Whether you are calling in a cow or a bull elk, calling properly is vital. As I prepared for my 2014 elk hunt, I contacted Rockie and Rena Jacobsen, owners of Rocky Mountain Game Calls, and asked for their advice. When I explained I was planning on using diaphragm calls, they recommendedthe Bully Bull Grunt Tube for my hunt. They recommended three of their diaphragm calls to practice with.
All summer long I practiced in my garage. I also practiced in my car on my commute to work. I scared the heck out of my neighbors dogs and I am sure some of the pedestrians in my neighborhood walked just a bit faster when hearing my guttural atrocities. For about a week, I became a mediocre elk caller. I had the sound right and then moved on to combining that with the Bully Bull Grunt Tube. Utilizing the Bully Bull along with a diaphragm call was a challenge for me. The tube worked great, but my calling was bad. In fact, my daughter heard me using it more than once and asked if she could try. Five years old at the time, she walked around bellowing like an elk through the tube and I thought she sounded better than me! When she started using it, I got to hear how far the sound would travel for my ears and could only imagine how an elk could pick it up. The sound through the grunt tube is fantastic and my daughter constantly asks to use it. She loves carrying it around and pretending she is elk hunting. I foresee an elk hunt in her future.
As I am mediocre at calling elk using a diaphragm call, I could not do the tube justice in a video. Instead of sharing me butchering a call, I am sharing this video from Rockie Jacobsen. He does a much better job of showing the proper way to use the grunt tube.
The grunt tube is lightweight, has an awesome sound and you can adjust the end for different tones (which Rockie shares in the video). I brought it to Colorado for my elk hunt and tried locating a bull by using it. I tried hard before we hiked in to be sure I could do it. I’ll admit, I was still terrible at using it, and it showed I needed more practice. I am continuing to practice with it as I plan on mastering at least one call through it. If I am going to hunt elk in the future, I must get a decent sound out of the calls if I want to be successful.
My only personal issue with the grunt tube is the sheer size and bulk. I say personal because the when I was packing in 3-5 miles, I found it cumbersome with all of the gear I had. The call is lightweight, but I packed way too much. I had wished the Bully Bull collapsed a bit, but that would take away from the incredible sound it allows. It does have a carrying cord that makes it easier to carry.
The Bully Bull Grunt Tube retails for $33.95 and if you are good at using a diaphragm call I highly recommend it. When I got a good tone on the diaphragm call, the sound coming through the Bully Bull was awesome! If I can master the call, I will continue to use it. I might opt to go with something like the Bugling Bulls Select-A-Bull Elk Calling System. This one might be better suited for my lackluster calling skills, but I haven’t given up on the Bully Bull challenge yet!
Be First to Comment