Evans was able to arrow this monster bull, his third in the 2003 season, as it walked into range while he monitored a nearby five by five animal. Evans prefers to sneak into the wind close to bugling elk before producing any calls.

IMITATING ELK
"My idea on sound is like calling. If you make sounds like an elk, it may work. I have hunted with guys who constantly seem to be zipping or pants rubbing or stripping Velcro. I try to wear soft clothing and soft-sole shoes that won't make unnatural sounds. I pull grass with my hands to sound like elk eating and use a dead stick to simulate a bull raking. The basic rule for sound is to make none that are foreign to the area. Antlers hit bushes and hooves thump logs all the time -- natural sounds in the elk woods. If you don't know what else to do, mimic the sounds you hear. If he rakes, you rake. If he bugles and doesn't chuckle, you do the same. I rarely use a chuckle. I do the high part of the bugle and stop off at the end. Just the high notes work for me.

"I think you should adapt to the sound of the bull. If you are hunting herd bulls, the size of the bugle doesn't matter. That's the bull I'm usually after. If he thinks he is the biggest bull around he won't be intimidated. If you are hunting satellite bulls, you definitely don't want to sound too big because these animals are used to getting their butts kicked. It's better to sound smaller."

CALLING ELK
"I have used about every caller out there. My favorites are from Primos and Glen Barry at Barry Game Calls. I also use Carlton, Sceery and Woods Wise. Most of them have calls that work well. Right now, I use the first two.

"If you are a beginner, I recommend the blow-through call because you get a good sound. However, it's necessary to learn to use a diaphragm. It's easy for turkey hunters; in fact you can use the same caller. Diaphragms are so important because your hands are free. Almost every bull I shoot I have to stop with a call. If you don't have the call in your mouth you are running a risk. With a blow through call, your hands aren't free to draw the bow."

CRITICAL ELEMENT OF SUCCESS
"My trophy standard is a 300-class bull elk or better. There are a lot of states that have good elk hunting over the counter. If you haven't hunted a lot, don't set your sights too high. If you can go out west to any state where you can get a tag (reasonably easy) don't expect to find bulls of the 350-class. Find an antler size to be happy with. If you have not taken a bull, take the first opportunity, even if it's a cow and don't get your hopes too high. You will enjoy your hunt a lot more if you are realistic.

"I'm self guided but I hunt elk a lot. It really comes down to time. If you only have a week, go with a good outfitter. Talk to your friends or call Fish and Game to get lists of guides and check on references. Especially talk to the ones that didn't kill. Success rates aren't very high for archery elk -- on average not more than 15-percent. If you hunt for 10 years you will only kill a couple of elk. With a good outfitter the odds are way higher.

"If you do have the time, hunting on your own is a great way to go. Take a minimum of 10 days hunting time. If I draw an area, I scout for several days before I hunt. If you can't get there before the season opens, plan your whole hunt during the season so that you can scout and hunt at the same time. Do as much research as you can. Get good topographical maps as well as forest service maps that show all of the forest service roads. Study them. I use a GPS and recommend it highly. Team the GPS with maps and you will be amazed how you can navigate."

Continued -- click on page link below.