I did something different.
Last year was my first time elk hunting. So naturally I started early to prep for it, and started learning with diaphragm calls. Well it turns out my gag reflex was just too crazy with most calls, until I tried the one for youth. I guess I'm not a "big mouth". That made me start trimming the regular calls I already had, and presto, this worked wonders. Practice, practice, practice, more like learn, learn. The wife and kids got tired of hearing me even though I was mostly in the basement, and even when driving on any length of trips.
Then I started to try and figure out what I was going to use for a tube. No way I was paying that stupid money for a plastic tube. Bunch of youtube videos later, I settled on a "dollar store" gadget. Yep, small plastic bat, that unscrews in the middle, and held a few plastic balls inside it. Cut out the opening, and had an old camo t-shirt that I ended up gluing on it. It was bright orange and green, so this toned it down, and seemed to tone down the resonance a bit. Old hockey skate finished off the build as a shoulder carry.
How do I know if it worked. Well, my first morning out, first time elk hunting, I was having bugles all around me, and was playing them. Man was that an experience. No I didn't end up calling any out that first morning, but I was "hooked". As the week progressed I was able to call out a large 5x5. Yep only 5x5 in a six zone. He came out of the timber, 250 yards and circled around 180 yards out. Yep I checked about 4 million times for that elusive 6th point. He ended up going back into the timber. This was about 10:00 am already, bull sun out, but some wind. I thought what the heck and started to challenge bugle him to see what he would do. It turns out, he had no idea where I was, and I ended up getting some great phone footage of him coming past me within 25 yards. He only somewhat saw me as he came out onto the road I was near, about 40 yards past me and looked back towards my direction as he heard voices coming from the next clearing near us. I know he wasn't spooked, as he took another 10 min or so to meander back the way he came into the bush. Talk about a "jacked up" experience of a lifetime for me.
Two days later I called out a few cows with 2 smaller spikers. So I know it works, just a matter of learning more of the elk "speak" and when to use what call sequence. Yea, I was starting to learn a bit of that just before the season started.
So all that to say, yes a $2 home made tube does work. It is about 20" long, 5" wide on the big end, well you know how a bat looks like.
Something like this, but the dollar store $$.
https://well.ca/products/franklin-sp...RoCgHkQAvD_BwE
Originally Posted by wallz
I did something different.
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