Elk Barking

[Reidus]

 

When a cow barks at you 99% of the time the jig is up.  If you have been calling and a bull comes in, they will sometimes bark which is their way of saying "i am here now show yourself.

 

When you're calling and bull comes in and wants a visual he will bark. Elknut refers to this as a nervous popping grunt. Many times a bull will do this when he should be able to see the elk that's making the noise but can't.

[sneakyjake]

I had a non-lethal pass through on a bull and he stopped and barked at us.  That was a first for me. I still don't know what the proper response would be.  We backed out and ran into him two days later.

[Turner89]

I got between a cow and a calf one time and they both starting barking.  I started barking also trying to alternate between a cow bark and a calf bark.  Both of them walked up to me in the heavy timber and we were all barking like a pack of dogs.  Good times.

[runamuk]

I got between a cow and a calf one time and they both starting barking.  I started barking also trying to alternate between a cow bark and a calf bark.  Both of them walked up to me in the heavy timber and we were all barking like a pack of dogs.  Good times.

This is exactly the sort of ridiculous thing I would do    that is awesome

[GameHunter1959]

We had a cows calf surrounded in a clear cut 3 years ago. The cow slipped out the back door and stood up on the hill barking at her calf. Sounds pretty cool. We backed out and let the calf pass thru to go back to mama.

Probably 25 years ago we walked down an old cat road and ended up surrounded with elk. A cow kept barking at us, while bulls were bugling in mid-November. Surprised bulls would bugle that late, but we know what we heard and saw them in the timber. It was crazy to be in the mix like that. Real cool..

[huntingbaldguy]

We got barked at over the weekend.  It was cool.  You learn a lot just watching them go through their progressions when something isn't quite right to them.  I think it helped us in the long run but it sure sucked watching them bolt up a massive hill knowing we weren't going to catch them.

[WAcoyotehunter]

I have been told you are supposed to bark back at them.   It's a challenge to see what you are.   

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Exactly right.  Bark back a couple times and try to transition one into a chuckle or grunt.  It works sometimes, if they're not staring at you

[Grizman]

Here's another funny one.  I was hunting in N Idaho. First thing in the morning I was walking in on an old grown over road to jump into the drainage we were hunting that day.  To my surprise, I met a hunter walking toward me.  He told me " might as well turn around because he had just heard a couple of dogs barking down in the woods".
He and his brother had came all the way from Pennsilvania to hunt elk for the first time.  We were over 15 miles from the nearest house!  I smiled and continued on knowing I would soon be in Elk!!😄

[elkinrutdrivemenuts]

LOL, that is hilarious! They probably don't see elk that often in Penn. 

[Bickley]

Here's another funny one.  I was hunting in N Idaho. First thing in the morning I was walking in on an old grown over road to jump into the drainage we were hunting that day.  To my surprise, I met a hunter walking toward me.  He told me " might as well turn around because he had just heard a couple of dogs barking down in the woods".
He and his brother had came all the way from Pennsilvania to hunt elk for the first time.  We were over 15 miles from the nearest house!  I smiled and continued on knowing I would soon be in Elk!!😄

Thats a great story! Poor guys probably went home hungry.

[buglebrush]

Here's another funny one.  I was hunting in N Idaho. First thing in the morning I was walking in on an old grown over road to jump into the drainage we were hunting that day.  To my surprise, I met a hunter walking toward me.  He told me " might as well turn around because he had just heard a couple of dogs barking down in the woods".
He and his brother had came all the way from Pennsilvania to hunt elk for the first time.  We were over 15 miles from the nearest house!  I smiled and continued on knowing I would soon be in Elk!!😄

He almost certainly heard wolves IMO. 

[Grizman]

Hey buglebrush,  I would agree with your idea today, but this actually happened in the late 70's.   Idaho wolves had not been invented yet

[Twang]

Yes the bark back to them can work.  Sometimes.  It can even get a different herd into the party to bark at the first barking elk. At one point it was face to face 125 yards and motionless stare down with mixed barks back and forth and 3way When everyone is done they go right back to feeding providing you haven't rushed it. I think you have a caution bark, bark, bark, and so on as typical but so is the bark run
Generally when arriving at winter range a bull will bugle some but hey the cows can bugle too in the same conditions and sound better than most of us.

[buglebrush]

Hey buglebrush,  I would agree with your idea today, but this actually happened in the late 70's.   Idaho wolves had not been invented yet

Gotcha

[gavinboone]

Wow. Guess I'll have to try barking back. What could it hurt, already busted right?