We have been honored to have a guest blog from Mr. Michael Waddell himself. Great read for everyone so here ya go…

Whether hunting public or private land, the fundamentals of calling elk remain the same

By: Michael Waddell

We heard the bull bugle at first light and snuck into his core area. When I hit a lick on my bugle, the bull sim­ply came unglued and stormed our position like a tank, crashing through brush and small lodgepole pines like they were match­sticks. Before we could react he was in our lap and we were pinned down, myself hiding behind a camera, too afraid to even touch the tripod for fear of my shaking hands would run the footage. All I could see of my partner wedged against a stunted pine was the tip of his undrawn arrow shaking uncontrollably on the rest. Before a shot presented itself, the bull smelled a rat and disappeared as quickly as he arrived. While this experience didn’t result in a dead elk, it did hopelessly addict me to calling them.

It seems that in all walks of life, be it the animal kingdom or humans, communication is a key ingredient for all social interac­tion. However not all living things communicate to the same degree. If you ask my wife, I am sure she will tell you I lack in the communication department, in fact I am sure she believes I don’t listen to her at all, but when it comes to communicating with animals I can barely shut up. Of all the animals I love to communicate with elk rate right at the top.

By nature elk are very vocal. The uninitiated often simply think of bulls bugling, but cows, calves and bulls make all sorts of noises year around. If you encounter a larger herd of elk while you might not hear a thing from a distance, if you get close you will hear lots of subtle vocalization. Most of the time these are sounds of contentment, but depending on what’s happening the vocalization reflects it. Elk can convey contentment, danger, curiosity, or a cow in heat. Bulls for instance only bugle primar­ily in the rut, but they also communicate to establish a pecking order. After spending a considerable amount of time chasing the mighty wapiti, I’m convinced every elk in the herd knows each other by sound alone. This happens with the cows as well as the bulls and based on my evaluation somewhere in this mix is the deadly secret to calling elk archery-close.

Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of Flattery

It seems that the more vocal a herd the better the odds are for success at calling them. Some cows call subtle, while others are loud-mouth ladies actively looking for a date. By listening it gives you a better opportunity to imitate the particular tones and intensity of the herd.

By calling we are automatically intruding into the social club without an invitation. The closer we can sound to a known elk, and match that intensity the better the odds are of filling a tag. Even though we may sound like an outsider to the herd, luckily for us, love crazed bulls are not looking to be intimate with just one or two cows they are looking for all the love of every cow in the world, so taking advantage of their sexual frustrations and promiscuity is what we aim to do.

It doesn’t take a world champion elk caller to trick bulls within range. By simply paying attention to the herd and under­standing simple elk rhythm, tone and more important volume when calling, a hunter can depend on an elk call to be a valuable asset to dulling broadheads.

Public Versus Private Land

Since I started hunting elk 16 years ago, on private as well as public ground, I have realize that comparing these two different types of ground are like comparing night and day and it is all about the amount of pressure each receives. Generally speaking private ground bulls are way easier to call than public ground animals, but this is not always the case. Some private land does get a lot of pressure, which can make for some pretty tough calling duels with elk that can serve you up a humble pie every time you bust out a call. While conversely some public land either through sheer remoteness or hard-to-get tags is like calling the best private land in the nation.

Hunting un-touched land and cow calling to bulls that have never heard a Hoochie Mamma would obviously be nice and it wouldn’t take long work­ing over these uneducated elk to start feeling like an elk calling pro only to be deflated the first time we went to the national forest and mixed it up with bulls so well-known by local hunters that they have knick names. However, regardless of where you hunt the basics of calling remain the same.

Start with mastering the cow call and all its various inflections. Your basic reed type calls are the easiest to learn as well as get proficient with. You will find two kinds; both are bite down reed-type of calls, one being enclosed and the other having an open reed or reeds. These calls make a very realistic sound and before your wife can run you out of the house you will master the basics.

This public land bull didn’t sound like much when he bugled, but he turned out to be a lot better of a bull when he responded to some subtlecalling and snuck into 16 yards.

I rely heavily on the cow call and think most of the time hunters are better off sticking with it over a bugle no matter where he is hunting. But learning how to make a basic bugle is important, especially for locating bulls at a distance before getting close and working him with your cow call. In addition, sometimes it is the bugle that finally provokes a dominant bull to commit, especially during the early season when bulls are still sorting out their peckin’ order.

