Would You Ever?

[Swede]

Would you ever call an elk you could see? If so under what circumstances?

[TurkeyBowMaster]

Sure i would and already have. Called to an elk that saw me but couldn't figure out what I was. I called and did the best elk impersonation I could using a stick for antlers. I could see his body language change and he marched right in. Hit some brush and blew it, but my tactic worked. Nice bull too.

[Fridaythe13th]

absolutely, the 1st elk we got in or group we seen before we called. We spotted him down the hill 80 - 90 yards spread out, I moved up the hill 30 yards 3 soft cow call and it was over. 11 yard frontal shot.

[ElkNut1]

There are situations this can work & others it rarely does. The elk I took last year I saw first at 250 yards away & below me. I did not call until I saw him walk into the cover, that sparked him & eventually brought him to a 25 yard shot.

However, when elk are in openings big & small & hunters are barely inside treeline & they call, elk can become suspicious at this time when they hear a new elk & see nothing. These elk may ask you to show yourself in a variety of ways & when you don't they can be known to put distance between you & them! This is especially so on OTC Public Land hunts where elk receive a fair amount of calling & hunting pressure. We weigh our odds carefully before calling to visible elk.

ElkNut1

[Lefty]

,...elk can become suspicious at this time when they hear a new elk & see nothing. ElkNut1

I never thought of it that way with elk,..
thanks Paul

[twinkieman]

My thoughts on this Swede, are this. The only way that I would call to an elk I could see, would be if I could back off undetected, and have a good setup, wind in my favor, where the elk would be in bow range, when I could see him the second time. Then if all went right, the last thing he would hear, would be a nervous grunt

[Swede]

My thoughts are that it would be a very rare situation. Maybe if I was in good cover, but could stand on a log or rock and see the elk, I would do as twinkieman suggests, and call knowing the elk would believe I was hidden in the brush. Usually if a hunter can see the elk, they can see him or her they will be suspicious if they can't identify the caller.

[saddlesore]

I have couple of times. I don't know if this qualifies as an answer.

A few years ago,I had ML cow tag for a great area New Mexico. This was a land owner tag that a fellow gave me because he couldn't make the hunt.

I had hunted the 1st morning with zilch so I returned to camp. About 1 PM,I walk across the road from where I was camped and not a 100 yards in is a single file line of cows followed by a bull in fairly open country. I shot the next to the last cow in line and they all just stopped and looked at her. They were 60 yards and she had dropped on the spot.

So I figured what the heck,good time for practice and I gave it one of those long whiney cow calls and I hid behind a big ponderosa pine. The bull immediately broke away and started to walk directly towards, me and kept coming. At about ten yards ,still coming,he had look in his eye that he was about to use my call cow as a suppository on me. I was due to get screwed or gored. Neither not good. So I stepped out from behind the tree and told him to GET! You never saw such back pedaling.

Another time in the Flat Tops , a herd of elk with a nice bull were grazing out in the open. I had worked myself as close as I could,but still too far, and the only cover was a fallen tree with a big trunk that I had crawled up to. So I gave another whiney cow call and they worked closer. Interested,but not very. About 110 yards I took a shot and missed. Here they come right at me. Things I found out.You cannot reload a muzzle loader laying down and when they run past you at ten yards or so they are moving pretty darn fast .

[Elksniper1]

Absolutely I would! If we are wide open and elk can clearly see you then I'd probably just wait them out! any chance of getting behind cover or getting a decoy out withou being busted I would for sure deploy decoy and then the movement would be totally natural! Also it would depend on the elks state of mind. Is he overtaken with testosterone. If so anything is possible. Completely situational.if he is on full alert then probably just come back later and start back on him.

[Swede]

When I set up a decoy, I get in cover, off to the side, or if possible in front of it. I don't call then as I want the elk fixing its eyes on the decoy. Elk can pinpoint exactly where the call came from. My calls came from the decoy so when I move away so I can shoot; I stay quiet.