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Any tips for telling apart elk from a hunters call? I'm sure it happens alot, but what are some ways to not get fooled! Any good stories are welcome too
In my 46 years hunting elk, some of the most authentic sounding bugles have turned out to be hunters and some of the crappiest bugles have turned out to be bulls.
About the only way I can say for sure is how fast the bugler moves. A lot of bulls will cover far more ground in less time than any human could manage.
Other than that, good luck. :O)
Mostly I can tell... but in all honesty have been fooled several times.
Missed out a good opportunity with bugling match between a bull and what I thought was clearly a hunter, I backed out, his honors.... only to see too late it really was between two pretty decent bulls.... ya never know....
Most hunters have an insatiable need to grunt multiple times after they bugle; most of the elk I've bugled don't grunt at all. Also, most hunters grunts go from low to high.
I've been fooled twice when I thought is was another hunter. Most sounds that are repetitive are people. Plus the sounds of a Hoochie mamma call are a reason to hunt elsewhere.
If you get a response every single time you bugle or mew (usually several responses for every call you make), you can be pretty sure it's a hunter.
I have watched a bull respond to my calls every single time that I mewed. He had 4 cows and was a sub 300 bull. He was wandering around the cows every once in a while he would rake the same tree. The cows were bedded. There was a canyon between us neither he nor I would cross.
The worst I was ever fooled was when I called in a guy with a cow tag when I was calling for my son that had a bull tag.
The guy had a diaphram call and was using a snorkel as the grunt tube so he could call hands free. He was fooled by my cow calls and I was fooled by his bugles.
We actually met in forest and congratulated each other on the calling. I was using a sceery and an abe and son cow call.
Terry
Pretty easy to tell the difference once you hear enough bugles. Majority of hunters can't get the same tone or depth that real elk do.
Its very difficult for a hunter to replicate that 3D echoing [for lack of a better term] of a real bull.....its a dead giveaway.
If they answer every sound you make, it's a hunter/idiot 99% of the time...
Tone and cadence are usually the giveaways.
When I voice bugle/whine/chuckle through a tube it sounds so unique that I get other hunters in. I don't do it if I even suspect somebody else may hear it. A guy from MN last year was incredulous that a human could make those sounds.
Predictable bugle with grunts or chuckles at end of every bugle. Flute in tone with 2-3 notes everytime. Cow calls following your bugle. Not realistic. Responds back to your calling like clock work. You're hunting where probability of hunting pressure is high. Signs of hunter instead of real elk!
It is most likely a real bull by his sounds. Hunting an area where you're pretty sure no one is around. Bull is closer with additional bugles & he's covered ground quicker than a hunter could. Unusual sound to his bugle no hunter could imitate. Bull is going the opposite direction from you as he leaves with occasional bugle. If 100 yards or closer a real elk can give a nervous grunt. Multiple bulls bugling back to you. Bull responds back with a Lip Bawl.
Raghorns/Juvenile bulls are the toughest to tell apart from the real McCoy! Their sounds are immature & hunter like!
ElkNut1
You've got to be close to know for sure, some guys are pretty good at bugling!
I agree with most of what others have said, Although I have have countless encounters with bulls who have repeatedly answered me back for an hour or more. Hunters will close the gap and booger your hunt in that amount of time.
There's no question though for me, when I am close enough, detecting the VOLUME and tone of the guttural scream of a Bull elk.
Well, if youre close enough and using the wind as you should, you should be able to smell the elk...
I can almost always tell a hunter from an elk, however I've had several elk convince me they were hunters by making horrible bugles. A few years ago I was hunting on private where nobody else should be and I swear someone was using an electronic caller I heard fighting cow calls, estrus whines, bugles, mews and fake limb breaking sounds all at the same time, this went on for several minutes. Pissed off I charged straight in to run the guy out of there when a nice 6 point bull came towards me chasing a cow. I was not in a good position, the cow pinned me down and the elk sounds stopped in a hurry.
"Well, if you're close enough and using the wind as you should, you should be able to smell the elk..."
Yes sometimes that's true...If he's on the other side of a drainage or something, not so much.
Typically I can identify if it's a real bull or not well before I would be able to smell them. Being in the elk woods an hour or more before sunup in our area pretty much ensures you know if other hunters are with you or not.
