The 5 P's

The 5 Ps

Position, Patience, Persistence, Passion, Perfection. These are the most important things to remember when calling in elk.

Position

The number one thing you need to be a successful elk caller is to be in the right place. It’s not an easy thing to do and that’s why it’s number one. This often means waking up at 0430 walking to a good area in a creek valley or alpine meadow. It takes a lot of effort to get into good position. First scout the areas where you’d expect to find elk during September and early October. Find the best habitat at that elevation. If the weather is mild expect the elk to be on their summer range (around timberline here in Colorado). If there is snow aim a little lower. I’ve seen a foot and a half of snow clear elk off the mountain and onto their winter range (around 8-9,000 feet). Six inches of snow won’t be enough to convince elk to move. You can control your position by not calling until you are hidden in some shade with the wind blowing in your face. Position yourself where you can see a wide range, unobstructed, in front of you. But what if you stumble on a bedded bull or call while walking and a bull answers 50 yards in front of you? Find cover in front of a tree to break up your human outline. If there are no trees nearby kneel down and remain perfectly still. By that I mean get comfortable because it could be a while before the bull is within range. Also be prepared to move and set up again and again because elk rarely cooperate. They are looking for the sound you just made. You can control your position if you plan ahead. Often if you let out a curious high-pitched bugle in a remote basin or creek valley you’ll get an answer. 5X6 Moving from it's bed My cow calls pulled this bugling 5x6 from his bed to within 5 feet of my brother. Now that’s a pretty good position. The bull never knew he was there. The bull stopped near my brother and let out an ear-ringing bugle before moving on to my position. Be in good shape because you’ll often have to run towards the bull to get into a good position. You may even have to run a half circle around the bull. This could take you a mile before you’re in position to call. I can’t say enough about being in good cardio shape. In Colorado there is no flat land. Only degrees of gradients. Uphill and downhill.

Patience

Be fully prepared to wait it out. It’s happened to us more times than we can remember. You close the gap on a nice bull only to have him hang up or his cows bust you so you can’t move. Be patient. You have all day. Let the situation happen naturally. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat on my legs thinking the elk will move on by. Thirty minutes later I can’t feel my legs and the elk are still staring right at me. That’s why you pick your comfortable position before you get into the elk. If you can remain undetected and wait-out cow elk they will resume their natural state. However, if you want that bull to come closer you’ll want to keep his interest. Keep calling to him. Remember he thinks you’re a cow or another bull. He’ll want some visual evidence that there is an elk talking with him. If you have an elk decoy with you use it. There are many elk decoys available on the market today. The cost is around $100 and thanks to digital photo technology the image is very realistic. If you don’t have a decoy you can possibly fool him by raking a tree with a nearby stick. Appeal to his ears and convince him you are another elk. As a cow you can do that by calling to him in a persistent way. Cow moving out The 6x6 bull in the background finally came up to us as we were surrounded by his harem of cows. It took over an hour but our gentle cow calls convinced the entire herd to graze our way. They eventually pinned us down. The elk didn’t spook until the bull saw me standing in the trail. A bad position gave us away. But what fun it was to be surrounded by elk for over 30 minutes.

Persistence

Persistence pays off. Stick with your plan to call the elk in closer. Mimic their sounds when you hear them. If they are not very vocal with you then be persistent in your calling. Cow elk will whine and complain. If we could translate that estrus sound into English words they might say “awe come here!” Make a whining sound with your cow call. Pick up an audio or videotape about elk calling from your local sports store or Wal-Mart. Listen to these whining sounds and practice them. If you create excitement and increase the tempo of your cow calling satellite bulls can’t resist. Call steady, controlled and creatively. Use a variety of calls and sounds. Aim the sound right at the back of the person you’re calling for. Bulls, on the other hand, have a variety of bugles they use. Screaming sounds get a lot of attention. They are very threatening sounds. The herd bull uses them to warn satellite bulls to not come any closer or else. I let out a short high-pitched bugle as a nice 6x6 was hung up just out of range. It made him REALLY nervous because he had no challenges from other bulls. You can see it in the film “Bulls of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.” He already smelled the air aggressively and the next thing you know he was trotting off. My bugle and the slightest hint of human odor was the trigger that sent him in the other direction. We cow called to this herd bull early the same morning with little success. However, when he bedded down around noon we hit him with more cow calls. Hit fell for it hook, line and sinker. I only recommend cow calling to herd bulls around noon. He’s a lot more likely to leave his bed and his cows to seek out your estrus cow sounds. Persistence means never giving up. Keep after the bull even if you have to back off and adjust your position/timing. It took us over 10 years to find something like this. Gary holds the antlers and skull of a trophy 6x6 found in August 2000 near 11,000 feet. We think he died from a lightening strike the previous year. Gary and the big rack

Passion

Elk can sound sexy, mad, lost, angry, sad, playful and many other emotions. You need to be able to mimic their sounds. Passionate sounds during the peak of the rut (generally September 15^th – October 15th) are very effective. Cows make a very inviting sound that is low and deep sounding. They are saying, “I’m ready.” Another passionate sound they make is the demanding but whining sound. The estrus or cow in heat sound. They will often cut the bull off mid-bugle to make this sound. This sound says, “I’m ready NOW!” Cows will sometimes fight and that sound gets a bull to come closer nearly every time. Wayne Carlton uses such a sound with his calls. These sounds are effective because they are very passionate. You must be able to translate passionate elk sounds with your calls. Practice often until you are confident in your calling. We share the passion of elkoholics like us. For us it’s all about September in elk country. Bugling Elk

Perfection

To be a successful elk caller you need to sound as much like an elk as possible. You should at least sound believable. There are many elk calls on the market that make you sound great. However, no one call has mastered the sound. Elk know the difference. If you can master the sounds and use them at the proper moment you’ll fool elk nearly every time. Don’t get caught up in the elk calling contests because these tend to over dramatize elk sounds. Though I have been very impressed with the youth cow calling contests. I think they outdo most adults. I think the cow calls can be the most difficult to master but the most effective if you do. Timing is also very much as important as perfecting elk sounds with your call. You can’t just step out of your truck, walk into the woods and expect to let out an elk sound and get an answer. You also can’t expect to cow call to a bull that is already staring at you from 40 yards out. Once they make eye contact with you be quiet. The next move belongs to them. One morning around 9am I called across a large valley to a bull grazing with a few cows just to see what happened. They completely ignored me but to my surprise this bull bugled back from up the hill behind me. The Money Shot I started up the steep incline bugling or cow calling every time he answered me. I had to circle him to get into position. Lucky for me I ended up right near his smelly wallow. I could hear him raking a tree below me. A few desperate cow calls later he came up to take a look. I achieved the optimal position. I waited patiently near a pine to cover my outline. I kept hammering this bull with a combination of estrus cow sounds and spike bugles. My calls become more and more passionate in hopes to convince him I was a cow in heat. Everything happened perfectly and the bull came right in to 20 yards.

In summary, you can be a master elk caller, full of passion and patience and persistence but if your position is a bad one then the elk will spook. Imagine the five Ps like an NFL script most coach’s use at the start of a regular season game. After studying the opponent coaches decide they will execute a plan of ten to twenty plays. They make adjustments along the way and hopefully score points. Use the same techniques when you make first contact with elk until you are in the best position you can be. Remember to adjust as you go. Locate the bull FIRST then apply the five Ps. Good luck.