Learning to replicate elk sounds and having a comprehensive understanding of what elk sounds mean, will help increase your success in the field. Don’t make the mistake of waiting for the peak of the rut to start calling in elk. Calling to bachelor bulls in the early season is a great opportunity to call in a big mature bull before he gathers cows.
Mastering the ability to create “herd talk,” the cow mew, chirp, estrous and the calf mew, chirp and lost calf sounds will help convince a bull elk that you are in fact a herd of elk. Repeating one cow sound over and over again is not as effective in the woods when trying to convince a call wise bull to come in. Learning to recreate those sounds will offer you more opportunity at success afield. Rockie Jacobsen of Rocky Mountain Hunting calls and I invite you to listen along for some great tips on how to use a diaphragm and external reed cow call to create herd talk.
Learning to judge elk behavior and planning your strategy around that particular elk’s behavior will help your call set ups become more effective. That my friends, takes time in the woods so get out there and give it a try.