Calling deer?

[timberjack86]

Anyone still do it? What kind of success have you had? Any tips? I have called a few young bucks up over the years with contact grunts and bleats from a can call. Anyone ever call up a mature deer? What about rattling?

 

[CrossVolle]

Never had any success at all in the south. To the point where i don't even take either with me. Way too many people in the woods banging horns and grunting every 30 minutes. Works well in places with extremely low pressure in my opinion. For example, i had a buck come in about 15 minutes after a rattling sequence at ORNL. Now i can't say with 100% certainty that he came in to the rattling, but it makes sense seeing as how that place gets hunted maybe 3 times a year and i have never had any success anywhere else.

 

[mike243]

I have called in 2, both were about 2.5 years old, 1 with a grunt tube and 1 with a rattle bag, was happy with both. no telling how many I have ran off blind calling though. heard a deer walking down in a hollow under me while I seen a doe step out 75y or so up the ridge, I hit it and up the steep bank he came, heart shot and still ran back down the bank and another 50y before I busted him down with a spine shot. The rattle bag buck was called in while I was setting in the barn, about every 30 minutes rattle and wait, 3rd or 4th time rattled picked up coffee cup and had to set it down quick, he ran out into the pasture looking for the fight, he found it, 300wm lol

 

[Volbuck777]

I have called lots of deer in and can say I have killed at least 3 bucks over 100 inches because of my call. They came in on a string. I'll add that most the time my call works best in early bow and peak rut. I never go to the woods without it. By the way not all calls are created equal. Lol. I've got 5 calls and they're these, so called top notch best sellers, they're crap. I should just throw them away. For calling deer in you got to find a good one. Also I've never done good with rattling except twice.

 

[tree_ghost]

I have called a bunch of younger bucks to my location by rattling blind. However this has never produced a mature buck. I have however killed a 127" and a 151" (3.5yo and 4.5yo) by snortwheezing after I visually located the deer first. Both deer I killed with my bow and both were inside 20 yards at the time of the shot. Both kills coincidentally occurred on Nov 9th but we're separated by 5 years.


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[KPH]

I have called a number of bucks in some where real nice, I remember one came charging in like he was going to whip somebody and I was the only one around so I had to shoot him. I have used different calls sometime they work sometime they don't. Was coyote hunting one time using a fawn call and had a nice buck come to it, go figure.

 

[Westnvol89]

I've called in a few


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[Ski]

I've called in plenty. Most of my kills were either by calling/rattling, or grunting to get a buck's attention. My TN buck last year came running full throttle toward me while rattling. He stopped 50yds out to look around and turned broadside to thrash a tree. My brother has killed some dandy brutes with a bleat call, and swears by it. This year will be my first trying a decoy.

 

[MUP]

I carry a set of rattling horns and a grunt tube with me usually, but have only actually rattled one young spike in, and I called in a 4 pt with the grunt call from an adjacent ridge once. My main reason to carry them is in case I see a buck out of range(thru the woods) and can attempt to turn him in my direction by calling/rattling.

 

[TDW05]

Grunted this one in. He was cruising and I hit him with a couple grunts. He turned and came looking for a fight. It works, but I prefer to have a visual of the deer I'm calling to so I can gauge their body language. Not that blind calling doesn't work, but I just feel you may spook more then you see.

 

[barkscraper]

I rattle from the first day till the last but I don't rattle the same thru the season. My best deer came from rattling but I have rattled in as many does as bucks. I rattle in around 7 to 8 bucks a year and that's in east tn and a lot on public land but never done good with a grunt

 

[huvrman]

Never had one respond to the can. Have run a few off with it. Never rattled one up. Usually grunt 2 to 3 up every year, but usually non-shooters. Only one I've ever taken that was any size was a 7 pt chasing a doe in a thicket. Heard him grunting behind her as I walked the edge of a set of pines. I stepped into the hardwoods, grunted, and he turned out of the thicket and came straight to me with fire in his eyes. Came over a bench at 10 yards and bit the bullet.

