Custom Elk Calls by Gene Galitz

Thanks to another great connection via social media (Twitter) my husband and I were blessed with learning about and purchasing some amazing custom elk calls made from elk antler!

 

Gene Galitz of Fins & Feathers Taxidermy from Wyoming called in his first elk in 1989 using a mouth diaphragm. Over the years he has put in years of effort trying varying calls (some with success, others producing dismal results). He has called over 40 elk into range with about half into bow range and he decided to try his hand at producing elk calls.



*The calls are hand turned from stabilized elk antler. Each call insert is hand tuned to each particular call barrel, then cutting and shaving the reed until it sounds just right. Several coats of durable weatherproof finish is applied, then sanded to a high gloss finish. The elk antler barrel produces true elk sounds and unparalleled volume*
 

 We purchased 2 separate custom elk calls to use on our Colorado elk hunt; The E1 adult cow call and the E2 young elk/calf. I know there are numerous calls out there that you can buy over the counter but I thought about how many hunters use those and more importantly how many elk have heard a hoochie mama or a Primos call. Could a custom made and tuned call really make the difference?

 

 

We were willing to try. We don't get to spend a lot of time scouting in Colorado and although we put in hours and hours of research of bedding areas, migration routes, hot spots etc, hunting public land means, well public. A lot of hunters, a lot of traffic and a lot of calls. I have learned with elk calling its not just what you say but how you say it and having a different, unique and extremely real sounding call could be the difference maker.


The call used for my cow elk and the two aspens where I shot her!

 

When that moment arrived on our hunt where the cow elk and my husband were calling back and forth, I stood in amazement trying to decipher who was who, I knew the calls were good. Would we have called in an elk without Gene's custom calls...maybe, but I like to think the custom-ness of the sound was something she hadn't heard chirping up and down the mountain before and she was truly deceived to come in that close.

 

Another reason I am sold on these custom calls...well we were the first ones to use them and call in an elk and kill it; for rookie 2nd year elk hunters, that's a win in my book. I have always struggled using calls too and these proved to be easy to use!

I am forever grateful for not only an awesome product, but a great connection and friendship made throughout the process. My husband and I are honored to have dropped the first elk with Gene's calls (and have his initials on one of them). The second elk to fall to these custom calls was his wife Judy's spike elk! It appears a rookie and a veteran elk hunter can use them and expect success!

Want to order?

 

*Each call is produced from either a naturally shed antler or one you provide; comes with an instructional video, a velour carrying bag and a call lanyard. The E1 adult cow call or the E2 young elk/calf call are both extremely versatile and with practice can be used as a predator call (coyote vocalizations and prey animal distress sounds).     

 

 

Price: $140

Find Gene here:

Phone #: 307-332-7772

Website: www.finsandfeatherstaxidermy.net

FB: https://www.facebook.com/Fins-and-Feathers-Taxidermy-248689265180304/timeline/

Email: ggalitz@q.com

 

Gene's wife Judy with her 15th archery elk & another elk to fall to the custom calls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Lite Women's Gear - Full Review

 

In all of my years of hunting I have never owned top notch base layers; in Texas it rarely gets extremely cold & true hiking is minimal, so it was never much of a priority until last year. My first trip to Colorado hunting elk proved how important good base layers are and this year I was able to put the new women's base layers from First Lite to the test. The results are in and they are overwhelmingly great!

Sizing/Fit: Phenomenal! Every piece actually fit the way I wanted it to. Tapered and fitted in the body of the tops, long sleeves with thumb holes, and the length of the tops were extra long (my favorite part). I hate it when my shirt comes up while hiking, climbing, sitting, and moving around and both pieces (Artemis Hoodie & Lupine Crew) were long enough that it never happened. That extra length made the pieces perfect for me because I have a long torso. I hate being warm and then the base layer creeps up exposing skin and a chill that ruins your body temperature or when hiking and my backpack pulls it up. The Larkspur bottoms feature a wide waistband to help fit all body types and keep them in place while moving. They also lay flat and do not bunch up.   
*Overall Grade Sizing/Fit = A+

First Lite Lupine Crew in Size Medium, RealTree Max 1 pattern. This is the next to skin base layer. I will be ordering another in a size small because the medium was a bit loose. The length of the body and the sleeves were perfect.
http://www.firstlite.com/womens-lupine-crew-1032.html