Earning Your Public Ground PhD

Lets face it, unless you have deep pockets much of the private ground in the West is pretty much off limits, so you have to learn to hunt public land. This is not a bad thing as public ground comprises millions upon millions of acres across the West and happens to have some of the biggest bulls found anywhere. While it can be tougher than private, once you learn how to hunt it you won’t be disappointed. Over the years, one of my favorite places to hunt is the Gila National Forest, in New Mexico, and even though this is a trophy area tags are fairly obtainable through application.

In the Gila, the trophy potential is off the chart, sporting some of the biggest bulls in the country, but just because the big ones live there doesn’t mean that you automatically make one call and they come running to get in the back of your truck. These mature jokers have a PhD in avoiding hunters.

Over the last six years I have hunted this area religiously and have had the op­portunity to shoot some nice bulls all by using elk calls as an aid to close the coffin.

Notice I said, “as an aid”, meaning the call was just one thing in a bag of tricks to help smoke these monarchs. My biggest bull that came out of the Gila was a 378 P&Y bull that had earned the name Professor because he always seemed to take you to school when you applied too much pressure. However, this bull was vocal and would bugle his butt off. He also seemed to be fairly easy to find, not only by his gnarly, raspy bugle that set him apart, but frequently he could be found early in the morning in a large meadow just south of a particular water hole that always attracted a large herd.

The Professor was not the only bull in the area that had large headgear, but it was The Professor that seemed to call the shots. I had caught this bull in the open several times, but calling seemed to really make him uneasy when you were in close. The Professor however would bugle hard to distant cow calls and seem to be whole heartedly interested, but had a sixth sense when you moved in for the attack.

Finally we decided to have a caller stay behind as we worked him coming off the meadow at daybreak. By doing this we could keep him interested and bugling as we stalked in closer. The caller always was no closer than 80 yards behind me. While the caller kept him occupied, I slid within 50 yards and gave him a G5 Tekan right behind the shoulder. This hunt was really a stalk, but the call and caller had a big part to do with his demise. Once we started quartering the bull up, we found a piece of an old arrow lodged just below the backstraps, so obviously someone had him in close before and gave the Prof and education, which explained why he was so wary.

The Double Team

As this old bull showed, hunting with a partner can work extremely well. It not only puts the hunter out in front of the call, but it gives the hunter a chance to move and adjust the angle based on where the bull might be ap­proaching. Likewise, the caller has the flexibility to move as well and apply a lot of different calling techniques.

The double team plan worked again on another hunt. It had been hot and the bulls were only bugling early and late. As soon as the sun would rise the elk woods would turn in to a ghost town.

Just after daybreak on the fourth day of our hunt we heard this bull bugle. He hit it only two times, both very weak and he sounded like the littlest rag horn in the land but with no other game in town we went after him. Getting as close as pos­sible to where we thought the bugle came from I eased up and sat down by a pine stump while my buddy moved back and to my right about 40 yards. Neither of us were very optimistic about our chances. My buddy made one or maybe two very soft cow calls on a two reed diaphragm then he started raking a tree and rolled a few rocks. We sat there for possibly 10 minutes in silence, then out of nowhere appeared a wide 340 inch 6 x 6 coming directly to us, at 25 yards the bull let out a soft chuckle, looked over his surround­ing and kept walking in the direction of where the last rock had been rolled, which led him 16 steps from my pine stump. By now I was at full draw waiting for a broadside shot. When the arrow left my bow, I knew we had killed a call shy monster by keeping it low key and stay­ing patient. Needless to say, I was never convinced by the two times he had bugled earlier that he was a shooter. This was a lesson in itself. Never judge a bugle until you can see what is making the sound.

The most exciting way to bag a bull elk is to get him in close, and the best way to do that is with a call. Confidence in your call is critical, because if you’re insecure about using your call there is a good chance you will spook elk. Have confi­dence in your calling ability and become just another elk in the herd where you are hunting. Find a call that works for you and not what works for some else. Think like an elk and do as elk do. Real­ism, rhythm, and volume control can make the difference between bringin’ them in or running them over the next ridge. And remember its not always about calling, it can be just patiently listening to the sounds around you and applying minimal calls, while practicing good woodsmenship, and stalking skills that could help you put that monster on the back of the truck.

The “Professor”, Waddell’s largest bull came from the Gila National Forest in New Mexico. Public land bulls like this can be call shy and may require some double teaming with a separate caller to fool. Master the cow call and you will call in elk bow-close. Use the bugle to locate as well as seal the deal on an aggressive bull.

Nick Pallo was involved in a tragic accidental shooting while
conducting a night fox hunt on Dec 17, 2008. In short he needs
extensive surgeries and most of a chance to regain eyesight in his
left eye.

