Elk call

Elk call

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Gabe Reese is an avid hunter and writes for several outdoor magazines but what a story he has while elk hunting in Northern Idaho. “I was hunting with a buddy during archery season. We set up camp and decided we would go down into this valley to see what was there and I left my bow back at the camp. We figured only one of us would get a shot. We stopped on the trail ended a cow call – calf call combo and something immediately started busting through the brush down at the bottom of this canyon and tearing its way up the side of the hill. My buddy he hid behind a little tree and I hid behind a boulder and did a couple more calls. Crashing kept coming towards us and we were anticipating a big bull elk that would charge in and we would get a shot. That is something every elk hunter dreams of doing. So I peek around the corner and it is not an elk. It is a bear and for N. Idaho this is the biggest bear I have ever seen, approximately 400 pounds. I turned out not to be the elk calf that he thought he was going to get an easy meal out of. He is standing about 20 feet in front of me trying to decide whether I look like lunch or not. Meanwhile I look over at my buddy and he is at full draw with his bow shaking like a leaf but he is not shooting. I whisper to him shoot Ben, shoot and he lets an arrow fly but he missed. The arrow just grazes the bear and takes a little hair off of him. Fortunately for me, the bear took off running down the hill. A little closer than I like it. So you have a magic with cow calls apparently. Apparently, I call everything but the elk.
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