The tactics below come from a conversation with Fred Eichler, Bear Archery ambassador and the first traditional bowhunter to complete the North American Super Slam, recorded for the Trad Hunters Podcast.
Fred Eichler has been guiding elk hunters for over thirty years, and he's watched the same mistake happen more times than he can count. A bull is closing the distance, everything looks perfect, and then the whole setup falls apart in the last fifty yards. Fred doesn't just have a theory about why. He has one story that taught him more than any of the others.
The Bull That Got Called Too Much
Fred was on public land with a client, watching from a high aspen ridge while a friend named Brian worked a bull from somewhere below. He heard a couple of cow calls and watched a bull come out of an aspen patch 300 to 400 yards out, walking steady toward the sound. Everything was working.
Then it wasn't.
The bull got to roughly 100 to 150 yards and Brian called again. The bull slowed but kept coming. Then a third call. The bull stopped, turned, and slowly walked away. Fred and his client watched the whole thing through binoculars. The wind hadn't shifted. The bull hadn't smelled anything. He left because the calling never stopped.
Stop Calling When the Bull Is Moving
Fred has made the exact same mistake himself, more than once, and he's watched other guides do it repeatedly. Over-calling is probably one of the worst things a lot of people do, especially when a bull is starting to close the distance. His rule now is simple: a few cow calls, then give it 20 to 30 minutes. Let the silence do the work.
He also points out that elk sneak in far more often than most hunters realize. Plenty of hunters have a version of this story in reverse: they got up to leave or move to another spot and a bull blew up right in front of them, one they never knew was there. Silence is not a failure. It is often the setup working exactly as it should.
Why Elk Hang Back in the First Place
Fred explains the hesitation with a comparison to two guys sizing each other up before a fight. You are going to look the other guy over before you commit. Elk do the same thing. A bull does not want to run in on a more dominant animal, and he is also wary enough to slow down and read the situation before he closes the final distance. Every extra call after he starts moving is one more data point telling him something is off. A bull coming to a call is deciding, right up until the moment he isn't, whether this is a fight worth having or a situation worth committing to.
Hunters From Out East Give Themselves Away
Setup mistakes cost as many bulls as over-calling, and Fred sees the same pattern repeatedly with hunters who normally hunt from a tree. They are used to being above the action. Put them on the ground and they are a fish out of water. They set up facing the sun instead of away from it. They pick the bright side of a tree instead of the shady side. Small details like shadow and sun angle rarely matter from twenty feet up in a stand. On the ground they are often the difference between staying hidden and getting picked off by a bull's eyes before he ever gets close enough to smell trouble.
Reading the Terrain a Bull Actually Trusts
Fred is direct about where a lot of hunters get their mental picture of elk hunting wrong, and he points the finger at hunting TV shows filmed on huge private ranches with limited pressure. Bulls bugling across open fields is not what pressured public land elk do. On real, hard-hunted ground, a bull picks his approach the same way a smart hunter should be thinking about setup. He is going to come in through the thickest cover he can find, somewhere he can see before he is seen and disappear quickly if something feels wrong.
Fred's advice is to think like the bull before picking a setup spot. Anticipate where he will feel safe committing, then use the terrain to funnel him into range instead of hoping he crosses open ground.
The Fine Line Between Cover and a Clean Draw
Even a perfect setup location can fail on the mechanics of the draw itself. Fred has had hunters burrow so deep into cover that a bull showed up and they literally could not draw without breaking branches. He has had hunters set up in ground so open that drawing without getting spotted was impossible. The setup that works threads both needs at once: enough cover to break up the hunter's outline, enough clearance to draw without making a sound.
He adds face paint, a head net, toned-down feather color, and shadow to the same list. Bright fletching is one more thing a bull's eyes can catch before he ever commits to the final yards.
A Decoy Changes the Math
One tool Fred leans on to tip hesitant bulls over the edge is a decoy. They don't work every time, but when a bull hangs up and starts circling to confirm what he is hearing, visual proof of another elk can pull him straight in. A bull that is already curious but not quite committed often just needs to see something real before he closes the distance. Fred credits decoys with getting bulls into traditional bow range on hunts where calling alone had not been enough to seal the deal.
The Real Odds Behind the Excitement
Even with every piece of the setup right, Fred is upfront about how often calling actually converts. He kills roughly 1 out of 10 elk that get called into bow range. Guides across New Mexico and Arizona have given him the same number independently. Ten bulls at bow range to kill one. Compare that to a stationary ambush over a waterhole or trail, where the number flips to 7 out of 10. Calling is by far the more exciting way to hunt elk. But Fred wants hunters going in with realistic expectations about how many committed bulls it actually takes to close one out.
Every mistake Fred describes traces back to the same root cause: forgetting that a bull inside fifty yards is still actively deciding whether to keep coming. Fewer calls, better wind awareness, terrain that a pressured bull will actually trust, and a draw that won't give away the position all add up to the same result. The last fifty yards is not won by getting a bull's attention. It is won by not losing it.
Fred has been involved in archery since he was a young man. He has successfully harvested numerous trophies with his bow from all over the world. He has also completed the Super Slam taking all 29 North American Species with his recurve bow. His past work experience includes working for Bear Archery.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common mistake elk hunters make when calling?
According to Fred Eichler, the most common mistake is over-calling once a bull has started closing the distance. A bull approaching a call is actively reading the situation and deciding whether to commit. Every unnecessary call after he starts moving gives him one more reason to slow down or turn away. Fred's rule is a few cow calls followed by 20 to 30 minutes of silence. Elk sneak in far more often than most hunters expect, and silence is often what brings them the rest of the way.
How do you set up on the ground for elk hunting when you normally hunt from a tree stand?
Fred points out that hunters who are used to tree stands often make basic ground hunting mistakes that give them away at close range. Setting up on the sunny side of a tree instead of the shady side, facing into the sun, and choosing positions without enough cover for a clean draw are the most common errors. On the ground, sun angle and shadow matter as much as wind. The setup needs to break up the hunter's outline, keep the sun behind the hunter, and leave enough clearance to draw a bow without making noise.
Do elk decoys work for traditional bowhunting?
Fred Eichler uses decoys regularly and credits them with getting hesitant bulls into traditional bow range on hunts where calling alone was not enough. A bull that is circling to confirm what he is hearing often just needs visual confirmation that another elk is actually there before he commits. Decoys do not work on every bull in every situation, but Fred has seen them pull circling bulls straight in when the setup had otherwise stalled. He considers them a valuable tool for tipping the odds when a bull is close but not quite committed.
Why do elk hang up and stop coming when called?
Fred explains that a bull closing on a call is sizing up the situation the entire time, the same way a person would before committing to a confrontation. He does not want to walk into a fight with a more dominant bull, and he is wary enough to slow down and read every piece of information available before closing the final distance. Over-calling gives him too much information, and inconsistencies in the calling pattern, timing, or volume can signal that something is off. Terrain that does not offer the bull a safe approach route is another reason bulls hang up before entering bow range.