The Wildlife Pro Network is doing a benefit Auction Online. Any
vendors who want visibility for their products are encouraged to make
a donation and allow us to auction off your item, presently we have 17
items for sale that may interest anyone here. The auction will start
Sunday at 12 Pm and run through Jan 11, 2009. You can view what we
already have on hand now at the auction site at
http://www.wildlifepro.net/group/wpnauctiontobenefitnickpallo

On Sunday, January 4th, at 8pm EST, The Wildlife Pro Network will
again host its Live PodCast called Night Predator Hunting & Calling.

The PodCast can be heard at http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/16456/ and you
can join in by calling 724-444-7444 and entering the pin “1 #”.

Nick Pallo, will have a chance to explain his story in his own words
and talk about how the accident affected him, surgeries he expects to
have in the next few months, and get an update on the efforts made and
amounts raised to date.Nick will also take part in the main show.

Brent Saxton of Kees Productions and Ron Jones of Redneck Pride, Calls
& Scents. are two well spoken speakers in the trapping & game calling
industry and always put on a well informative show. They will join in
on Nick on Night Hunting safety and cover all topics related to Hunter
Safety,the proper use of calling techniques and the use of scents.The
show will last from 8 PM-10:00 PM and is definitely a show not want to
be missed. Sponsors: Kees Productions , Rednecks Pride Call and
Scents, & Skinny Moose Media.

[So far I have raised $803.33 for Nick pallo and have a goal of $5000
by 12 PM, Jan 11, 2009]

Robb Russell
www.wildlifepro.net

http://www.ncducks.com/ncducksraffle.html

NCDucks.com is having an anniversary raffle for a Remington 870, the link is posted above however if you

are not registered please contact me about getting your tickets and we will get you in for this great gun!

22,000 acres, I think we can deal with that!

N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Receives $12 Million in Grants for
Game Land Program

RALEIGH, N.C. (Nov. 7, 2007) – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will soon add 22,000-plus acres to its Game Land Program, thanks to the Natural Heritage Trust Fund, which awarded the agency more than $12 million in grants on Oct. 22 at its semi-annual meeting in Boone.

The grants will help with the purchase of six land tracts in seven Piedmont and Coastal region counties.

The largest of the tracts, Juniper Creek, is former International Paper land and consists of 18,624 acres of bottomland hardwood forest that connects the Green Swamp to the Waccamaw River. Juniper Creek is located in Columbus and Brunswick counties and is considered a great landscape connector, providing excellent habitat for several rare and state-threatened aquatic animals, such as the pygmy sunfish and the Waccamaw spike, a freshwater mussel.

Another former International Paper tract, 904 acres on the upper Tar River in Warren County, will be managed as early successional habitat, which is characterized by sparse tree cover and dense, shrubby groundcover. Due to changing land use practices, early successional habitat has declined significantly in North Carolina and is identified in the agency’s N.C. Wildlife Action Plan as critical habitat to maintain for the wide array of species that depend on it, such as grassland birds, songbirds, reptiles and small mammals.

The New Hope Valley tract, located in Orange and Chatham counties, will add 342 acres to Jordan Lake Game Land. The area is used as a prime roosting site for the Piedmont’s highest concentration of bald eagles feeding in Jordan Lake.

The Kassab tract, which will add 55 acres to the Stone Creek Game Land, is located south of Camp Lejeune. This tract would have been a prime target for development due to its close proximity to Jacksonville.

The 447-acre McCotter tract in Onslow County will protect a critical habitat connector for black bears between Croatan National Forest and Camp Lejeune, while the Diggs tract in Richmond County will provide 1,659 acres of ideal wetland habitat for Piedmont ducks.

The Natural Heritage Trust Fund, which provides supplemental funding to select state agencies for the acquisition and protection of important natural areas, is supported by 25 percent of the state’s portion of the tax on real estate deed transfers and by a portion of the fees for personalized license plates.

Since 1990, the Trust Fund has awarded the Commission more than $137 million in grants that have gone toward the purchase of 80,000+ acres for the state Game Land Program.

“Through its funding to the Wildlife Commission and other agencies and organizations for land acquisitions, the Natural Heritage Trust Fund contributes significantly to land conservation in North Carolina,” said David Cobb, chief of the division of Wildlife Management. “As a result of its dedication to this mission, many areas that would have been lost to development and other altered land uses are conserved in perpetuity and provide significant biological, social and economic benefits to our state.”

