i was wondering the same thing. A friend let me borrow his Primos hoochie mamma for my trip next week. He said to use it while walking to both call and mask your movements?? I've never been either so Im wondering if this is factual

Using a call to mask yourself can work, but in the unit I hunt I would not touch a call during 2nd season. The elk have been called and pressured to death already from the 3 seasons before. On another note, if you push the button on the Hoochie Mama in my unit that elk will be gone, everybody and there dog have used the Hoochie Mama and you can tell when one is used. Just my .02 !

thanks for the info fellows,I was wondering also.Now I know

the best reason to have a cow call during rifle season is if you jump or spook a bull you can usually cow call real quick and more times than not it will stop for a second or three which should give you enough time for a shot.

I can tell you that not too many people call elk during rifle season unless the rut is late which I beleive it to ne this year, but I beleive by second season may be over except for maybe a few call coming in late.  You can use you call to mask your sound or to stop and animal to give you a shot, but chances of using it to call an animal in is slim, but it never hurts to give it a try.  Good luck on your hunt.

With the fellers on it not being effective by second season. You'll do more spooking and or educating if you're walking the ridges cow calling as you go. By that season you should rely on finding the elk. Get aways from other hunters and look for areas their traveling from food and water to bedding areas. You need to be out and into your areas early at first light and ambush or spot and stalk them.

Good luck!

If I may insert something into this thread, you guys are talking about using it to possibly mask your movements or sounds.  However, I have heard on a few different shows, but not experienced it myself, that you can actually walk normally, even making some noise, especially in thicker cover.  They claim that since elk are such large creature, they are not silent, so you do not have to be.

Or maybe that's when combined with calls during the rut to make them think you're an elk too.  I'm not sure.  Anyone know about that??

I carry a cow call, but there is no way that I expect to attract anything or entice an elk to come toward me.  To add to what has been said by others already, you are usually only blowing a mew or chirp trying to buy a few more seconds of time.

If you see elk walking they are moving much faster than you would think.  They can walk faster than a man can run without even shifting gears to their next gait, a trot.  A call might give you a moment to hit the ground and set up for a shot.  All you can really expect is to get them to pause long enough to look back.

The other situation is the thing where you are in an area of good habitat, you have been moving a few hundred yards silently, and then you blow it.  You bust a branch or somehow make a noise.  Give a quick mew.  If there are elk nearby they won't put their heads down and go back to grazing (you won't be that lucky), but they might delay for a few more seconds before they disappear.