't know how to improve? I can practice and practice and practice thinking that I am making great sounds, but without feedback, I have no way of knowing.

Record yourself over and over and over and over. When you are sick of listening to yourself, record yourself 10 more times. Send your recordings your friends and ask for their feedback. Send your sounds to both your hunting and NON hunting friends (if they are willing to listen). I think you'd be surprised at the quality of feedback you can get from non-elk callers. They often can't tell you exactly what you are doing wrong, but their untrained ear can still pick up when a tone just doesn't sound "right". In the past we have had groups of forum members that would send sounds back and forth among ourselves - it all helps. But anyways, the just gist of it is to record yourself relentlessly, listen to recordings of real elk, record yourself mimicking that sound, then play it back to see how close you get. Eventually you'll develop your skills to the point that every sound comes second nature, on command.