Dukers Report post Posted April 3, 2011 Hey, first post on the forum.. So my buddy drew a tag for 11M Archery Elk from September 9 to the 22. We're both 20 years old and have limited amount of hunting experience. He sort of got his father into hunting (he drew the 11m tag as well..) and my father passed away when I was little so I have not been able to really learn much about archery elk hunting from him. We have a couple of questions and issues that we are trying to work out as we begin to prepare for the hunt. My buddy has some type of Hoyt bow, but is in the market for a new one and wants this bow to be something that he can take care of and use for many hunting seasons down the line. He is looking at Mathews, mainly the Z7, the G5 Prime, and the Bowtech Destroyer 350. He is not sure if he wants to spend the money on a brand new bow // the new Prime technology of quad cams, if that particular quad cam technology is going to be expanded and improved with next year's line of bows.. He is also not sure about what direction to take because his draw length is 28.5" and wants a bow that exceeds, but is the median for speed/smoothness/ and enough power. So he is on the fence about: buying a new bow as one of those stated above, or buying a used one a couple of years old so that he doesnt feel so bad about not picking up a quad cam bow. Also, we are looking for some of your preferred elk calls. We were looking at/ watching videos of the Mossback "Da Holla Back" and the "Widowmaker" but we also know that Primos makes some pretty nice calls as well.. Is there any information or tips that you can provide or point us in the direction of? Thank you very much, and I will be poking my head around the forums and for sure using the search function to try and bury up any other information i can find... Thanks.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elkhunter Report post Posted April 3, 2011 wait a few weeks and alot of hunters will put up their "2010" bows up for sale, anytime tax season runs around people sell their hunting gear, your buddy can get a brand new bow for a real good price, check the local newspaper, craigslist and even on this website.That way your buddy can get a bow that is 1 year old and not feel bad. Dont let the modern bow technology fool you, alot of people shoot bows that are nearly 10 years old with the same "hunting success" as those with brand new modern bows. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dukers Report post Posted April 3, 2011 wait a few weeks and alot of hunters will put up their "2010" bows up for sale, anytime tax season runs around people sell their hunting gear, your buddy can get a brand new bow for a real good price, check the local newspaper, craigslist and even on this website.That way your buddy can get a bow that is 1 year old and not feel bad. Dont let the modern bow technology fool you, alot of people shoot bows that are nearly 10 years old with the same "hunting success" as those with brand new modern bows. Thank you for the reply, this is exactly how I feel. We've been cruisin craigslist of course and then I figured since I was already a member of this forum (but had not yet posted) but might as well drop in and see what some of you guys say, as well as check what you guys are selling in the classifieds.. Is there any information you can point me towards considering cow and bull calls or threads concerning calls? Any specific video / dvd with calling techniques or just good Archery Elk hunting? Thanks again.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yotebuster Report post Posted April 3, 2011 I would stick with a reputable name for bows, Mathews, Hoyt or Bowtech. G5 makes good broadheads, but they are relatively new to the bow market, and their quadcam design thing has been tried by a lot of companies before them with minimal success. I would find a good used bow from one of the three makers above and spend your money on gas towards scouting! As far as calls go, don't fret about them, get an el cheapo cow call and then take the lanyard off, attach it to your rangefinder and practice with your bow some more at all ranges, you can throw the call away That's the best advice anyone will tell you! If the bulls are talking, get the wind right and get in front of them, lean up against a ponderosa and let em have it as they walk by... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yotebuster Report post Posted April 3, 2011 Here's a sweet deal, not sure if Coach is actually selling this or just wondering what it's worth, but this would be a dang nice set-up for your buddy if he's a 28.5. Also, if I remember right from my days working in a proshop in college, this one has modules for draw that can be swapped out. http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=24473&pid=249346&start=0entry249346 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues 'n' Sheep Report post Posted April 3, 2011 First off... welcome to the site, and congrats to your buddy on the bull tag. Forums like this are a great place to get a wide variety about anything hunting related and since you asked...I'll give you my $.02 worth... I believe in doing the best you can with the best you can afford... Meaning, if he can't afford a new bow then make due with what he has and be Good with it... My first bow was an POS Proline shooting XX75's the size of your finger and I was not capable of shooting beyond 40 yds with it... With each bow I have purchased since I have either extended my effective range, or shot flatter, or quieter, or something... That being said, if he can afford to buy new then buy new and if not picking up a 1 or 2 year old bow is not bad either. But I believe that you get what you pay for, you can't get Swaro quality in optics for $200... and you can't uy a bow with the Quality of a Hoyt or Mathews for $400 either. I recommend shooting several bows from those two lines if going with new equipment. I don't know where your buddy lives but don't let him buy a bow at BP or Cabelas steer him to a bow shop with a good reputation, Example: Flagstaff has Bull Basin, and