Essential Elk Calls: Gear Up for a Successful Hunt with RMHC

With elk season fast approaching, being properly equipped is essential for a successful hunt. Rocky Mountain Hunting Calls (RMHC) is here to help you get ready! Choosing the right elk calls can be the key to transforming a missed opportunity into a successful harvest of a magnificent bull elk. Every elk hunter needs three essential calls to maximize their chances: a bugle tube, a diaphragm call, and an open reed cow call. Mastering these tools will enable you to call in even the most elusive bulls.

Each elk hunting scenario is unique, demanding a range of tactics throughout the fall. Limiting your call selection restricts your ability to effectively handle different situations. Proficiency with a bugle tube, diaphragm call, and open reed cow call is crucial before you head out. While elk calls might not always top a hunter's gear list, they are among the most important tools, especially given the relatively low archery success rates on public land, which hover around 10%. Mastery of your calls can significantly increase your chances.

When shopping for elk calls, it’s important to understand the differences between each type. Diaphragms are essential for producing the bugle sounds and hands-free cow calf sounds. To use a diaphragm effectively, it must be properly sealed in your mouth. RMHC offers four frame styles to accommodate various mouth shapes and sizes, ensuring a good seal. These frames come with different latex stretches and thicknesses, which determine the call's difficulty level—novice, intermediate, or advanced. A “novice” diaphragm, with lighter stretch and thinner latex, is ideal for easier cow/calf calls, while an “advanced” diaphragm, featuring tighter stretch and thicker latex, is suited for more aggressive bugles. Consult our call selection chart to find the best fit for your mouth shape.

Bugle tubes vary in internal dimensions, affecting the notes and tones you can produce. Smaller tubes are more compact but limit tonal variety, whereas larger tubes offer a broader range of notes and more stable tones due to increased air volume and back pressure control. RMHC provides premium molded, aluminum, and hybrid tubes to help you achieve unique bugling sequences. Many of our bugle tubes also feature the V.E.T.T. (Volume Enhanced Tone Technology) mouthpiece, which enhances backpressure for easier tone adjustments.

Open reed cow calls are versatile, allowing you to produce a wide range of cow sounds with a single call. RMHC offers a variety of open reed calls, from beginner-friendly models to those suited for advanced callers. Differences in materials (plastic or acrylic), soundboard size, and barrel size affect the call's performance. If you’re new to open reed cow calls, the Temptress and Trophy Wife by RMHC is an excellent starting point. For advanced callers, the Voodoo cow call can produce virtually any cow/calf sound you might need.

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