Misreading Elk Sounds

[Swede]

A classic bugle is easy to differentiate from all other sounds we hear in the forest, but what about the other sounds they make? I have been surprised, and I know of others that misread what they have heard.
I was out with my son one day when I said, "that is a herd of elk over the ridge". He said, "No, it is just some birds". We ran up to the ridge and sure enough it was a herd of cow elk. I recognized the subtle difference because of the times I was fooled or surprised.
A friend thought he heard a grouse drumming in the Fall when he was cow calling. What he heard was a bull chuckle.
Of coarse many of us have been fooled when we mistook a hunter for a bull and vice versa. I was never so surprised when a hunter came along after making some of the most realistic bull guttural sounds I ever heard. I see Paul has a conversation on another forum about glunking. I don't know if I have ever heard a bull glunk. If I have, I misread it or forgot.
Do any of you have any good stories around the theme of misreading elk sounds?
I have a couple I will add later about mistaking a bull thrashing a bush and a bear which I will add later.

[ElkNut1]

swede, check this bull out Glunking here! He's Glunking a hunter that is bugling him, more like calling his cows away! You may have to copy & paste the link to your URL if it does not highlight!

https://youtu.be/xQpc-jSUEq0

ElkNut1

[Trophyhill]

this year as I was napping on the mountain, I heard a thrashing noise not more than 5 yards from me. i remember thinking "holy crap! a bull is thrashing a tree right next to me". as i opened my eyes and slowly rolled over to get a look, a cow was stomping the trail right beside me. good thing there was a barb wire fence between us or i may have got stomped.

[Dr. Rx]

swede, check this bull out Glunking here! He's Glunking a hunter that is bugling him, more like calling his cows away! You may have to copy & paste the link to your URL if it does not highlight!

https://youtu.be/xQpc-jSUEq0

ElkNut1

forgive me.. in watching that video.. was the hunter bugling him after he heard the glunking? He sure brought him over like a string..

Kris

[Swede]

Paul I appreciate the link. I just don't ever remember hearing it in the forest. I liked your demonstration on the DVDs, and figure my grunt tube could do the job for me if the situation was right.
Note: If a bull had ever starts that nonsense around me, I will shoot him if at all possible.

[cohunter]

I called in a cow last year which hung up at about 40 Yards with some brush and stuff in the way. She was staring intently at the spot about 30 yards to my North that I had called from and 'barking' - or so I thought... I thought "Oh, great! now every elk on the hillside is headed out of here!" But she stood there for about ten minutes 'barking.' I came back home and read my copy of Elknut's Playbook... wasn't a warning bark at all, but a nervous grunt! Had I known that and played my cards differently, I may have had a better chance of success! All that to say everybody's got to start learning the language somewhere: Elknut's resources have been GREAT!

[Swede]

I have not heard a bull glunk, so waiting around for a first may take awhile. So when would you try using a glunk? Would it be a good initial call if you know you are in close to a herd?

[ElkNut1]

One thing to take note of when considering to use Glunking towards any elk including cows is that's it's a sound representing Dominance. Glunking is used towards both bulls & cows but for two different reasons. When a bull is glunking at another bull it's an intimidation or warning, when he's glunking cows it can be an invite to a new cow joining or instilling in his present harem his sound & who he is. Herd bulls will also do this with their bugling, if they end up separated they will know him by his regathering bugles.

Bulls using glunks generally have cows & one or more is in or nearing estrus therefore this bull can be easily motivated to get aggressive. If another bull was to come in or near his herd representing dominance by glunking or bugling to draw his cows away at that time then things can get heated & a physical appearance is likely under the right wind & cover conditions. But outside of cows being in heat glunking is pretty much non existent. Forcing glunking on a herd bull with no cows in heat/estrus is a crap shoot, in most cases the herd bull just doesn't care.

So using glunking or any intimidation sounds bulls use are all about the right time of its use.

ElkNut1

[mongopino915]

I recalled the first time we (totally rookies) heard a bull glunking. We (three of us) were walking on a flat top with good cover cow calling like a small herd of cows making their way through the area. We heard glunking and had no idea it was a bull elk coming and calling us to him. Before we knew it, we stumbled onto a huge 6x6 looking at us not more than 30 yards away. We were just as surprised as he was, only to be disappointed.

On a different encounter.

We went after this herd bull fast and aggressive with nothing but in your face scream. When we got to within 40 - 50 yards, we could see the bull and cows in the thicker but the bull would not come out. My shooter was at full draw 10 yards in front. I could see that my shooter was shaking bad as he could not hold at full any longer and was about to let down. The last sounds the shooter heard was "BLONG, BLONG, BLONG, BLONG, BLONG" before the arrow zipped right into the boiler followed by a crashing sound 10 seconds later.

Whether it was a display of dominance, intimidation, warning, or inviting his ladies right in front of the herd bull by me, it did not matter. We are just grateful that it worked.

Like Paul stated above, using the right sound (i.e. glunking) at the right time was key.

[Trophyhill]

I herd lots of glunking this past season. both before and after bugles, and without bugles. very neat sound. I got to see this as well following some bugles from 1 bull. one night I had a bull bugling near my camp. a couple minutes later I heard him glunking very close to my tent. then more bugling as he was a little further past my tent. it was obvious he was roaming and looking for cows in the dead of night. I will say too that I probably would not of heard the glunking had I been further from these animals. after hearing and seeing that this year, I believe without doubt that elk glunk far more often than we know. we just aren't close enough to hear it a lot of times.

[Kentrek]

I often archery hunt some crazy thick stuff in western wa, typically have to get them under 15 yards for a shot to ever happen...this can hurt our odds alot but it makes for a ton of fun calling then in !!! Some of the noises you hear while under 30 yards is scary ! I know a couple bulls that I think alot of hunters would mistake as grizzly bears...deep grunts and roars that hardly sound like they come from a vegetarian

[mongopino915]

I herd lots of glunking this past season. both before and after bugles, and without bugles. very neat sound. I got to see this as well following some bugles from 1 bull. one night I had a bull bugling near my camp. a couple minutes later I heard him glunking very close to my tent. then more bugling as he was a little further past my tent. it was obvious he was roaming and looking for cows in the dead of night. I will say too that I probably would not of heard the glunking had I been further from these animals. after hearing and seeing that this year, I believe without doubt that elk glunk far more often than we know. we just aren't close enough to hear it a lot of times.

Bull elk sometimes uses low volume soft glunking, bugles, and chuckling to call cows to him at close distance when he does not want to advertise loudly to give up his location or presence. This is also especially true when the area has been pressured and the elk are call shy and/or less vocal.

We (my partner and I) hunt throughout the whole day most of the time. The noon time (10 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.) is pretty much reserved to venture into the cool North facing slopes with thick drainages where we know elk could be bedded down. We would quietly (I mean very quietly) sneak in and set up in these areas using very low volume and soft cow calls. Sometimes, you could hear very soft bugles, chuckling, or glunking as the bull is calling you to him while coming in, but be farther than 60 yards away and you would have a hard time hearing the bull. At times, the caller could not hear the bull glunking but the shooter could.

Elk know how find other elk at all hours and they just do it more quietly. We just do the same and it has worked well but knowing the areas well is key.

When taking a break for snack or lunch, we would pick an area that is conducive to a setup, have arrow nocked, and send one cow mew while we quietly snack/lunch with our eyes and hears fully engaged in the surrounding. Even when taking a break, you never know when a bull may just sneak up to give a chance to take one down.

Elk archery is definitely not easy and we just want to blend in, at the same time, maximize our time and opportunities to try to get one while in the wood.