 

[Snake]

I've called in several bucks and two really nice ones . One big nine point on the adjacent property on Lincoln Co. and called in a decent ten point in Giles Co. after he had been in a fight with another buck . Those two stand out but I know I've called in a few more , I feel naked if I don't have my grunt call as far as rattling them in I can't exactly say I've called them in but after a set of rattles I've killed a few bucks like they where coming to the fight .

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I have called in quite a few. Mostly younger deer respond, but have had an occasional mature deer come in. For me it has been about 50/50 between blind calling and visual calling. Most of my success in doing so has been in early season. I can't recall ever killing any of them though, due to them being too young, couldn't get a shot, etc...

I have heard every deer vocalization known to man in the woods and quite a bit of it.....I figure why not try it occasionally?

 

[JeepKuntry]

Haven't had much success. But years ago I did have great luck with the mini can one morning. The woods came alive and I shot the biggest deer I've ever seen in the woods. Unfortunately I wasn't able to recover. Bow hunting and only thing I can figure is 1 lung.

 

[timberjack86]

Grunted this one in. He was cruising and I hit him with a couple grunts. He turned and came looking for a fight. It works, but I prefer to have a visual of the deer I'm calling to so I can gauge their body language. Not that blind calling doesn't work, but I just feel you may spook more then you see.

Very nice buck! And pretty cool you grunted him up.

 

[TDW05]

Thanks, he is my current personal best to boot! I was tickled to say the least. Shot was also at like 15-20 yards lol

 

[catman529]

I called in a 3.5 year old on public land last year two days before muzzleloader. I was stillhunting in the rain with my bow and spotted the deer heading toward another property. Threw some grunts and he came in on a string. Did the ole bobble head at 25 yards with a tree blocking his vitals. Never even got to draw back on him.

Also rattled in a 2.5 yo on private land in a bedding area last November.

I don't call very much and usually don't have luck. But occasionally it will work.


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[Mike Belt]

I've rattled and called in bucks and does (mostly calling) but don't look for a high percentage success rate. Pre rut into the rut are the best times but I've called them in all throughout the season. Most responses will come from young bucks 2.5 and up. I've called in a couple of mature deer but nothing over 4.5. I've had success in contact calling as well as blind calling. I do quite a bit of blind calling and after listening to everyone else I've had a respectable success rate. The trick in doing so is knowing that a deer may take from an instant response up to 30 minutes. Once you call sit dead still and roll your eyes and not your head. I suspect that there are quite a few hunters that have blind called and spooked an incoming deer because of movement and never known it. I've had them charge in but mostly they come in part ways at a time stopping several times along the way to look for the buck making the calls. Be still and be ready.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

The trick in doing so is knowing that a deer may take from an instant response up to 30 minutes. Once you call sit dead still and roll your eyes and not your head. I suspect that there are quite a few hunters that have blind called and spooked an incoming deer because of movement and never known it. I've had them charge in but mostly they come in part ways at a time stopping several times along the way to look for the buck making the calls. Be still and be ready.

Glad you pointed this out, Mike. Sometimes it is longer than 30 minutes, possibly an hour. I was glassing one morning across a huge valley and to my surprise I spotted a huge body with a roman nose. He took a few steps moving from left to right and I saw he was a big mature deer. I grunted at him 3 or 4 times. He was literally over 350 yards away - it was one of those dead silent mornings. He stopped in his tracks and looked STRAIGHT at me. I knew he couldn't see me because I was so far away, but still remember him looking dead at me. He turned, started walking straight to me, then he started tearing saplings to shreds. My blood was pumping and I get ready, even though I knew it would take him at least 10 minutes to get to me. I sat there and waited and waited. It had been almost an hour and by this time, I had almost forgotten about him and figured something else spiked his interest. About that time, something caught my attention in my peripherals to my left. I slowly turned my head and there he was standing 20 yards looking at me in the thick brush. He took off faster than I've ever seen a deer run. Point is, if I had not spotted him and called to him (and just blind called), I would have never known that my calling was what drew him to my location an hour later....I just would have assumed he was passing through the area. So, I think when a lot of people see deer, it quite possibly could have been from their calling an hour prior that they had almost forgotten about......and made the assumption that the deer sighting and the calling were unrelated.