Early in the season, large herds of cows and calves may still follow summer patterns as they target large meadows to feed. Check out our pro advice on mouth calling, friction calls, locators, deadly setups, and more. Id recommend not bugling or cow calling unless the elk themselves are calling. This means hunting them way before the rut starts and, usually, before the bulls have gathered cows and may still be living with other bulls. This is usually more than enough to perk the interest of any elk within earshot.
As far as calling sequences go, a little goes a long way in the early season and blowing on an estrus call or bugle every ten minutes is going to do. Instead of calling his brains out at bulls during daylight hours, lile prefers to work third shift. As the season progresses, they typically dont respond to calling or answering a bugle during daylight hours. Elknuts early season elk hunting and calling tactics.
Try to use soft cow and calf calls with an occasional soft bugle. For some of us archery elk hunters, and to be more direct, utah elk hunters, we have to deal with hunting elk during the early part of august and early september. Most years lile and evans each harvest two or more elk using tactics that are anything but typical. Elk hunting might be tougher than it used to be, but that doesnt mean you cant kill a big bull on public land. The earliest ive ever had a bull come to a call was august 28. Many hunters are completely confused and dont even know where to start. How late season elk hunting is different from early season. This is the tactic i most prefer all season long, so applying it to early season. Before diving too far into early season calling techniques i feel its important to first touch on elk behavior in this time frame.
Hunting and calling from wallows can be a great early season strategy, as many bulls will visit a wallow daily in the heat of the late summer months. Sitting at a wallow can be a great tactic for midday hunting when nothing else is going on. When it comes to hunting and calling around elk wallows and water holes, keep in mind that less is more. Early season elk tactics for a bowhunter will vary greatly depending on.
As far as calling sequences go, a little goes a long way in the early season and blowing on an estrus call or bugle every ten minutes is going to do more harm than good. While many hunters generally treat opening weekend as a training hike for the upcoming rut. Elknuts early season elk hunting and calling tactics duration. How do you decide when to bugle and when to cow call. Coyote calls for every season february 1, 2016 seasons give us some guidelines on when to make which predator calls, but with guidelines just like rules in school theres always a time to break them. When should i be aggressive and when should i be timidwhen to use cow calls or bugles. What are some of the best early season elk calling tactics for early season elk. Over the years 70 percent of earlyseason bulls responding to my calls did so after the third or fourth bugle. Here are my thoughts on elk calling calling elk is probably the one area where the greatest gap between confidence and insecurity exists. Early season, start with cow chirps and cow calling subtly. There are so many variables and factors in calling elk that it can become overwhelming.
Some states allow time in august while others have you waiting for early to mid september. Early season calling tactics for elk hunting success. How late season elk hunting is different from early season elk hunting unless youre hunting for meat, most people want to take the herd bull. Early season elk tactics for a bowhunter will vary greatly depending on which state you are hunting. The 10 best turkey calling tips youll read this spring. He was alone feeding next to a pipeline, and i snuck to within 150 metres of him. Keep your calling in check and really consider what you are saying to the elk with each bugle or cow call you throw out.