Region 8 Elk silent/not responding

[TheObserver]

Any tips or suggestions? Don't bother with I suck at calling lol

They are here I know for a fact but are silent. I even hiked up to my spot 3~km away from roads at 4am today to see if I could hear them.

Called one in last week came in silent but almost ran me over (different location than i'm at now). All I heard there was 1 chuckle in a week.

Hunts coming to an end in a couple days any ideas or ways you can get them answering appreciated!

[HighCountryBC]

How familiar are you with the types of calls elk make and when to use them? It's an important and often overlooked point. Being Region 8, it's likely these elk have been called to and/or pressured already. Just starting to hit prime time now. Last week, we had to be right on top of bulls for the most part to get them making noise. Not too many interested in talking from a distance.

Sounds like you have a couple days left and the best hunting is yet to come. Good luck.

[TheObserver]

How familiar are you with the types of calls elk make and when to use them? It's an important and often overlooked point. Being Region 8, it's likely these elk have been called to and/or pressured already. Just starting to hit prime time now. Last week, we had to be right on top of bulls for the most part to get them making noise. Not too many interested in talking from a distance.

Sounds like you have a couple days left and the best hunting is yet to come. Good luck.

I only really know location and challenge bugle, cow calls.

[savage10]

Are you in an area with lots of fresh sign?

[rocksteady]

Has been queit in the EK til the past 3 or 4 days

[HarryToolips]

Sounds like you're calling from the right areas, so that's a good start... last week where I was hunting in reg4, other than 1 location bugle we followed fresh sign constantly, but had to be in very close proximity to the herd before they talked with us... just keep trying..

[Redthies]

I’ve talked to a few groups that have hunted my local herd. Nobody has heard bugger all. I did hear a few bugles, but was laughing at how bad they sounded, then met the bugler. He admitted to sucking at it;)

[Bugle M In]

Nothing you can do differently.
Those elk can be quiet.
My buddy last year did get one to respond, but only once.
And even in areas where they do bugle more commonly, there are plenty of times they will walk in quietly.
Its why when you really believe you are in an area where elk are currently, to stay put for a length of time, not just walk and walk, imo.
And many times I have watched a bull with cows just stand there quietly while hunters pass by bugling and bugling and cow calling, and come to a conclusion the elk aren’t around.

[HappyJack]

They seem to go quiet when there are packs of wolves in close proximity too.

[HighCountryBC]

Region 8 elk are no different than those found anywhere else. The suggestion that they don't talk as much is just silly.

Use appropriate tactics combined with the right calls at the right time and you'll get responses. This is true for even the most pressured herds in the Okanagan. Peak rut has wound down but some of the best hunting/calling is yet to come in October.

For the OP, if that bull is chuckling at you, I usually take that as a good sign that he's ripe to be called in. It can take a bit to work him over but shows he's interested. Soft, low chuckles are calls to cows whereas sharp, higher pitched chuckles are a sign of dominance/aggression. One of the bulls we killed this year started low and we got him worked up, recognizing he thought he could come in and take the cows led to us cutting a tag on him.

[TheObserver]

Region 8 elk are no different than those found anywhere else. The suggestion that they don't talk as much is just silly.

Use appropriate tactics combined with the right calls at the right time and you'll get responses. This is true for even the most pressured herds in the Okanagan. Peak rut has wound down but some of the best hunting/calling is yet to come in October.

For the OP, if that bull is chuckling at you, I usually take that as a good sign that he's ripe to be called in. It can take a bit to work him over but shows he's interested. Soft, low chuckles are calls to cows whereas sharp, higher pitched chuckles are a sign of dominance/aggression. One of the bulls we killed this year started low and we got him worked up, recognizing he thought he could come in and take the cows led to us cutting a tag on him.

I left that place where he was chuckling to go to my other spot, which was a mistake in hindsight I think, definitely an aggression chuckle. Trip is over now but I am going back up a little East to try and get my friend his first Buck. Was thinking of stopping by my Elk spot on the way back for a bit.

What do you figure is good for post rut/October calling, my guess would be more on the Cow call side of things for Cows that didn't get bred/going into second estrous cycle rather than bugling?

[HighCountryBC]

I left that place where he was chuckling to go to my other spot, which was a mistake in hindsight I think, definitely an aggression chuckle. Trip is over now but I am going back up a little East to try and get my friend his first Buck. Was thinking of stopping by my Elk spot on the way back for a bit.

What do you figure is good for post rut/October calling, my guess would be more on the Cow call side of things for Cows that didn't get bred/going into second estrous cycle rather than bugling?

Will pm you with some info. Fewer cows in estrous leads to more competition for the ones that are. Elk are very vocal in October and generally apply the same tactics used at the start of the season.