Archery Elk Hunting - Media Tactics vs Reality

[tomengineer]

I'm heading to CO in September (10-17) and have been consuming every YouTube video, book, podcast etc. I can find to educate myself on elk behavior and elk hunting during that time of the year. I've heard many people recommend covering lots of ground and calling often in order to locate bulls. I can't tell if this is to make better content on YouTube or if this is really the way an average hunter does it. I've read a small minority that advise less is more in terms of calling, especially in OTC units. This will be my first elk hunt but I'm a relatively experienced archery white-tail hunter and have hunted mule deer with a rifle in ID. I'm on the east coast and have never heard a live elk bugle to give you an idea of the depth (lack of) of my field experience with elk behavior. I am not really comfortable relying on calling so heavily but am practicing so I can if that is the consensus best method. My first instinct is to find food and bedding sources and attempt to ambush them or spot and stalk them rather than rely on calls. My questions are:

1) How much are you calling when hunting a pressured archery unit? Is it for location purposes or only once you've heard a bugle you believe to be an animal and not another hunter?
2) Am I way off base here in thinking that ambush/spot and stalk is more effective for a beginner than calling? Obviously that's highly terrain dependent but if calling is what works then I'll go with it.
3) If you were going to try to ambush them in morning or evening would an interface between conifer and deciduous forests be a good place to try to do that? I understand open meadows are also potential food sources. Somewhere near their beds on north facing slopes?
4) Send GPS coordinates for places you've got them in the past to save me some learning time. (kidding don't assault me in the comments)

I would appreciate some perspective on this from folks with experience in OTC units especially. I'm treating this whole trip as a learning exercise and good times with friends in the mountains but I'm thinking I've consumed so much elk hunting media there might be a disconnect between what I expect and the reality of this type of hunt.

Thanks,
Tom

 

[MTHunter1321]

Don’t you know that you’ll never kill a bull if you don’t wake up at 2am and bugle?!

I wish I knew the answer for you! I’ve been archery hunting for 7 years and have yet to have something to show for my efforts. I’ve found a bugle may be good to locate elk but once you’ve laid eyes on them I’d recommend going silent. Make sure wind is in your face and be patient. Good luck with your hunt!

 

[geewhiz]

1)/ 2)So much of my elk hunting strategy is dependent upon each and every unique situation. I won't go into a season saying "I'm not gonna call, just spot and stalk", or visa versa. I realize it takes time to learn elk behavior and how to pick up on moods and behavioral cues, but that is how I base my strategy. Generally speaking I prefer to hunt more passively. I would prefer if the elk and other hunters don't even know I'm around, as opposed to trying to convince them that I'm an elk. That being said, there have been times when animals have been in the right moods, that I have been downright aggressive and it worked to my advantage. One thing I will say for your benefit and the benefit of others, being as you're a new hunter (and I assume relatively new at calling), do everyone a favor and don't be the guy that bugles every 2 minutes everywhere he goes, all it does is educate the elk.

3) I dont know that a "forest interface" would be any advantage as much as just a well traveled route between feed, bed, and/or water. Ambush has been an effective strategy for me in the past but you can get hosed in a heart beat if you're not paying attention to the wind. I know of a good water hole that gets hit with elk throughout the day almost daily. I have watched elk get out of their beds mid day and go to water, and then back to bed. Tempting to set up and sit all day, but until the first evening shadows are cast on that water and the thermals switch and head down, the wind will screw you every time. Just something to keep in mind.

There are alot of good and successful hunters on you tube, and alot of good information out there. But there is also a good portion of it that is out there just to make good TV, that is crap as far as realistic elk hunting goes. In high pressure OTC units, elk are not dumb.They know what a phelps bugle tube sounds like along with every other brand. Cruising around blowing your bugle every 5 seconds is going to do nothing except let animals know where not to go. Every elk hunter wants that Will Primos moment of a giant bull screaming his head off to every sound you make, coming in on a string. The fact is, that does happen on occasion, but those moments are few and far between.

Give yourself realistic expecations, get in shape, and have the time of your life, I'm sure you will.

 

[MTLabrador]

In general units I generally get closer to more elk when I make less noise, but I’m also not a great caller.

 

[tomengineer]

Don’t you know that you’ll never kill a bull if you don’t wake up at 2am and bugle?!

