Using a Elk whistle to attract Bull Elk?

Has anyone tried using a game caller, like an Elk whistle to attract Bull Elk together to try to photograph them displaying rutting behaviour? I want to get some shots of the males up close and to be able to see them interacting during the rut but I can only ever find 1 bull with cows around him, never 2 bulls. Has anyone ever tried this technique?

Just so I dont get a "Elk are dangerous during the rut and you should never call them to you" comment, I will be in a tree stand 25 ft above the ground out of harms way.

I have not called Elk, have called in Deer, Turkey, Coyote, Bobcat and many other animals and birds. I would go for it, under the right conditions and location it will work. Remember you will be making a challenge call for a fight to another bull if you are bugling, as far as dangerous, maybe, but so is driving a car.

This may be obvious, but I would be sure to check your local game regulations as there might be restrictions on calling during certain times of the year??? I dunno cause I don't live there. Just something else to bear in mind knowing that governments love to regulate the hell outta things so they can write tickets.

Grizz1 wrote in post #15033694
I have not called Elk, have called in Deer, Turkey, Coyote, Bobcat and many other animals and birds. I would go for it, under the right conditions and location it will work. Remember you will be making a challenge call for a fight to another bull if you are bugling, as far as dangerous, maybe, but so is driving a car.

A bobcat! Wow that would have been amazing to see in the wild. Hmm...there are Cougar in this area that I have always wanted to photograph, too bad they climb trees

Naturalist wrote in post #15033702
This may be obvious, but I would be sure to check your local game regulations as there might be restrictions on calling during certain times of the year??? I dunno cause I don't live there. Just something else to bear in mind knowing that governments love to regulate the hell outta things so they can write tickets.

Thanks for the heads up! completely forgot about game regulations. Il be sure to check with the warden before I go out.

If you are in an area that has a ongoing elk hunting season, you do have the possibility of calling in a hunter.

neimad19 wrote in post #15033900
A bobcat! Wow that would have been amazing to see in the wild. Hmm...there are Cougar in this area that I have always wanted to photograph, too bad they climb trees

Bobcats are easy to call in - sit at the base of a tree in a blind, place a turkey decoy 30 yards in front of you and turkey call. If they are in the area, they'll come.

huntersdad wrote in post #15042952
Bobcats are easy to call in - sit at the base of a tree in a blind, place a turkey decoy 30 yards in front of you and turkey call. If they are in the area, they'll come.

I'l have to try that. Can they be aggressive at all? Is there a chance to call in other predators the same way? The reason I ask is, around here, there is a lot of bear and cougar activity so I dont really want to be sitting at the base of a tree and have a cougar sneak up on me.

Any other tips for calling in animals? I have a elk game caller now so when the weather clears up I'l see how well it works.

Bobcats can be mean but generally pretty harmless to a human. I might sit in a chair to get off the ground as they like to sneak and grab what they can reach - the eyes in this case.

Can't help you on the cougar part, but bears are unlikely to be interested in a turkey.

Today was my first day trying to call the Bulls in with my Cow elk squeaker and boy did it the bulls riled up!

I couldn't get 2 together though, but there was ALOT of bugling back an forth. I started out on top of a hill and after about 30 mins of listening to a close bull bugling back at me but not coming any closer I decided to sneak around the back of him and flank him. Sure enough after circling around from where I could here him, I spotted the Bull. He must have had atleast 10-15 Cows sitting around him! No wonder he wasn't going anywhere. There was a lot of other bulls in the distance bugling though so next time Il go a little earlier before sunset and see If I can get them together.

Again, Thanks for all the advice

Because I didn't want to get too close to the Bull I was shooting from quite far out. This was one of the few shots that turned out to be keepers. Hopefully next time I can get a few more.

Really nice shot!

You are not going to get two bulls to come duke it out from your calling. Each bull has a unique call that they know each other by. They also know the exact location of the other bull at all times. When you call with a bugle, they will come into it because you are a new bull, and as such they do not know if you are a threat to them. However, they won't fight each other because they know that it wasn't the other bull calling, it was you. Since you are using a cow call, bulls will come into you, but they will not fight over a single cow. It is more of a first come first serve snatching. Also, if the herd bull believes that by going after the new "cow" (you) he will lose his other cows to a satellite animal, he will leave you to the other bull. When you see two bulls fighting, they are not fighting over a single cow, but the entire herd.

As far as calling in bulls, unless they are extremely rutty the herd bull will not leave his cows. Once you call a bull into about 100 yards, if you call any more, he will be able to pin point your location and he will circle you until he is downwind. Once he reaches 100 yards, it should be up to you to close down the distance without calling.

Your best bet is to find a herd and the herd bull, and follow it until a satellite bull challenges. However, a physical confrontation is very uncommon, and most of the actual challenges are settled by bugling. The only time when a physical confrontation occurs is when a bull of equal size challenges the herd bull, and neither animal backs down.

Hope this helps! Though this is a little late in the rut for most of this to occur

This is all from my experience from the past 15 years of hunting the elusive Wapiti.