Calling deer
Massachusetts
Does anyone ever had any luck calling in deer with grunts? I personally never have with a buck grunt but was thinking about getting the extinguisher call. Just didn't know if I was wasting my time. I watch all these hunting shows and I swear they train these deer with grunt calls when the corn gets put out.
BJ get yourself the extinguisher. The deer will come running in looking like that buck in your trail cam photo. I’m gonna try to sweet talk a nanny in tonight
I was out with my daughter in the tree stand out back and she was calling for about an hour. We were out for 2 hours. We go in the house and five minutes later there's a deer there. Coincidence? I don't know. Friday night I was hunting Before Sunset. I was calling and calling and calling and I had a button buck come on in real fast. That was kill number one for the season. Sometimes it works sometimes it don't. I've been out in the treestand tonight for 2 hours now calling and calling but nothing came so far. So it is kind of hit-or-miss.
Ok thanks guys. I'll give it a try and Of coarse moons has one on him as we speak lol
Personally I think it is a bit of an art. I think there are times to call and times not to and there certain calls a buck makes at certain times and doesn't others. I would love to take a class in sometime to learn when to do what and how to properly execute like a tending sequence etc. For that reason I rarely call, usually an attempt to turn a deer that working it way out of range. I have had a variety of grunt calls over the years and I certainly have heard alot of bucks grunt but I will say no grunt tube I ever used sounds like the real thing. The tone is not the same.
I rarely call unless I have a visual first although this two weeks before Thanksgiving, I'll cold call a number of times on stand. Bucks are cruising and may be just out of sight but within hearing distance. I killed a buck today that came in on a string to my can. Sometimes it works and sometimes it don't.
I'm with Proline. I have no idea what I'm telling the deer when I try it. Usually I hold off to try to turn one that's heading away.
I blindly called this am with the can and the 8 I shot came right in. That was a first
Maybe its me but I hardly ever hear deer make any vocal noise..maybe the areas I hunt they're kinda used to people so they stay quiet ? I've tried everything from the can to primos to grandma lils flapper trapper( I made that last one up but if I ever make a call )..I've had deer 30yrds and walk away from the can..I dunno its an art
I've usually avoided calling, for the most part, but I'm gonna try some funky stuff soon and see what happens. I've been watching a bunch of elk hunting stuff recently and those guys call while purposefully running around, breaking branches, smashing trees, to make the calling sequences sound real. It might sound crazy, but I'm going to try the same while smashing my rattle bag and hitting the grunt. I might blow the spot up, might learn something, who knows! But I'm gonna try it.
First deer I ever killed, I bleated in with an old woods wise call that had two rectangular reeds you used your teeth to create different tones with. Called in many deer with that call and killed several. Various other grunt tubes after that have all worked great - primos, flextone, knight and hale, mad and now the extinguisher. The can call lead to a bunch of dead deer for me, and for my wife her first deer she shot at (miss) she called in that way, and the first deer she killed (a spike) came in to a combo of grunts and bleats as well.
After she did that a buddy of ours tried it and killed one. I've had a good deal of luck since blind calling the same way - couple grunts, couple bleats, couple grunts, couple bleats (end on a bleat, to quote my wife: "the woman should always have the last word").
I dont know that anyone can be sure "what" deer are saying. But having heard bucks grunt chasing does, I can assure you that it's loud - your cant over do the volume unless doing so makes your call sound closer to a crow than a pig. It's got inflection, and it's variable in length.
I've never heard a doe bleat in estrus. I have heard fawn's softly bleat to call in mom. Sounds exactly like a very quiet can call.
I think it was BC who noted when he blind calls - I'm in the same boat. I dont even try outside November any more. It might work in December, but my response rate in November has been so much better than any other period that I dont even bother any more.
I will try to turn a deer towards me if it's moving by out of range and seems to be moving off. If I do that, I wont call when it's head is in a position that would allow it to see me, and ideally, it's head is behind something like a bush or hemlock or pine etc. The second it acknowledges the call I stop and wont try again unless either it starts to walk off again or goes back to feeding or something. If it's looking, I'm NOT calling. They win that battle almost all the time.
I've had really limited luck bleating at bucks who are within my field of view. Only two responded, but both I was able to shoot at. Killed a 7pt and skinned the brisket on what would have been my biggest ever. In both cases, I flipped the can over IN my pocket to muffle it since they were close, and it was totally a "in the moment" decision. Felt like they were looking for love, but ready to move on, so I hit the call. The other times I've tried it on deer passing out of range it didnt work, they either ignored it or literally ran off.
When I blind call, Ill either do 2-3 bleats with the can or the extinguisher. I try to give them some inflection WAaaaHH vs just waah with the extinguisher, and with a can I change angles briefly mid flip to change the tone slightly. Ill do that maybe 2X hour in an area I've seen a good number of bucks on cam or in person. I've had poor results trying to call does with bleats. Many guys have luck, It's only worked once for me, so I rarely do it if I feel like there are almost only does around.
If I dont do that, Ill do the call my wife did - couple grunts, couple bleats repeat 2-3x. The couple grunts may actually be 4-5 short 2-3" grunts with a long 5-10" grunt as well... or just the short ones. I aim the call different directions with each grunt so it travels different directions and sounds like the deer is running around.
Does that matter? no clue. Hasn't worked this year, well, one small buck came in to it but I couldn't make a good shot, so no dice.
I think it's a confidence thing. If you believe it, it will work for you because you are more likely to commit and call during high deer travel periods vs only when you figure nothing is happening so "Ill give it a shot".
Like I said, first deer I killed was due to blind calling with a bleat. So I was confident, and it's just always been part of my game.
I do think there is a turkey calling like situation that happens in areas where a lot of guys hunt - animals get conditioned and go the other way. So if you are hunting heavily pressured deer, I'd use it as a last resort vs primary tool.
Give it a shot. It's really, really cool when they respond and come right in!
BJ if you have several mature bucks where you are rattling lightly with a REAL set of horns....I stress real...I have never had luck with a rattle bag or plastic horns...I have tried both of them and it was not until I switched to a REAL set of horns that I I had any success. Call me crazy but I also am a fan of jumping out of my stand and rattling and scraping leaves and hitting trees and branchs with the horns as well as grunting. If you have ever heard a legit buck fight.....it is not quiet. I have called in a few small bucks with a can call but never a nice mature buck.
BJ if you have several mature bucks where you are rattling lightly with a REAL set of horns....I stress real...I have never had luck with a rattle bag or plastic horns...I have tried both of them and it was not until I switched to a REAL set of horns that I I had any success. Call me crazy but I also am a fan of jumping out of my stand and rattling and scraping leaves and hitting trees and branchs with the horns as well as grunting. If you have ever heard a legit buck fight.....it is not quiet. I have called in a few small bucks with a can call but never a nice mature buck.
Thanks guys for the advice. I will say I've had some luck with bleets but never a grunt. I haven't used a grunt in 6 or 7 years but these damn hunting shows are making me wonder about trying it. Of coarse it works if it's on tv lmao