I wish I knew the answer for you! I’ve been archery hunting for 7 years and have yet to have something to show for my efforts. I’ve found a bugle may be good to locate elk but once you’ve laid eyes on them I’d recommend going silent. Make sure wind is in your face and be patient. Good luck with your hunt!

Excellent thanks for the feedback.

 

[tomengineer]

1)/ 2)So much of my elk hunting strategy is dependent upon each and every unique situation. I won't go into a season saying "I'm not gonna call, just spot and stalk", or visa versa. I realize it takes time to learn elk behavior and how to pick up on moods and behavioral cues, but that is how I base my strategy. Generally speaking I prefer to hunt more passively. I would prefer if the elk and other hunters don't even know I'm around, as opposed to trying to convince them that I'm an elk. That being said, there have been times when animals have been in the right moods, that I have been downright aggressive and it worked to my advantage. One thing I will say for your benefit and the benefit of others, being as you're a new hunter (and I assume relatively new at calling), do everyone a favor and don't be the guy that bugles every 2 minutes everywhere he goes, all it does is educate the elk.

3) I dont know that a "forest interface" would be any advantage as much as just a well traveled route between feed, bed, and/or water. Ambush has been an effective strategy for me in the past but you can get hosed in a heart beat if you're not paying attention to the wind. I know of a good water hole that gets hit with elk throughout the day almost daily. I have watched elk get out of their beds mid day and go to water, and then back to bed. Tempting to set up and sit all day, but until the first evening shadows are cast on that water and the thermals switch and head down, the wind will screw you every time. Just something to keep in mind.

There are alot of good and successful hunters on you tube, and alot of good information out there. But there is also a good portion of it that is out there just to make good TV, that is crap as far as realistic elk hunting goes. In high pressure OTC units, elk are not dumb.They know what a phelps bugle tube sounds like along with every other brand. Cruising around blowing your bugle every 5 seconds is going to do nothing except let animals know where not to go. Every elk hunter wants that Will Primos moment of a giant bull screaming his head off to every sound you make, coming in on a string. The fact is, that does happen on occasion, but those moments are few and far between.

Give yourself realistic expecations, get in shape, and have the time of your life, I'm sure you will.

Good information. Thanks for the response. Those thoughts are inline with what I was thinking.

 

[pilsner]

Doing my second 2 week pack in trip for Colorado elk starting the week before you.
Into an OTC unit known for SILENT elk.
* Local lore has it that the first Hoochie Mamma call + the first Phelps Bugle tube call of the year starts the annual elk migration to private land)*

It's mostly too thick to glass more than 30 yards.
Other than sitting over wallows and playing the wind while watching game trails how the hell do you locate where elk are at?
See a ton of sign for where the used to be but that didn't prove helpful last year despite 2 weeks plus to unravel the sign.

 

[Mudranger1]

If your decent at calling the elk will not know you're a person. I generally start passive cow calls and play the mood of the animal. You get close enough without them knowing you're a person you can agitate a bull easily with bugles. If they aren't talking I have gone to straight hell raising on the bugle tube and have made them mad enough to come in even when I didn't know they were around until they were within a couple hundred yards and closing fast. If you want to bugle every 2 minutes I say let er rip. If people can't tell your not an elk you are doing something right. Generally speaking it's not that hard to distinguish an elk from a person calling. On the bugle tube most people just don't have the capability of realistic tones of girgling and growling you will hear from a live bull. Cow calls just like turkeys calls most humans get fixated on certain rhythms/cadences. It's all about what you want out of your hunt. You probably have a better chance sitting a active water hole/wallow. But it doesn't compare to talking to them. It truly is a learning curve and animals moods.

 

[tomengineer]

If your decent at calling the elk will not know you're a person. I generally start passive cow calls and play the mood of the animal. You get close enough without them knowing you're a person you can agitate a bull easily with bugles. If they aren't talking I have gone to straight hell raising on the bugle tube and have made them mad enough to come in even when I didn't know they were around until they were within a couple hundred yards and closing fast. If you want to bugle every 2 minutes I say let er rip. If people can't tell your not an elk you are doing something right. Generally speaking it's not that hard to distinguish an elk from a person calling. On the bugle tube most people just don't have the capability of realistic tones of girgling and growling you will hear from a live bull. Cow calls just like turkeys calls most humans get fixated on certain rhythms/cadences. It's all about what you want out of your hunt. You probably have a better chance sitting a active water hole/wallow. But it doesn't compare to talking to them. It truly is a learning curve and animals moods.

