Ep. 148: The What and Why of Elk Calling
Cutting The Distance
MeatEater
4.9 • 6.8K Ratings
🗓️ 31 July 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
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Summary
In this episode of Cutting the Distance, we dive into a Pendleton Whisky Q&A session that tackles some of the most common—and most critical—questions elk hunters have heading into the season. Jason Phelps shares what to do when your cameras are lighting up with elk but not many bulls, how often you can realistically expect a bull to respond to your calling, and his personal breakdown process when it comes time to put meat on the ground. He also explores where to start your search in a new unit.
Then we shift gears into calling strategy—breaking down the basic elk vocalizations every hunter should know, from cow mews to challenge bugles, and when to use them. You'll learn how to adapt your tactics as the rut progresses, how to tell a believable story through your calls, and what it means when a bull cuts you off mid-bugle. Whether you’re brand new to elk hunting or just trying to refine your setup, this episode is packed with real-world insight that can tip the odds in your favor this fall.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:04.5 | What's hibernation and why do some mammals hibernate? |
| 0:08.3 | When animals vocalize, what are they saying and what does it mean? |
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| 0:15.2 | We're going to give you the hard-hitting answers, kids, for why things are the way they are. |
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| 0:31.9 | Yeah. Welcome back to another episode of cutting the distance. |
| 0:48.5 | Elk season is right around the corner, |
| 0:50.6 | and I'd be lying to say that this isn't my favorite time of the year to record podcast |
| 0:53.9 | because I get to talk about elk. |
| 0:55.8 | I got to talk about elk calls, elk calling, the strategy, the what works most of the time, |
| 1:02.1 | what works not very often, what can improve your odds of when you go to make that call |
| 1:06.7 | that that bull ends up into archery range or muzzle order range or whatever your your your weapon is and so I love this time of year I love talking podcasts about elk |
| 1:15.7 | so we're going to answer I got four listener questions if they've showed up in my email |
| 1:20.4 | over the last week I've tweaked them a little bit to be better podcast question |
| 1:23.5 | and we're going to just jump into the what and why of elk calls, elk vocabulary and |
| 1:27.7 | how I think about that. Basic sounds every hunter needs to know out in the woods and maybe |
| 1:32.3 | sounds that don't really matter. And then go into maybe some more advanced strategies on, you know, |
| 1:36.9 | telling the story, adding realism, being able to read the response that you're getting from elk |
| 1:41.3 | out there to become more successful and making sure that your next move is maybe the right move. |
| 1:48.1 | So to jump in, today's Pendleton Whiskey's question and answer, question number one, I have an |
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