For more information on the agency’s Game Land Program or to view maps of game lands statewide, click here.

Starting on Monday October 29th Tobacco Road will have a daily devotional courtesy of www.sportsmandevotional.com.  IF you have not had a chance to check out their site you should it is well worth it!

NCWRC has set some baiting guidelines and here they are.

Guidelines Established for Mineral Supplements

RALEIGH, N.C. (Oct. 25, 2007) – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has established guidelines for the placement of mineral supplements to attract or feed deer, effective immediately.

Under the guidelines, any commercially available mineral supplement is considered a processed food product, which would prohibit the taking of black bear or the release of dogs in the vicinity.

In North Carolina, placement of processed food products in areas with an established bear hunting season is against the law. General Statute 113-294 defines a processed food product as any food substance or flavoring that has been modified from its raw components by the addition of ingredients or by treatment to modify its chemical composition or form or to enhance its aroma or taste.

The use of commercially available mineral supplements was not specifically addressed within the definition of processed food products under the state statute. That led to uncertainties about areas where mineral supplements had been placed for deer, but were also open for bear hunting. A resolution adopting the guidelines was approved by the governing board of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission at its Oct. 19 meeting.

In areas containing non-processed food products, such as corn, sweet potatoes and peanuts, it is against the law to still hunt for bear. Hunters using dogs to hunt bear may release dogs at a site containing these non-processed food products.

Placement of mineral supplements specifically for attracting or feeding deer remains legal. Bear hunters are reminded they cannot hunt or release dogs on these sites.

For more information, click here or call (919) 707-0030.

 

As some of you may have heard already on October 10th Avery Outdoors lost well known pro staffer Josh Leger in a tragic accident. Here is the tribute to him directly from the Avery Outdoors website at www.averyoutdoors.com. If you get a chance go take a look at the slide show at the bottom of the tribute! Rest in peace Josh!

 

The Last Migration…A Tribute to Jocelyn “Josh” Leger

By Mathieu Bouthillette & Hugues Leblond

The Last Migration…

For the past 25 years, Josh Leger had lived one migration at a time. It started as a 15 year old when a friend and his friend’s father took them hunting and as so often happens after one’s first experience with waterfowling; Josh became hooked right away. He got a duck boat before he even could afford a car to tow it around. Since then, he has been out fishing and hunting at every opportunity. Being a man of passion, Josh would not leave it at simple outings. Waterfowl hunting soon became a way of life and filled every aspect of his daily existence. Before long, he wanted to share what he had learned in the field with the people around him, and that group of people grew larger everyday. He was a charismatic man who was eager to get people excited about all types of hunting and fishing, but it was waterfowl hunting that really made the fires within Josh burn. Whether it was blind concealment, scouting, decoy spread tactics, calling or dog training and handling; he mastered every aspect of this hunt, and it wasn’t long before he was asked to share his thoughts and observations in magazines, web sites, forums, DVDs and as an industry Pro-Staffer. His opinion was so valued that when the Destination X film crew produced their first DVD, we sought (aside from our own team) one man’s approval only: Big Josh’s.

You had to have met him to know how contagious his enthusiasm was. He even managed to include his passion for dogs in his line of work, (or was it the opposite?) Jocelyn trained and handled dogs for customs and police corps in Québec and he was damn good at it. Spuds, Bibi, Brutus and Soya will have been the last of a long line of dogs with whom Jocelyn will have shared his passion and career.

Jocelyn was most content when his house was filled with friends. Every occasion was a good reason to have a BBQ or diner. He had many friends and he helped out anyone who needed it without seeking anything in return. I guess I realised we had become good friends when one day he needed help and he turned to me. If I had to guess if Jocelyn had regrets, I would say he regretted the fact he never had any children to pass his passion on to. I don’t know if he ever realised it, but we all inherited his passion and his love for waterfowl hunting. Seeing now how his death has touched us all and brought us together, it makes me realise he made us all into one big family and that he his engaging human nature will live in all of us who were touched by his life.

He spent most of his life promoting ethical hunting method and stood firmly against crawlers. The tragic irony in the fact that one of them caused his death is unbearable. On October 10, 2007 at around 4:00 pm, a man saw Jocelyn’s spread of decoys and thought they were real snow geese. The man stepped out of his car and shot one round of a .22 rifle from about 400 feet into the spread. He hit Jocelyn in the head.

