Hand signals between caller and shooter.??

[Heartwood]

Our crew does some team calling/hunting every elk season and we have been talking about developing a signal system for communication between the caller and shooter. We already use a few basic signals but want to put together a better system. I'm curious what some of you Elknuts can come up with or already use for communication in a caller/shooter setup. Any and all ideas would be much appreciated. We run into situations where the shooter can see or hear things that the caller can't and would like to communicate to the caller. Somtimes the shooter has a "read" on a situation after we are already set up and wants the caller to use a specific calling sequence. What do you Elknuts do in your setups to improve communication? I know that Paul and Paul jr. use some signals but they have been hunting together for so long that they are probably able to read eachothers minds. The whole Elknut calling system certianly helps hunters to be on the same page at times as long as all have studied and understand the different names for sequences and what sounds to use to execute.

[six]

Index and middle finger pointing at my eyes means I have eyes on the prize. Index finger pointing left, right, forward means he's over there. Four fingers back and forth at my neck means we're done here. If I place my hand behind me and make a circular motion with it means keep it up it's working. Hand behind me thumb down means stop.

Just a few simple ones we use. Good thread. Hope to pick up a few more.

[Tigger]

I use 4 fingers up wiggling to say "antlers" or "bull". I pat my chest and point where I intend to move to. I point at my partner and then point where I want him to go.

The one that worked last year was using my index finger to point back and forth to my partner and I to mean "we" and then made the walking finger thing towards the bull that was calling us to him. This only worked because we had both read the playbook and understood the chuckles to mean he was calling us to him.

I put my thumbs and forefingers together and then cracked them apart to signal I would like eggs for breakfast, followed by a stirring motion to indicate an omelette. A digging motion then meant hashbrowned potatoes. For some reason, when I got back to my partner, my breakfast was not ready. He isn't real bright.

I will be reading this with interest as we discussed the need for more and better signals.

[T.B.]

Hope some of the more experienced hunters chime in on this one.
Have realized a need for signals and need to develop a few . I think this will up the odds on closing the deal on my next bowhunting hike !!

[Swede]

The truth is, I don't have a good system of signaling. The shooter needs to be undetected. Often they are out of my sight. If I can't see the elk, then it is imperative to just carefully keep reeling him in. If I don't know, it is just more calling, raking, etcetera. Ultimately it is instinct. If the setup fails, after a while the shooter will come back to me.

[Kentrek]

Hand signs are endless while hunting elk.... but probably the only important ones are letting the caller know to move up, left, or right...oh and maybe stop

[under H2O hunter]

I only use one hand signal its pretty self explanatory. I use a middle finger straight up with all my other fingers bent down. This lets my partner know that he messed up the calling and he is in my $hit house. If you can see your partner while working a bull then IMHO you're to close. We use cow calls to let our callers know what to do. two cow call from the shooter means he needs to move up. Three cow calls means its over and we can meet back up. I for one don't like my shooters to move or signal if they can keep from it. I feel it's a callers job to read what the bull is doing and adjust accordingly. If you are calling and you have a bull responding you can tell if he is moving towards you or away from you. If the bull is moving away from you and the shooter is creeping up and needs to have the caller move up as well then the shooter will give 2 cow calls. If the bull is coming and and winds the shooter and blows out or gets shot then the caller can blow 3 cow calls and the caller knows that its over and can move all the way up to the shooter.

[welka]

We tried a bunch and you actually want less. Keep it simple to a select few. Our current group of 4 are:

1. Bugle (use whatever signal you want)
2. Mew
3. Stomp on him! (used when you have bull responding and you need to p__ him off and step on his bugle)
4. I see them.

In the heat of the moment, too hard to remember any more (at least for me)!!
Good luck.

[wawhitey]