"Whistle" to him to get a shot

[Northcountryman]

Recently, I read from a Deer Hutning manual that if a Buck is running past you , a good way to get a decent shot is to call out "Hey Buck" to get him to stop or, at least, slow down. for a shot; the response--I guess-  out of curiousity.  I dont think it would work with a buck on a full run but walking or a full trot- maybe.  

IF this tip were successful , I wouldnt imagine a call or a shout would be that much different from a whistle in terms of being effective, right? I would prefer to whistle , I think as it wouldnt be be as disruptive to the hunting environment (in case it doesnt work , you dont want to spoil your chances for other opportunities later, in other words). 

Something very  similar to this scenario  actually occurred to me A number of years ago.  I was sitting  in my stand for an early am hunt when behind me, I noticed a nice 6 pointer; unfortunately, at the time, he was walking away from me so my only viable  shot would have been right up the ass!  My Principal at the time- an avid Whitetail Hunter himself- told me I should have whistled to get him to turn.  

What do you think?

[Steve D]

2 minutes ago, Northcountryman said:

What do you think?

Works for woodchucks . You would be amazed how many people can't whistle

[Bolt action]

Interesting topic. Following. I haven't had many scenarios when I've tried to slow a deer. When I have, my cat calls didn't seem to make a difference.

[Eric J]

I have stopped Many a doe by whistling.... like when you go over a ridge and scare them... they run off. Immediately you whistle and many times they will stop and present a shot!

Only once or twice has that happened with a buck.... but... Try it... if they are scared anyway what have you got to lose?

[phade]

I have yelled at bucks more than I can remember. One buck ran around me three times over the course of two hours chasing a doe and the third time he slowed up enough to shoot. I'm pretty sure I was yelling obscenities at him.

In the peak of the hard chasing, it can be darn near impossible to get a buck to pay attention to his immediate surroundings beyond the does/competing bucks.

Outside of the rut, I don't do it as much. Used to, but less now. I use clicks more now just to bring a deer to a pause for a shot but that has also backfired too. 

[mowin]

I've stopped many bucks with a whistle. Most were bothering a doe. I've yelled at bucks that were running a doe hard. If the doe stops, the buck often does.  

I got a nice 8 few yr back that was chasing a doe at a full run through thick cover, grunting at every bound. I yelled loud, but no luck. 10 min later they came back through at warp speed.  Figured I've got nothing to loose, so I touched off a round. They both stopped in there tracks. Quickly and quietly I reloded, and shot the buck as soon as he cleared some brush. 

[BowmanMike]

Great advice here. If the deer will run past you why not try something when you have nothing to loose. Shooting of a round was clever,that would not have occurred to me. Wouldn't work for me since I only gun hunt with a muzzleloader, but the idea is clever.

[grampy]

If I make a sound at all, it's just a Baaaaa.... like a sheep sound.

And at different volumes, very soft, to loud, depending on the situation, or how far away the deer is.

[phantom]

2 hours ago, Northcountryman said:

Recently, I read from a Deer Hutning manual that if a Buck is running past you , a good way to get a decent shot is to call out "Hey Buck" to get him to stop or, at least, slow down. for a shot; the response--I guess-  out of curiousity.  I dont think it would work with a buck on a full run but walking or a full trot- maybe.  

IF this tip were successful , I wouldnt imagine a call or a shout would be that much different from a whistle in terms of being effective, right? I would prefer to whistle , I think as it wouldnt be be as disruptive to the hunting environment (in case it doesnt work , you dont want to spoil your chances for other opportunities later, in other words). 

Something very  similar to this scenario  actually occurred to me A number of years ago.  I was sitting  in my stand for an early am hunt when behind me, I noticed a nice 6 pointer; unfortunately, at the time, he was walking away from me so my only viable  shot would have been right up the ass!  My Principal at the time- an avid Whitetail Hunter himself- told me I should have whistled to get him to turn.  

What do you think?

That only works if the deer"s name is buck if its harry or joe they keep on running 

I  think making a deer sound works better,   like baaaaaa sound .

Edited April 7, 2021 by phantom

[moog5050]

If they are simply seeking, the baaaaaa is my go to.   But hard chasing, yep I have yelled STOP at the top of my lungs and they usually still pay little mind.

[ApexerER]

4 minutes ago, grampy said:

If I make a sound at all, it's just a Baaaaa.... like a sheep sound.

And at different volumes, very soft, to loud, depending on the situation, or how far away the deer is.

This is what i have done a couple of times.....I'm guessing it sounds more like ahhhhhh in the heat of the moment. I am not sure if the sound matters as long as they stop thinking what was that.....

[rob-c]

I had one of the biggest bucks  I’ve laid eyes on jump out of his skin when I braaat at him. I was at full draw he was 32 yards and walking broadside I did my braaat just loud enough for him to hear it and he turned  tail and bolted out of there. I’ve stoped 2 bucks by hitting my grunt call and try to use that when ever I can. 

[Daveboone]

I have used a grunt call quite a few times to get a deers attention. I have never had any luck blind calling them, but a deer in the distance, running, etc. I have called closer or gottent them to stop. I have also just done a hard "blow" through my nose successfully. 

[Jeremy K]

I think if he stops and you shoot him it doesn't matter , if you whistle ,yell or what ever and he doesn't stop then he didn't care enough about what ever noise you just made and you didn't disrupt anything. 

