While spot and stalk on elk can be extremely effective, nothing is more exhilarating than calling in a bugling, slobbering 800 pound bull! Elk are some of nature’s most social and vocal animals. We as hunters can use this against them. Let’s begin with cow and calf sounds, here are a few different calls to start with.

The first is a social call that the herd uses to communicate that all is well, it is called a “chirp”. It is a short call sliding from high to low note and lasts only about one second.

The second is the “mew”, it is a bit longer than the “chirp”, and has an all together different meaning. The “mew” is usually used to locate each other, and could mean “come here”. Generally speaking, calf sounds are similar to cow sounds only higher in pitch.

The last cow call and my personal favorite is the estrus call. This is where you can get as crazy as you want! When using the various other cow sounds I try to remain fairly silent, but with this call you can be as noisy as you want. I have actually found that some noise mixed in gives it a more realistic touch. This call is longer in length than any of the other cow calls. I also try to make the high note just a bit higher than with the other cow/calf sounds. I feel like these calls, mixed in at the proper time, will call in any bull out there!