Payson has Chasin' A Dream Outfitters(a sponsor of this forum)... At Chasin' a Dream you can check out both new and consignment used bows... and talk with someone who has used most of the equipment he sells... it is important to deal with a pro shop that knows enough about hunting to match you up with equipment that you need and that will work for you. So many times I have seen guys buy something off of a shelf because "that associate at the store said..." and it is obvious that the associate has never tried to use that product…LOL. Anyhow.. that got long, but good luck to your buddy and tell him to just get wicked good with whatever he ends up with, don’t overextend his, or his equipment’s ability… Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deserthntr Report post Posted April 3, 2011 tell your buddy dont fret about buying something and it getting better the next year, thats how it always is, the 2012 bows will be expanded somehow over the 2011, so shoot your hoyts, mathews, pse's, bowtechs and see what he likes the best. for calls, get something and just practice with it, get a diaphram, open reed, bugle, different types, and practice, i dont think it really matters what call you use, its how elky you sound Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robertramsey61 Report post Posted April 4, 2011 Wait and you can get a used bow at a great price, as far as the calls, if you are hunting 11M I would stay away from calling. I have hunted that unit many times and the elk don't respond to calls as they do in other units, mainly do to the porximity of the city. If you are new at it and want to get calls, get both a mouth call and a single reed cow call like the primos Hyper lip, dont get the da maken the bulls crazy or the cow girl call, they just dont produce like the Hyper lip. Practice with them, the mouth call as it is hard to master. From experience in that unit, the bulls will move further away if you start to call, I think they just have been called to much by hunters and dont respond anymore. To get a bull in that unit you need to find great glassing areas and find the bulls before the season, once the season is going they will get pushed around a lot. I have had good luck in that unit but to get a good bull you need to get into areas away from people and the other hunters, scout a lot and scout a lot of diffrent areas, you will think you have a great spot but once the season starts you might be hunting with 20 other guys in one area, hit the northwest, east, and south parts of the units. Good luck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Basser15 Report post Posted April 4, 2011 Congrats on the tags and I guarantee you every day you spend in the field scouting and on your hunt you will learn something new. For calls, grab several of the Primos calls and several mouth calls and practice in the car whenever you're driving somewhere. If you can make a mouth call sound right then it can be an effective tool...although I've never been able to make one sound right. That's why I stick with the Primos hyper lips. As for videos, check out the Extreme bulls series and especially some of the newer ones as they will show a little more about the calling and talk about set ups. But trust me, it doesn't always happen as easily as they make it look in those videos. As others have mentioned spend as much time as you can scouting and getting to know your unit. There have been some nice bulls taken out of that unit but you will need to do your homework and figure out where the bulls are hanging out and where theyre headed to bed during the day. Also a good elk hunting website to check out for calling and techniques would be elk101.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azrcks Report post Posted April 4, 2011 Congrats, lots of great advice already. I drew an archery tag last year. Elk101.com was great. Also pick a few different calls, keep them all in your car and do not listen to your radio until after september. If you have a partner have him practice just as much. After a while you will see that one or two of those calls works better for you. Have ab backup plan if they are not talking. That is what happened to me so I sat a tree stand over water and shot mine. Be patient I ruined a few opportunities by chasing other bugling bulls and not waiting out the one that was already coming in until I stood up LOL. Good luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ronko44 Report post Posted April 4, 2011 I concur on buying a quality used bow from someone upgrading or who just wants the "new bow out". As far as calling in 11M...... I wouldn't bother with it. The elk are seasoned veterans in distinguishing human calls from real bulls or cows and also if it is a big bull it will most likely take his heard and run from fear of a bigger boy taking his girls. This has been my experience in 11M. It is an awesome unit that unfortunately now is over hunted. Find a good map and a couple areas that are far from roads. as far as possible anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dukers Report post Posted April 5, 2011 Thanks for all of the info everyone, much appreciated. He's still on the bubble about the bow that he wants to buy.. hes got his eye on a Destroyer 350 on Craigslist right now.. but I think we're headed down to the valley this weekend to bull shoot at Cabela's, maybe pick up some camping gear for the following weekend and maybe some gear for the hunt, too. We are very excited about the hunt.. one of the best parts is we are going to try and get our other friend to come with us and get into hunting since hes never really done anything with hunting / guns.. but thanks for the help guys ill post back with some updates and such.. maybe once he gets a bow or so.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azhuntnut Report post Posted April 5, 2011 Buy all of the Primos elk hunting videos and watch them as much as possible. You will learn more from them than most can tell you. They will even teach you how to call. David Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