Location bugles before sunrise in a forest with no hunters helps eliminate the question.
I assume it is a hunter unless I see the bull
I assume it's a bull until I hear a hoochie mamma or one of the other indicators others have mentioned.
Last time I was fooled, it was because I was so far down in a craphole drainage, that I thought I'd never see another hunter down there.
The guy told me the same thing...the reason he came down there is because I was in a vocal battle with a real bull earlier.
I've heard real bulls that sounded worse than any human bugles.
Like the Old Sarge said, sometimes I can tell when the bull doesn't seem to be moving at the proper rate...but that depends on the time of day.
Best of Luck, Jeff
"A lot of bulls will cover far more ground in less time than any human could manage."
OTOH, most hunters bugle, wait a couple of minutes, move on, bugle, wait a couple of minutes... Bulls sometimes lay in their beds and bugle every now and then. If it's a herd, they will likely be moving, with more than one bull bugling, which is hard to duplicate by hunters. As others have said, the prettiest bugles are usually hunters.
Yup I agree with the "horrible" sounding bugles that real elk often make. I have heard those animals make some strange noises that I didn't even relate to an elk until I actually saw them. The last bull I arrowed answered my cow call with what sounded like a sick howl of a 3 legged down syndrome wolf. Took me by surprise for sure.
the more "textbook" sounding the bugle the more likely it's human. Elk didn't read the how to text they just do it. The better the bugle the better the chances of finding a human.
oz
A buddy and I were hunting 1/4 mile above a private alfalfa field one morning. 100's of elk were leaving the alfalfa at 1st light and streaming up into the forest. Bulls were screaming every where and we were the only hunters around. One bull started into a bugle and honestly, he sounded like he swallowed a diaphragm or was in jr. high and his voice was changing. Funniest part is we were watching him when he did it and after his crackle, he turned around and went the other direction. It was as if he was embarrassed.
If we hadn't watched him do it, we would have "known" he was a hunter and not an elk.
I've watched and heard elk that sounded more like donkeys braying, and have made some awful bugles myself that still had the intended result. That's why I'm always amused and skeptical every time I see someone claiming to know how to "talk" to elk. In reality, they're not communicating on any higher level, just making various basic elk sounds. All you need to know are a few basics.
If you're hearing the "bugle boy of company B" chances are it's a hunter. If you hear it close, and a few minutes later it's in the next drainage, chances are it's an elk. IF you only hear it at night, it's an elk.
Last year I called in two pretty experienced local elk hunters twice in 3 days. Then they got me with a single grunt a day later. I have heard some of the worst calling you can imagine only to find a bull making the calls. Sometimes it is obvious but many times it is not. I always try to get eyes on the bull or hunter before I walk away.
I will say that the classic 3 tone real clean flute bugle is a giveaway.
I think some of the "lousy" bugles from real bulls are just them losing their voice from bugling a lot.
I once hunted the same bull for several days and each day, his bugle went downhill. I think he was just wearing out his vocal chords.
cnelk has a good point. When you're close and downwind, you can smell them. That smell sends a chill down the spine.
I've only been fooled a few times by bulls I thought were hunters. Some of the absolute worse turkey calls I have ever heard in my life turned out to be real turkeys though.
The truth is there is no way to tell 100% of the time. I have called in some VERY good/experienced elk hunters...
Experience will be your best teacher, after hearing 100's of bugles you'll get a good handle on things. It becomes fairly easy to tell the impostors apart. As Elkman says no one is a 100% but that doesn't matter because you can easily be 95% correct & that's close enough! (grin) It's not a big deal to bump a bull, just go locate another!
ElkNut1
Every noise is an elk until you prove otherwise. I had a large 6 points that on opening weekend (August 24th) was going crazy from a spot I passed in my truck and had a camp less than 600 yards away. I swore for an hour it was a hunter. Finally I made my way to see into the brush and sure enough a 340 class bull without cows laying in his bed bugling every 3 to 5 minutes. Chewing his cud in between.
Sorry but until I actually see the person they are all elk.
When you can set your watch by frequency, ie. every 10 or 15 min. On The Nose!