First Lite Artemis Hoodie in Size Medium, First Lite Fusion Camo Pattern. Perfect for the second layer after the Lupine Crew. The long length of the body and sleeves were my favorite part. Half zip in the front and lightweight hoodie in the back.
 http://www.firstlite.com/womens-artemis-hoody.html



Larkspur Full Length Bottom in Size Small, RealTree Xtra pattern. The wide waistband was great for adapting to varying body shapes and stayed in place at all times.
http://www.firstlite.com/womens-larkspur-full-length-bottom.html

Function: I wore all 3 pieces (I didn't have the Syringa shorts yet) for 9 days straight in varying weather from high 30's in the mornings to high 60's in the afternoons. The pieces were only washed once because of blood from my cow elk on day 3. The solid 6 days afterwards proved their true capabilities. They were very warm in the mornings and kept me cool in the afternoons. I honestly haven't experienced anything like this before and was so excited. Even on the hikes and climbs when I did sweat, they NEVER had any smell! (Trust me I smelled my armpits of both pieces everyday and could never detect any scent! It was crazy).
*Overall Grade Odor Control & Thermal Regulation = A+

 Camo Patterns/Material:

I loved the Fusion camo (seen in the pics in the Artemis Hoodie) but they offer 3 solid colors (black, sage & golden) and 4 camo patterns (First Lite Fusion, ASAT, RealTree Max 1, & Realtree Xtra). Every piece is 100% Merino Wool, double stitched and without extra pink accents that many woman are frustrated with.

*Overall Grade Camo Patterns/Material = A+

 

Accessories: I also wore the Talus fingerless merino wool gloves and the 5-panel tech hat. The hat was very lightweight; made of nylon with a mesh lining which kept my head cool while hiking but the fabric also made for a few fit issues for my small head. The brim of the hat does not stay formed very well and would flatten out often. The Talus fingerless gloves were just right for the cool temperatures. I would upgrade to thicker gloves for temps below 35.

*Overall Grade 5-Panel Tech Hat = B+

*Overall Grade Talus Gloves = A+ (above 35 deg)

 

Check out the First Lite women's gear here: http://www.firstlite.com/products/womens.html

 

 

Bottom Line - this stuff works, fits, and played a critical role in my successful elk hunt. Scent control, function and fit were never a concern of mine because the First Lite gear did what it should...finally, gear that works for women! THANK YOU! I can't wait until their full line of women's gear comes out! 

 

 

 

My First Elk

Welcome back to Colorado. It was only our second year hunting elk; all DIY, all public land. We had drawn either sex elk (and mule deer) tags for the units we wanted and the hunt was on.

It was the third day of the hunt and we had seen a elk in a few different spots but all about the same elevation. We climbed up to a spot next to a narrow but deep ditch that continued to the bottom of the mountain. The hope was if the elk came from one direction it would force them up and over right into my lap. I set up right on a game trail seriously contemplating my spot and if I should move. My husband was set up 30 yards from me to call and our other buddy another 30 yards past him so there wasn't anywhere else for me to go.

After a few series of calls it remained quiet. About 6:30pm an elk calf jumped over some brush and stood on the trail 7 yards from me. It caught me off guard, but I just froze and watched. She crossed back above the ditch and all was quiet again. My husband called but not much response.

Finally at 7:15pm we heard a call back. A few chirps back and forth and I was convinced it was another hunter. I had never heard an elk in the wild (only on videos and calls) but it sounded too perfect; I was ready anyway standing with my bow. A few more chirps back and forth and then some heavy rustling around in the brush. There was no way this was a hunter!

My heart started racing as a million thoughts went through my head. Will they cross over, will I have a shot, what will it be, will they present a shot before it gets dark, stop shaking, dang it! my release came out of the D-loop, how far was that tree, and that tree...what are you worried about 90% of the shot windows are 20 yards or less, stop overthinking it, remember the vitals, remember all the practice...wait...is that an elk head?

As I stood shaking in complete awe of the vocal conversations going on between my husband and the elk, I was growing more excited. A huge smile was already on my face to be witnessing a magical moment of my husband talking to the elk! As I looked up I saw a cow elk head grabbing Aspen leaves with her mouth and ripping them off. Her ears were huge out to each side and I just prayed she kept moving into view. I didn't have a shot because only her head was visible. I saw the calf jump through the brush behind her and knew this could really happen.

