I haven't seen any reviews on the new call by Elk Reel (www.elkreel.com). I just received mine in the mail, and since others probably have questions like I did, figured I’d share my thoughts.
I first heard about the Elk Reel from Jay Scott’s Instagram feed, I was curious enough that I looked up the Podcast (Episode #180) he did on it and listened to it. I’m a bit of a call junkie, with WAY too many calls, but this one was different enough, and sounded good enough, that I couldn’t help but get one to try out.
I got the White-oak version of the call. Ordering was easy enough (once I figured out that their website doesn’t work with the latest release of Chrome…J). The order was processed and shipped in a timely manner too. I especially appreciated the hand written note from Drew that came with the call.
Looking at the call, it is definitely a different form factor than any other elk call I have. (I don’t use bite/blow calls. They don’t sound realistic to me, and I don’t think they are as versatile as a good open reed call or diaphragm. My go to call is either the Phelps EZ estrus or the Matriarch. I usually use the matriarch because I figured out that I can attach the Tone converter from a Primos Hyper Lip to the end and expand the sound profile…I love the Mellow Yellow Mama diaphragm too…but I digress…).
The Elk Reel is primarily constructed of Wood. Looking from the top down, it is about 1 ½ inches by 1 ¼ inches. The bottom piece is about ½ inch thick, and the top piece a bit more than 1/16-inch-thick at one end, but the hinge side is thicker. The two halves are held together on the hinge side with what looks like a rubber O ring. There are also a couple of very small screws on the hinge side. There is a 3/16” thick piece of blue foam material attached to the top piece. There are sound grooves cut into the bottom piece in the shape of a Y, and the blue latex reed material is attached at the base of the Y. I want to use the call on my hunt this weekend, so I don’t dare take it apart yet, but it looks like the reed is held in place by wood wedges pushed into grooves in the bottom piece. You put the end of the call with the base of the Y in your mouth first, bite down to put pressure on the reed and blow. You can adjust the tone by adjusting the bite pressure. A spring is placed at the back end of the call that does a good job of returning the call in the open position when you let off the bite pressure. Here's some pictures:
The call is pretty easy to blow and make a decent sound out of right away. The biggest trick for me was getting used to the tension of the spring and figuring out how hard to bite, but that only took a few tries. Other than that it’s really straight forward. I’m a fan of Chris Roe’s “Assembly Mew” and “Lost Mew” and use them quite a bit in the woods when the situation calls for cow calling. The Elk Reel produces both sounds effectively. Mews and chirps are easy. There is an almost nasally vibration at the end of each sound that is pretty realistic. After a few tries, I have no problem with whines or the alleged Estrus Scream (or whatever you want to call it). The call is NOT as loud as my other open reads, especially the Matriarch or Trophy Wife. So if you want to really reach out for locating It might be too quiet. The sound is similar (at least to my ears) to a call through the tone converter of a hyper lip (or in my case a Matriarch w/tone converter). I think its going to work really well for up close calling. They did talk about bugling with it on the Jay Scott podcast, but I don’t like how it sounds for that purpose. I only plan to use it for cow sounds.
My biggest concern is how I’m going to manage the call while stalking in the woods. It has no obvious way of attaching the call to a lanyard like other calls, so you’ll have to treat it more like a diaphragm. But holding it in your mouth takes more pressure/work that a diaphragm. Its basically a ¾ inch thick block of wood that you hold between your teeth or lips. At $40, I’ll be really sad if I lose it. I’m still thinking through ways to attach it to a lanyard of some kind so I can drop it from my mouth without using my hands if I want too. I was also a bit disappointed to see that there were some “large” wrinkles in the latex, but I don’t know if that matters or not so I can’t say if I should be disappointed. It seems like the wrinkle rattles a bit at the end of the call...but I can't compare it yet. Its pretty subtle so the jury's out for me on that point. I’m also a bit leery of the screws. I’m worried they’ll split the wood because of how thin it is. I’m not an expert, but it does look like they’ve been glued and the white oak seems pretty hard so hopefully its ok.
All in all, I’m excited to try the call this season. I think this call will be really good for in close calling and even stopping an elk. The real test will be using it in the woods. I’ll post an update after I’ve actually used it in the woods.