[Nomad]

Stopped a boat load of deer with Baaa, or whistle, not running ones though  ( slugs work well though ) , and you gotta be ready to shoot fast .

Ive found adding a sign also helps .

[50calpeephole]

Making a noise works.

 

Spooked a buck last year, gave it a good yell of "hey!" and it stopped dead in its tracks and turned.  

  

And then I missed because I rushed and I'm a shitty hunter.

[Pygmy]

6 hours ago, Steve D said:

Works for woodchucks . You would be amazed how many people can't whistle

I can fart louder than I can whistle...

[Northcountryman]

5 hours ago, phade said:

clicks more now just to bring a deer to a pause for a shot but that has also backfired too

Clicks? What do you mean? 

[Northcountryman]

5 hours ago, mowin said:

I've stopped many bucks with a whistle. Most were bothering a doe. I've yelled at bucks that were running a doe hard. If the doe stops, the buck often does.  

I got a nice 8 few yr back that was chasing a doe at a full run through thick cover, grunting at every bound. I yelled loud, but no luck. 10 min later they came back through at warp speed.  Figured I've got nothing to loose, so I touched off a round. They both stopped in there tracks. Quickly and quietly I reloded, and shot the buck as soon as he cleared some brush. 

Ok , so you shot intentionally to get their attention then right ?

[wolc123]

8 hours ago, Northcountryman said:

 

Something very  similar to this scenario  actually occurred to me A number of years ago.  I was sitting  in my stand for an early am hunt when behind me, I noticed a nice 6 pointer; unfortunately, at the time, he was walking away from me so my only viable  shot would have been right up the ass!  My Principal at the time- an avid Whitetail Hunter himself- told me I should have whistled to get him to turn.  

What do you think?

What was the range and what was your weapon, and how high above the 6 pointer were you at the time ?

I was in that same position, on an Adirondack 6 pointer in 2016.  I fired a 150 gr 30/06 right on the mark (within 1/64"), from the same level, using a good rest, when he stopped, 50 yards away.  

To this day, that was far and away, the best shot I have made on a deer with any weapon.  The guts came out as clean as a whistle.   The only meat damage was a slice across the bottom of the heart and a lost neck roast.  The buck was DRT.  He stopped there on his own with no whistle.

Edited April 7, 2021 by wolc123

[phade]

21 minutes ago, Northcountryman said:

Clicks? What do you mean? 

I click with my mouth to stop them. Ever hear a buck click?

You hear that and it's probably your best day in the stand all season.

[mowin]

22 minutes ago, Northcountryman said:

Ok , so you shot intentionally to get their attention then right ?

Yes, yelling at the top of my lungs had no effect.  Nothing to loose at that point.  Ended up with a fantastic deer.  

 

[G-Man]

7 hours ago, Northcountryman said:

Recently, I read from a Deer Hutning manual that if a Buck is running past you , a good way to get a decent shot is to call out "Hey Buck" to get him to stop or, at least, slow down. for a shot; the response--I guess-  out of curiousity.  I dont think it would work with a buck on a full run but walking or a full trot- maybe.  

IF this tip were successful , I wouldnt imagine a call or a shout would be that much different from a whistle in terms of being effective, right? I would prefer to whistle , I think as it wouldnt be be as disruptive to the hunting environment (in case it doesnt work , you dont want to spoil your chances for other opportunities later, in other words). 

Something very  similar to this scenario  actually occurred to me A number of years ago.  I was sitting  in my stand for an early am hunt when behind me, I noticed a nice 6 pointer; unfortunately, at the time, he was walking away from me so my only viable  shot would have been right up the ass!  My Principal at the time- an avid Whitetail Hunter himself- told me I should have whistled to get him to turn.  

What do you think?

If that is the case shoot a round if it stops shoot another.. should stop for the noise right??  Stopping a deer by making a noise puts deer on high alert  . Fine with gun maybe,  bad idea with bow as it will duck your arrow. 

You can turn a deer by shooting in front of it into a tree the smack will turn him many times back toward you

[wolc123]

Lots of interesting stuff has happened with me and 6 pointers.  Last opening day of gun season, one strolled by, about 50 yards away, thru some broken cover, at a pretty good clip.  I only saw 2 points on the near side (which was below my self-imposed antler restriction at that point), so I didn't attempt a shot.

Just for kicks, I blasted out a few loud grunts with my new call, just as he dissapeared.  Sure enough, that brought him right back straight towards me, on a wire.  When he was about 30 yards out, I clearly saw the 3 points on the opposite side.  That was enough to trip my trigger and I slipped a 12 ga sabot into his shirt pocket.

My slug hit a little inside of the mark,  as I intended to catch the edge of the shoulder blade and anchor him right there.  It passed thru the boiler room, but he expired 100 yards away, in the middle of a very thick swamp, making for a drag that I was lucky to survive.

Edited April 7, 2021 by wolc123

[nyslowhand]

Footnote: When you make any noise to make a buck stop, he's probably going to end-up looking at you. So be prepared to shoot as you make the noise.

I've stopped many bucks in their tracks using a doe bleat sound. Even after the (bow) shot they "may" stop for several seconds, reducing the retrieval somewhat or go down within sight.