Can anyone recommend any good resources for a virgin Elk hunter to learn something before he goes out into the woods and makes a fool of himself :saywhat:
Videos
Books
Anything
Thank you.
Go to Elknut outdoor production. He is a sponsor here. Paul has probably forgot more about calling elk than the rest of us will ever know. I have some of his first video's and they are great about teaching what all the different vocalizations of bulls and cows mean. Some great info and it helped me out a bunch. Check him out.
Pops, I can lend you my ElkNut calling DVDs. Send me a PM.
Norb
Mike Eastman has a pretty good book called Elk Hunting the West. Mike is way too proud of himself, but the info he gives is mostly pretty good.
Dwight Schuh also wrote a book on Elk. It is a bit dated, but the information is still mostly good. It is called Bugling for Elk.
Neither one of these books is focused at all on traditional bowhunting. Mike is mostly a gun hunter (though he has been known to tote around a recurve now and then) and Dwight is a Wheel bow guy. However, much of the info they present can be readily adapted to traditional hunting styles.
Take a look at some of Mike Lapinski's books--Radical Elk Hunting Strategies, High Pressure Elk Hunting, Solving Elk Hunting Problems.
The best advice is to get some good bowhunting videos that have lots of "actual bulls and cows" calling, and imitate them as best you can. The Primos videos show lots of actual elk making actual elk noises.
COMPLETELY IGNORE the idiotic "so called" elk sounds most "pro staff" make, especially their cow calls.
There are darned few good elk callers shown in videos. The only one I can recommend who actually sounds like an elk is fellow Idahoan Rocky Jacobsen. He's won the elk calling World Championship several times, and he does sound like an elk.
Most "expert call manufacturer pro staff" do not.
Listen to actual recordings of cows and bulls. That will show you what you need to sound like. Better yet, get in the woods and spend lots of time with elk. Then you'll really learn how to imitate them.
P.S. Be warned------once you get in close to a vocal herd, it will be hard to wipe that silly grin off your face.
elk nut dvd's are top notch.
Get a copy of David Petersen's "A Man Made Of Elk". Aside from being a good read there's lots of good info there and more.
I 2nd Elknut's dvd's and playbook. Hands down the best I have seen or read. I do want to get a copy of "a man make of elk" I have not read that one but hope to soon!