I'd like to hear everyone's experiences with grunt calls. I've heard guys say they hate them and I've heard guys say they wouldn't go to the woods without it. My own experiences with them are varied. I've killed deer that I absolutely know I wouldn't have killed had I not called to them. As a matter of fact, the largest buck I have ever taken was killed because I repeatedly called to him. I've also had deer run in the opposite direction when I called to them. But I would say the most common reaction I get is they totally ignore the call. I will say that the majority of deer that did react to calling, positive and negative, took place when the rut was coming on or was totally in, although I did kill a buck one time on Oct. 2nd that came in because I used the call. So what are your thoughts/experiences with the grunt call? Blessings...........Pastorjim
I like the grunt call. I have called in many bucks with one. I've also been ignored by some bucks as if they've got somewhere else to be. I have also blind called some bucks in as well. Over all, I've had good luck using the grunt call. On more than a few occasions I've called to a buck that was about to disappear and have that buck come back to my tree 10 to 60 minutes after I called. I've always found it amazing how they can pinpoint that sound to within a few feet of where it came from.
Have had hit and miss experiences with grunt calls, have had positive and negative responses. I think timing is everything. I also use a grunt to chase away does at end of hunt if around.
been hit and miss as well.. killed 2 or 3 bucks that came to it when they were going away from me..had most of them ignore it..
I've had better results with the can call, but I always have my grunt tube with me, especially during the rut.
We only call during the rut, unless trying to stop a deer for a quick rifle shot. I've never had it blind call in a deer, in fact I've never had a deer react to it in any way except to stop for a few seconds if they were moving when I grunted at them. Just yesterday I took my wife out for a rifle hunt. We were sitting in a pop-up blind when 3 does came through the funnel we were observing. I had just put the blind up the day before, so it made them nervous when they saw it and they started to trot on by us. I grunted at them when they got in the open and all 3 stopped instantly. Wife dropped the lead doe right away after they stopped. It has worked good for me several times in stopping a deer for a shot even before the rut. I've never had rattling call in a deer either, although I keep trying every year. I've had coyotes come in twice to rattling but that's it. The only call that's ever worked to blind call in a deer to me is an estrous doe bleat, and that has only been twice. I will still say though that I would feel at less of an advantage if I forgot to take my grunt call into the woods. My BIL also uses grunts, rattles, and bleats during the rut. He's called in bucks twice with bleats, and did get a buck to turn his way and get close enough for him to stick it by grunting two years ago. He first bleated at it a few times but it couldn't hear him, so then he grunted until he saw that it had heard him. He then stayed silent until it wandered into range. He had a buck decoy out that helped to reel it in. He also had rattling work one time several years ago in very pre-rut, twin spikes came in to it. I think our area has a poor buck to doe ratio, there are so many does available to the bucks that the competition just isn't that high and so "fighting" calls just don't work that well.
I have definitely killed several bucks that have responded to them over the years and seemed very effective in the past but over the last couple years they don’t seem to work as well. I am not sure if it is because so many more people are out in the woods using them then in the past or what. Where I live I have NEVER had any luck rattling.
I think the effectiveness of grunt call is completely dependent on the buck to doe ratio. If the number of bucks is close to being equal to the number of does, bucks will respond better because there is more competition to breed. There is a public land spot that I hunted last year and the grunt call was very effective. Between November 1st and November 11th last year, I hunted this spot three times and grunted in several bucks to bow range. Contrast with this past Saturday while hunting a friends farm where it is well know there are way too many does, I saw one mature buck who completely ignored my attempts to grunt at him to step into the open for a shot. During the public land hunts I was seeing as many mature bucks as does. On my friend's farm, I have seen two does to every buck, that is every buck including spikes and button bucks, not mature bucks that I would want to shoot. I have only seen one of those. The doe to mature buck ratio on the farm is running at about 10 to 1 right now based on what I have seen the couple of times I have hunted there.
Personally i like using a grunt call and have had some good success while using it. I've found that knowing what type of grunt to give out helps a ton. I use an extinguisher grunt call and they have a series on YouTube that talks about what type of calls to use and when to use them. Other than that I agree with what you said in that pre-rut and in the heat of the rut they work the best!