I first heard about the Elk Reel from Jay Scott’s Instagram feed, I was curious enough that I looked up the Podcast (Episode #180) he did on it and listened to it. I’m a bit of a call junkie, with WAY too many calls, but this one was different enough, and sounded good enough, that I couldn’t help but get one to try out.
I got the White-oak version of the call. Ordering was easy enough (once I figured out that their website doesn’t work with the latest release of Chrome…J). The order was processed and shipped in a timely manner too. I especially appreciated the hand written note from Drew that came with the call.
Looking at the call, it is definitely a different form factor than any other elk call I have. (I don’t use bite/blow calls. They don’t sound realistic to me, and I don’t think they are as versatile as a good open reed call or diaphragm. My go to call is either the Phelps EZ estrus or the Matriarch. I usually use the matriarch because I figured out that I can attach the Tone converter from a Primos Hyper Lip to the end and expand the sound profile…I love the Mellow Yellow Mama diaphragm too…but I digress…).
The Elk Reel is primarily constructed of Wood. Looking from the top down, it is about 1 ½ inches by 1 ¼ inches. The bottom piece is about ½ inch thick, and the top piece a bit more than 1/16-inch-thick at one end, but the hinge side is thicker. The two halves are held together on the hinge side with what looks like a rubber O ring. There are also a couple of very small screws on the hinge side. There is a 3/16” thick piece of blue foam material attached to the top piece. There are sound grooves cut into the bottom piece in the shape of a Y, and the blue latex reed material is attached at the base of the Y. I want to use the call on my hunt this weekend, so I don’t dare take it apart yet, but it looks like the reed is held in place by wood wedges pushed into grooves in the bottom piece. You put the end of the call with the base of the Y in your mouth first, bite down to put pressure on the reed and blow. You can adjust the tone by adjusting the bite pressure. A spring is placed at the back end of the call that does a good job of returning the call in the open position when you let off the bite pressure. Here's some pictures:
The call is pretty easy to blow and make a decent sound out of right away. The biggest trick for me was getting used to the tension of the spring and figuring out how hard to bite, but that only took a few tries. Other than that it’s really straight forward. I’m a fan of Chris Roe’s “Assembly Mew” and “Lost Mew” and use them quite a bit in the woods when the situation calls for cow calling. The Elk Reel produces both sounds effectively. Mews and chirps are easy. There is an almost nasally vibration at the end of each sound that is pretty realistic. After a few tries, I have no problem with whines or the alleged Estrus Scream (or whatever you want to call it). The call is NOT as loud as my other open reads, especially the Matriarch or Trophy Wife. So if you want to really reach out for locating It might be too quiet. The sound is similar (at least to my ears) to a call through the tone converter of a hyper lip (or in my case a Matriarch w/tone converter). I think its going to work really well for up close calling. They did talk about bugling with it on the Jay Scott podcast, but I don’t like how it sounds for that purpose. I only plan to use it for cow sounds.
My biggest concern is how I’m going to manage the call while stalking in the woods. It has no obvious way of attaching the call to a lanyard like other calls, so you’ll have to treat it more like a diaphragm. But holding it in your mouth takes more pressure/work that a diaphragm. Its basically a ¾ inch thick block of wood that you hold between your teeth or lips. At $40, I’ll be really sad if I lose it. I’m still thinking through ways to attach it to a lanyard of some kind so I can drop it from my mouth without using my hands if I want too. I was also a bit disappointed to see that there were some “large” wrinkles in the latex, but I don’t know if that matters or not so I can’t say if I should be disappointed. It seems like the wrinkle rattles a bit at the end of the call...but I can't compare it yet. Its pretty subtle so the jury's out for me on that point. I’m also a bit leery of the screws. I’m worried they’ll split the wood because of how thin it is. I’m not an expert, but it does look like they’ve been glued and the white oak seems pretty hard so hopefully its ok.
All in all, I’m excited to try the call this season. I think this call will be really good for in close calling and even stopping an elk. The real test will be using it in the woods. I’ll post an update after I’ve actually used it in the woods.
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