Daylight was fading and I was trying to force my eyes to adjust to the mountain light and shadows. The cow slowly exposed herself from the brush and I drew knowing she was about 20 yards away. But wait...no it wasn't good. The grass and brush was so tall shooting upward and I didn't feel I had a clean shot. I held for a few seconds but knew it was wrong and I wasn't comfortable. Trying to let down slowly I hear my husband softly calling to her and she started walking again.

As I let down my adrenaline got the best of me and it happened too fast. My arrow fell off and hit the dirt beside me! Oh geez, I am about to mess it all up and ruin my chance! As she stepped behind a pine tree I saw my chance to grab my arrow and get set again. Luckily my husbands calls had kept her pre-occupied on him and not on me. As I watched her slowly come into view from the pine I drew my bow back again shaking and trying to calm myself.

She stepped between two aspen trees just wide enough to frame her vitals and then it was a blur. I don't even remember aiming, releasing or the impact. I heard my arrow hit...something...but it was so close and happened so fast I was unsure of what my eyes had seen. With a lower draw weight I don't always get complete pass throughs (especially hunting hogs with their tough shields) so it's not uncommon to see my lighted nock sticking out of the animal as it darts away. I guess I was expecting the same thing but I never even saw my lighted nock!

The final distance of the shot was an incredibly close 8 yards! There wasn't much chance of missing her but I could have made a bad shot which is much worse than any clean miss.

After the loud thwack the woods came alive like I've never seen or heard! This massive animal was breaking trees like twigs and her heavy footing broke all silence surrounding us. She ran about 30 yards straight to my husband where he said he could have reached out and touched her! He was so nervous she was going to trample him sitting under the tree he leaned back and she caught his movement causing her to run up another 15 yards.

As I am standing in my spot in disbelief wondering what just happened he said he could see my great shot placement and hear her struggling to breath as a typical lung shot will cause. I was so excited but confused of everything happening so fast, I left all my stuff and made my way to my husband. He confirmed I made a good shot and we just needed to wait for her to fall. Daylight was nearly gone and our buddy slowly made his way to us. We could barely see her as she took a few steps back towards my spot and then we heard the sweetest crashing and rolling noise my ears have ever witnessed!

Still in disbelief and scared of pushing her up the mountain we waited a few minutes longer. Animals can do crazy things and I was not about to push this beautiful elk any further up or around this mountain knowing we would be packing her out. Finally, we started by following the blood trail just to be safe and within 30 seconds our buddy spotted her first! Before I could even walk up to her I turned and embraced my husband with tears already flowing, the biggest smile ever, and complete euphoria and disbelief.


The moment I saw her will forever be frozen in time; her massive belly was its own mountain and the sheer size of her took my breath away. She was up against a tree and we needed to move her for pictures and to hopefully roll her down the steep slope some. Luckily we were able to roll her a short distance and then set up for pictures. Her head was so heavy and covered my entire body. Her hide was gorgeous, her face serene and I thanked her for her sacrifice and her meat.

We were able to roll her down a little more before we reached a path of no return. As we rolled her my arrow came out still in tact! I had punctured both sides of her but it stayed inside. (For size relevance my arrows are about 26 inches long and the entire arrow was inside her meaning she was much wider than that!) We had to stop and start quartering her up or risk losing her in the deep ditch and risk our safety. So the long process began in the dark of getting her valuable meat into game bags and down the steep, nearly 30 degree incline to the ice chest in the truck. We also found my glowing nock inside her while cleaning her! Although the distance to the truck wasn't miles the brutal hikes up and down 4-5 times was harsh.

Nearly 5 hours of quartering her up, packing her meat and falling down and up the mountain with just flashlights and faith, our rookie team of 3 had officially called in, shot and killed, and packed out a beautiful cow elk. I can honestly say it was one of the toughest and most rewarding moments of my life. Everyone was truly in beast mode pushing themselves beyond their limits. The falls, the sudden stops by trees, the 'just tuck and roll' or 'go with it' moments, the cursing as your frame pack hangs up on a tree, and the entire body exhausting process will humble you.
 

Final Words: WORTH IT!

P.S. I will have a special blog coming up about the custom calls we used and why they mean so much to us & the maker of them!