Turner Rowland - How To Call In An Elk

TOM ROWLAND PODCAST

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“Once you start calling, it’s game on”
-Turner Rowland

Podcast Synopsis

Turner Rowland is a professional Elk Hunting Guide in Bozeman, Montana. Today, he sits down with us on How2Tuesday to discuss the best ways to call in an elk.

Turner recommends to never be afraid of closing the gap on the bull, and prefers to bow hunt over rifling. Playing the wind is a huge help when hunting, especially when calling down the mountain with a bull below you in the morning versus doing the same in the afternoon. Though doing the same technique, the hunter will get two different results as the wind travels differently during the morning and afternoon. The biggest advice Turner gives is to always be ready, play the wind, and get in the elk’s “backdoor”.

From Turner’s experience, there are basically two strategies and possibly a hybrid between the two. First is the cow call, which is where you sound like a cow in an attempt to lure the bull elk to you. Second is the bugle call, which sounds like a bull elk that is threatening to pull other cows away from the dominant bull.

Doing a hybrid of the two calls is a great approach for starting out hunting. The best strategy is “to get right up his backdoor” about a 100 yards away and call out to him. If you start calling from far away and move closer and closer when calling, the elk will know your location quickly and may lose interest if you’re too far out. Therefore when bugling, you need to bugle as loud and as close as you can, because there’s no point in bugling softly. Another great strategy is to take some tree branches and scrape them up and down a tree to mimic elks scraping antlers getting ready to fight. Males generally don’t want to fight, but if you call out aggressively, they’ll be looking for you to go after.

Follow Turner on Instagram at @trowlandoutdoors