Ok good deal thanks. I’ll probably end up doing a mix of both (sitting and calling)just for the fun of it.

 

[tomengineer]

Doing my second 2 week pack in trip for Colorado elk starting the week before you.
Into an OTC unit known for SILENT elk.
* Local lore has it that the first Hoochie Mamma call + the first Phelps Bugle tube call of the year starts the annual elk migration to private land)*

It's mostly too thick to glass more than 30 yards.
Other than sitting over wallows and playing the wind while watching game trails how the hell do you locate where elk are at?
See a ton of sign for where the used to be but that didn't prove helpful last year despite 2 weeks plus to unravel the sign.

I kind of want to buy one of these Hoochie Mama calls I keep reading about. The actual reviews on them are pretty good. But I will say that I think I’ve got cow calls going pretty well on my diaphragm.

 

[pilsner]

Ok good deal thanks. I’ll probably end up doing a mix of both (sitting and calling)just for the fun of it.

Giving serious thought to taking in a couple trail cameras and my saddle setup. Set cameras on water and let them marinate for a day or three while I go walkabout in the unit looking for fresh sign. Always have a back up plan or three!

 

[squirrel]

Ron White... great elk hunter. I had the RIGHT to remain silent... but not the ability.

You cannot un-ring a bell.

 

[dgc1963]

Not an expert here but use your head more than your call
I like to try and get in close calling less depending on the situation and how much talking the elk are doing

 

[kwyeewyk]

I think it's important to understand calling well before really using it as a tool, learn as much as you can about different calls for both bugles and cow/calf calls, it's a language and they speak at specific times for specific reasons. A lost calf will call much differently than a group of cows split up moving through a spruce thicket keeping track of each other, bulls use different bugles when talking to cows vs. other bulls. If you can't understand the language you can't really speak it. Once you've listened to lots of elk sounds on the internet, and understand this type of call should be answered with X call back, get out with the elk and start the real world experience, feel it out, listen to what they're saying, how much they're talking, and call appropriately. Otherwise I feel like uneducated callers are really just educating the elk, for years to come.

 

[DouglasR]

If I’m an above average heckler/troll will that make me a better elk caller?

 

[DouglasR]

Does anybody else try to project
“FFFFFFFFFF youuuuuu”
When they hit a locator bugle?

 

[TheTone]

Does anybody else try to project
“FFFFFFFFFF youuuuuu”
When they hit a locator bugle?

According to several calling experts they know exactly what the elk and the calls they are using are saying. Just depends on which expert you want to pay to learn it from

 

[BackofBeyond]

Does anybody else try to project
“FFFFFFFFFF youuuuuu”
When they hit a locator bugle?

Not on a locator, but once I’ve got one fired up and raking - yes. So much “effffff youuuuuuu” rolled into a scream/lip bawl/chuckle.

 

[teamhoyt]

A hootchie mama is the best selling cow call on the market. However it it not the best, is it better than nothing?.....not in my opinion. It takes a fair bit of time to learn elk usually. Ive hunted and killed elk calling ,stalking, ambushing. They all have there time and place. Id say overall if your unsure of your calling abilities its best to remain silent. A few things about elk. They dont mind noise, naturally sound noises ie. Branches breaking, rocks kicked ect. Dont bother them much. The one thing you will NEVER do is beat the wind. If they smell you its game over.

 

[220yotekiller]

I have never bugled in a bull in my life, that being said I always rely heavly on cow calls. I once called in a bull from 200 yards to about 15 yards using a simple exposed reed cow call and I wasn't wearing any camo! I would get as far back in as the elk are and try to stalk in close before I even made a peep. From there it is up to the situation as to how it turns out. Even the most educated and call shy elk in the world turns into an idiot that time of year. Another thing to look at is moon phase, if it is nice and bright the elk will be more active at night so if you can figure out where they are going to in the daytime ambush hunting is a great way to do it. The first time you hear a bull screaming, it is impressive. When he is close to you it is terrifying, you can literally feel the vibration.