Jocelyn was taken off the respirator at 11:00 pm on October 10 th , 2007. We are all in mourning of a great man, a great hunter, a great mentor and a great friend. He will be missed. We can find a slim consolation in knowing he did what he liked best, surrounded by good friends, but never again will the sound of geese echo the same memories in our minds, for, from now on, his memory will be at the forefront of every flight of migrating birds that announce the upcoming hunting seasons.

For those of you who have not heard yet Ducks Unlimited will have a Waterfowl Hunters Party in Laurinburg, NC on November 3rd.  Here are the details.
Saturday November 3rd 2-5 PM at Wallace Lodge Aberdeen Rd Laurinburg, NC

Prizes Include:

60 Dozen Avery decoys
Guns by Benelli, Ruger and Remington
Field Blinds
Blind Bags
Gun Cases
Decoy Bags
And Much, much more!!

Tickets $25.00 per person includes DU membership,food, beer.
1st 25 people to purchase Sportsman’s Raffle Package will recieve a dozen decoys.

Wear Camo clothing and recieve a free raffle ticket

Pre-sell tickets only
No tickets will be sold at the door
Call 252-425-1842 or online at  http://www.ducks.org/states/50/events/event13225.html

This is the only 1 that will be held in this area.
Fun and different. This isn’t your usual DU event.

We are still in the drought however in has not affected ANY hunting seasons yet!

Commission: Recent Drought Won’t Affect Hunting Seasons

RALEIGH, N.C. (Oct 11, 2007) – Despite continuing drought conditions, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is reminding the public that no changes have been made to upcoming hunting seasons.

“Although we are planning no changes to the upcoming hunting seasons with respect to the current drought, we do urge hunters to use extraordinary caution while afield due to the current dry conditions and the extreme potential for wildfire,” said David Cobb, chief of the Wildlife Management Division.

In past drought years, the Commission has received numerous calls asking if hunting seasons would be cancelled or altered due to prolonged dry weather. This season, as in those of the past, no changes are planned. While some outdoor opportunities – such as waterfowl hunting – may be negatively impacted by drought conditions, such seasons will remain open.

However, the Commission does urge hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts to use extreme caution during dry weather. While campfires and cigarette butts are obvious wildfire threats, muzzleloader rifles, a vehicle’s catalytic converter (which gets extremely hot and can set dry grasses ablaze) and general carelessness also pose risks.

For those of you who have yet to make it to the State Fair yet make sure to check out the Resources Commision’s Exhibit!

Wildlife Resources Commission’s “Habitat Is Where It’s At” Exhibit at State Fair

RALEIGH, N.C. (Oct. 9, 2007) – With urban development exploding, wildlife habitat is becoming a scarce commodity. Like humans, animals need good habitat to live, gather food and raise their young.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s “Habitat Is Where It’s At” exhibit at the 2007 State Fair provides visitors with information on what they can do to help conserve wildlife habitat, while offering them a close-up view of some of the priority species identified in the state’s Wildlife Action Plan.

Stroll down the universally accessible boardwalk to see an otter splashing playfully in the marsh, a peregrine falcon swooping in to grasp dinner with its talons and frogs calling to potential mates. These mounts and many more are scattered throughout re-creations of three North Carolina habitats — the cool, moist spruce fir forests found in the mountains; the fire-resistant longleaf pine savannah of the Piedmont; and the marshes, dunes and sandy beaches of the Coastal Region.

Two 150-gallon aquaria showcase the many different aquatic animals that call the Tar River home, including the Roanoke bass, bluehead chub, Eastern elliptio and swallowtail shiner.

New for this year is the “Test Your Wildlife Knowledge” game for kids 12 and younger. Participants who identify six animals correctly will receive an official “Junior Wildlife Biologist” certificate, courtesy of the Wildlife Resources Commission.

In keeping with this year’s theme, the wildlife button — a free, traditional state fair keepsake — features the robust redhorse, a fish that has declined in numbers and range due to habitat degradation.

Commission biologists, educators and administrative staff will answer questions, provide literature and staff the N.C. WILD Store, where visitors can purchase the newly arrived “Frogs and Toads of North Carolina” book with audio call CD, pick up a free copy of the award-winning Wildlife in North Carolina magazine or buy a wildlife calendar.

Wildlife officers from the Enforcement Division are staffing their free air rifle range where visitors can learn more about firearms safety from trained professionals. They also will staff the Sensory Safari, a hands-on exhibit of pelts, taxidermy specimens and animal bones.

More Information

The state fair will open Oct. 12-21. Fairground gates will be open from 8 a.m. until midnight daily, but the Commission’s tent , which is located downhill from the Holshouser Building, will be open to the public 10 a.m. until 9:30 p.m.