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Thread: Bugling Elk, what do you suck at ?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Posts
    94

    Bugling Elk, what do you suck at ?

    I’ll be first and say when it comes to Elk hunting and bugling elk, I don’t think there is anything I am worse at.
    I suck at this.
    every year I get all worked up and tell the wife I’m going Elk hunting, she smiles and says good, but inside I think she is laughing her a** off at me.
    moose, not a problem.
    whitetails and Mules not a problem.
    Elk, they don’t exists in my world………..lol.

    I recently found a real cool app call Elk Nut, with a fellow named Paul Medel and he seems to have this dialed right in.
    I watch the videos , sit in front of my computer , Put my mouth on the reed exactly as the guy in the video says , record myself and play it back, compare it to other callers and actual Elk calling and wham, damm I sound good, I’m gonna have every Elk in BC running over to me. I drive to work and home with an Elk reed in my mouth listening to myself cow call, I get a new reed, got a hooch mama, you squeeze it and it’s makes different cow calls, and off I go every year with my new found knowledge and skill set in pursuit of the Elusive Ghost of the wilderness, the bull Elk.
    for the many ears, I hunted with Dad in Alberta, we took our fare share of moose and whitetails but never Elk.
    Dad said it’s a good thing he didn’t hunt with Dynamite as he would have blown up all of Alberta looking for Elk.

    so I go out opening day ( a little Smokey/ different story ) and Find a place, no one around, park early, hike in 8 kms, find a spot overlooking the intersection of 2 valleys and try to broadcast my calls as best as I can to as big an audience as I can, thinking the bush is full of Elk.

    I start out with some soft cow calls and lead into a advertising bugle ( like what Paul Medel calls them )

    eeeuuuww, eeeuuuwww ……..nothing
    eeeuuuwww, eeeuuuwww, nothing
    wait an eternity, likely 10 minutes…….not a sound
    okay, time to let the dogs out.
    Uuuaaarrrggghhh, ……..nothing
    wait forever , likely 7-8 minutes
    Uuuaaarrrggghhh, , nothing
    wait again forever………….
    Uuuaaarrrggghhh, followed by 4 chuckles.

    nothing,…. Even the birds stopped chirping, I’m thinking to all sit and watch me wondering what the hell is he doing.
    I’m thinking if Elk have a sense of humour, they are down there in the valley bottom rolling on their backs in laughter, “ did you guys hear that guy up there playing the bag pipes”.

    so this is where the problem is:
    my bugle sounds like I got a cat under my arm pit and I’m biting his tail thinking I’m playing the bag pipes.

    Id probably be better of learning calculus in Chinese, than learning to Elk bugle.

    how is your elk bugling. ?
    Last edited by Leveraction; 09-11-2021 at 03:50 PM.

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Posts
    1,081

    Re: Bugling Elk, what do you suck at ?

    Not saying I have a lot of good experience calling elk. But my dog called in a nice bull whining at me while I was petting a stray horse In my meadow last fall. Sadly I was carrying a 22 so I could shoot grouse with the dog. One of the biggest fail moments of my hunting days.

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    4,368

    Re: Bugling Elk, what do you suck at ?

    I use an old E.L.K brand bugle. I like it because its so easy to use but I've tried a couple other bugles and they seem pretty easy as well. I just like the tone of my old bugle best. Don't get to hung up on exactly how your bugle sounds but if you think it's crap, try another call or get a friend to help you sort it out.

    Just because an elk didn't respond vocally doesn't necessarily mean one hasn't heard you or you are doing something wrong.

    Like you, when I started all I wanted was to hear a bull bugle back. After a while trying, I had a hard time believing what I was doing would work and it was hard to stay motivated.

    As it turned out, I was hunting the archery season. I have since learned it isn't unusual to not get a bugle in response during this period in this spot.

    I ended up calling in and killing my first two bulls and my partners first and not one of them made any vocalisation in response to my calls. All 3 responded to calling by coming in to investigate and not making as much as a peep.

    Last year I hunted the same area only mid Sept and I had bulls bugeling back on day 1 and killed and eager young 5x6 that was happy to scream at me. I was calling the same as I did back. Same technique, same area, same calls, only a couple weeks later.

    Keep at it.
    Last edited by Ron.C; 09-11-2021 at 10:05 PM.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Posts
    3,381

    Re: Bugling Elk, what do you suck at ?

    Those mouth reed calls make me gag. I wouldn't make a very good homosexual. Seems to me elk hunting requires patience and persistence. I live in a area where there is generally alot of elk and I've got my favorite spots which have proven to be productive over the years but very rarely do I go out and shoot one after only one day of hunting but it does happen. I use a powr bugle with a cow elk talk.

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Kelowna
    Posts
    3,776

    Re: Bugling Elk, what do you suck at ?

    Leaveraction...as bad as you are...I suck like a Hoover vacuum.
    No one seems willing to teach me and the calling class at Great North Precision was held on a 45 deg. day so as much as I would have liked to I stayed home in the AC.
    I just use the Hoochie Mama and their calf call...not even I can screw that up.
    The big thing is I don't over call.
    if people of color do it, it's "affirmative action" "civil rights", etc, etc. If a bunch of white folks do it....its "racist" and "hate speech" quote Willyqbc

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Posts
    2,482

    Re: Bugling Elk, what do you suck at ?

    It’s possible that there wasn’t any elk in the area or that they didn’t hear the bugle or simply didn’t care. Just because you let out a cow call or bugle it doesn’t mean that an elk will respond vocally.

    2 nights ago I was watching a legal bull. He was on a river bank rolling in the mud, gouging the mud with his antlers and bucking/jumping around. After 10min he started to wonder off so I tried cow calling to keep him around. He would stop and look my direction every time I’d call but he never made a sound and continued to walk away.

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    8,515

    Re: Bugling Elk, what do you suck at ?

    There might be no elk in the area.
    Or, they aren't responding, or they are waiting til a time when they want to, which might be just before dark.
    A bull laying in a wallow may not say a word til almost dark.
    A bull may just slip in being absolutely quiet.
    Being perfect at calling is not the only way.
    Seen plenty of half assed callers have success.
    The Power Bugle is a good call for just doing the main bugle and will get a response if a bull is around and if he wants to reply/

    Fresh elk sign or spotting elk is the only sure way to know if elk are around to begin with.
    Calling and hearing nothing doesnt mean anything on its own.

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    British Columbia, Canada
    Posts
    606

    Re: Bugling Elk, what do you suck at ?

    I'm good a calling. Basically I know what I'm saying. Called in two bulls last year for my partners that were shot.

    This year I've pulled in too many bulls not have killed one. I now know that I need to get better at my setups.

    To your point though, my hunting partner and I are excellent callers and we've had a few days of absolute silence this season. This includes covering 40km of country looking for them.

    So your calling may be just fine and the elk just aren't there.

    Keep covering ground and making the kind of call you think they want to hear.

    Good luck!

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Posts
    94

    Re: Bugling Elk, what do you suck at ?

    Thank everyone for the encouragement
    Ill try again this coming weekend.

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    N. Okanagan
    Posts
    14,182

    Re: Bugling Elk, what do you suck at ?

    I suck at leaving the calls at home and just going to find elk
    They sell them so they have to be used....right? )
    Never say whoa in the middle of a mud hole

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