I have lots of advice. Whether your going to buy a new 4×4 truck, or going out for dinner, I can usually put in my “two cents”. But as far as elk hunting goes, I have narrowed it down to my favorite two tips. CALLING ELK No matter what elk hunting forum you choose to search for information on, you will find many differences in opinion on calling elk. Some say “call very sparingly.” Others may state “you can’t call in herd bulls.” Many might even say “you can’t rely on calls working at all.” But the fact of the matter is those statements are sometimes true, but not always. I always urge anyone who wants to get into elk hunting to learn how to use elk calls. No matter if it’s an easy to use “bite and blow” style call that doesn’t take much practice, or a slightly harder to use diaphragm reed, you must learn how to call elk. It increases your odds of locating elk, it will increase your odds of getting that last crucial step, and it will stop moving elk, all giving you an opportunity that may have passed you by. Not many things substitute real woodsman-ship. But calling elk will stack the cards in your favor. Ive said it before and I’ll say it again. “I would have never been successful killing elk, if I wouldn’t have learned how to call elk.” PERSISTANCE The old saying “persistence pays off” is just as true with elk hunting as it is with anything else worthwhile. Too may times have I heard the story of another hunter saying how they packed up camp when the going got tough. Sometimes elk come running in like a “Primos” video, but most of the time elk hunting is not easy and takes a fair amount of tenacity. You throw in wolves, hot weather, full moons, and an army of other hunters and you have many excuses of why you should just give up. But here’s the deal – you and I have spent every day since last hunting season beating ourselves up on what we should have done different. Maybe we walked away from a hot bull in the bottom of a tremendous hell hole. Perhaps we started missing our dear wife and kids. We may have even went as far as using some of the lame excuses above for the reason why we gave up and went home. What ever reason you used last year to pull out, write it down Sally, and at the beginning your going to write ” this year I’m not going to”……… And at the end of the reason, your going to write ” because I’m going to have the time of my life and elk season only comes once a year”! Carry this with you every day of the hunt, look at it often and then stick to your guns and don’t leave any regrets to haunt you for the whole next year. You have too much time and money riding on this thing to let it slip away. I want you to have an exceptional elk hunt this year, and I know you want it too. So polish up on your calling skills, and what ever you do, don’t give up!