Calling...grunt or bleat

[DanielT]

Just wondering what works best for you guys.....

Do you grunt once your settled in or wait for first hour and then call?

How often?

Do you mix doe can bleat between grunts?

[Hunting3m]

I use the good old "here bucky bucky!" works better than youd expect

[arrow nocker]

I think i see more deer when i just shut up,sit quiet and hunt.LOL.

I try all kinds of stuff and think i ruin it.

Mostly though I will do a locate grunt.Then wait about 20 mins then i will do an agressive grunt with a snort wheeze.About 2 mins later i will rattle.Then i wait about 5 mins and then estrus bleat.then i just sit silent for about an hr

I think i ain't doing nothing till about next weekend.I don't want to get the local bucks used to the sounds and then they will know i am there.

[DanielT]

Thanks Arrow Nocker...that's the kind of answer I wanted....

I agree on the waiting....they get used to it....

The times calling does work...ya better be on your toes and ready...

[PREDATE]

I think i see more deer when i just shut up,sit quiet and hunt.LOL.

I try all kinds of stuff and think i ruin it.

Mostly though I will do a locate grunt.Then wait about 20 mins then i will do an agressive grunt with a snort wheeze.About 2 mins later i will rattle.Then i wait about 5 mins and then estrus bleat.then i just sit silent for about an hr

I think i ain't doing nothing till about next weekend.I don't want to get the local bucks used to the sounds and then they will know i am there.

About the same for me.

I too like to mix it up from time to time til' I find what they're responding to.

I sometimes think that it ruined it too, but it really comes down to whether or not any deer actually heard it and if they've been pressured.

My favorite sequence is this. I let the woods/squirrels calm down(20 minutes), give a few soft grunts just in case there are any deer close by. After 15-20 minutes I'll try to play on the bucks heartstrings by giving a few longer estrous bleats. If no deer after 10 minutes I'll rattle for a minute from soft(sparring) to louder (fighting) while throwing a few grunts in. I give it an hour or 2 before calling anymore.

Sometimes I'll bleat just before legal shooting time to pull a buck that has felt very comfortable all night in hopes that he'll think it's safe to check it out.

[dave6x6]

Heres my 2 cents on calling. Being that i only hunt mature bucks, i very rarely make a peep. I'm sure my conservative approach has maybe limited my opprtunities at some deer in the past but my approach is this. Big bucks are incredibly smart and they will almost always find a way to get down wind of you and bust you before you'll ever get a shot off. That is a risk i can't take. I would rather that buck never know i'm there and try to fight the battle with him another day, then to have him bust me once and never see him again ever.. Almost every hunter i know has called in and killed a buck before but i would say that maybe 1 out of 50 mature bucks can be fooled. The other 49 the neighbor shoots because you just freaked him off your property. Of course if mature bucks are not your thing then clang away and blow that grunt and you will no doubt eventually get some small bucks to respond.

[HuntOrBeHunted]

I use a bleat can early trying to get a doe.

Then when rut is in full swing I'll use the grunt once in a while.

Them bucks tend to slip up a bit when looking for a doe in rut season.

[nyantler]

both

[Dad 6424]

I will bleat or grunt once of twice after I get in or if I have spooked something as I am going to my stand after that nothing unless something wont stop to give me a clear shot seems to have worked most years or just luck ????

[nyantler]

How long has everyone been using a call? I'm going on 30 years now... I even helped with the promotion of the "True Talker" before it was sold to Hunter Specialties... I spent nearly 5 years studying whitetail vocalizations with a guy named David Oathout and showed the first ever filmed "snort wheeze" on a show I did back in the 90's.. way before anyone even really knew what it was. I never go into the woods without my grunt call.

[Geno C]

I'm on my 17th year using calls. And Joe that is very impressive!

[JFB]

Dave took the words out of my mouth, and I approach calling the same way. I would add that I typically only call to deer I can see. This way I can monitor their response and be sure that I don't over call or educate them. Personal preference though so go with what works for you.

[Hunting3m]

I use the MAD hypergrowl. Its a regular grunt but when that big boy, 70 yards out walking away, thats when i switch gears and hopefully send him running my way.

[biggamefish]

I love when you use a call then you hear an answer. Or you are sitting and first light you get the grunt wheeze clack clack. Grunt and it goes on for ever. Makes you want to pack right up and go home. Lol.

[PREDATE]

BTW I won't start rattling until atleast the first week of Nov. and @ that time bringing a doe by your stand could also bring Mr. Big on her heels.

What dave6 said also holds merit. I won't call every stand site just for that reason. If set up in a pinch point of heavy cover with open woods/field to the downwind side I feel more comfortable about calling/clanking, knowing that a smart buck would rather not be exposed in a clearing. I use the same logic for calling daytime coyotes.

Keeping an obstacle like a river, shale cliff, etc. on the downwind side of your stand can prevent them from circling. Does that mean they're going to come charging in just because they can't scent check? No, but it just tips the odds a little more.

Calling while sitting in wide open timber can be be detrimental. Ultimately making that animal call shy. Just like with calling coyotes, once you call they're expecting to see something. Coyotes will often creep to the edge of dense cover and wait til they spot their prey. If none are seen they could be gone with us never even knowing they were there. I think deer can do similar things, especially smart old bucks.

Edited October 20, 2012 by PREDATE

[arrow nocker]

i like to do the fawn bleat this time of year.One year had a doe come out crashing out of the swamp to find that little fawn.She would not stop.Grunting all around my stand till she cought my scent.Never worked again after that.

[dave6x6]

Predator, you nailed it. As far as my approach goes anyway. And don't get me wrong, i have the horns and grunt with me at all times. Believe me , if i see a big buck 200yrds away cutting a field edge, I'm going to give him some horns and a grunt to change his mind a bit. I just am not to fond of blind calling. Like i said, i may not be using a valuable tool to it's full advantage but where i hunt, every mature buck in the county has been blown at 20 times. I'll stay quiet and let them think all is safe on my turf .