I see in many hunting shows including the recent episode of bow hunt or die where people use grunts, rattles and doe can calls to call in bucks.. I've been bow hunting since 2010 and I've tried the calls. Never early season always start in late oct or nov. Every time I see a buck in the distance and try any of the calls Doe can calls, Grunts or rattles it don't matter the size of the buck. From Spikes to 10 pts they always run. Never respond its like they are scared. I've tried everything from light tickles of rattles to loud booms. I've tried simple small doe can calls to the large ones. Nothing ever works and they always run the other way away from the calls. Does anyone else have this problem?
Only have ever had one deer positively respond to a can call, others no response Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Nope, maybe just bad luck. I killed my last 4 bucks ratteling. Earliest was October 20th, usually work best come November. Maybe your missing something or the deer just arnt into it from your area.
My grunt call is the most valuable piece of gear right after my bow. I don't rattle much these days but have never had a negative response when i did. I've called in lots of small bucks with the Can. The only time I've had negative responses to calls is the occasional small buck hearing a grunt. It seems sometimes if they are low on the totem pole, they will bug out rather than face a larger more aggressive buck.
You kind of answered your own question. If ever buck goes the other way when you call, stop calling. Its not always the answer to get the buck your after. Try watching the deer from your stand and move in on them on your next hunt. Get up and close to the trail that they use that week and look for natural funnels that are created in the woods to protect you from them winding you. I only call as a last resort, and most times it doesn't work. Also your grunt call may be too deep, and the bucks your after may think its a mature buck and run away because they are less dominant.
I have had limited success with bucks responding to a grunt. I only use it to either call a buck back, not to initially get the buck to come closer. Only have had young bucks respond to a grunt.
Guys take way to much credit..."I rattled him in" .. who knows if he even heard it could have just came your way reguardless. Save your money for lunch or dinner...No need for calls.
I grunted a nice buck into bow range once, and was still unable to seal the deal. The buck was on his way to his bedding area late one afternoon at a steady pace going directly away from me. A few loud grunts stopped him in his tracks and with a little convincing he came straight back to me to 20 yards. He never presented a shot standing straight on to me before turning and leaving when he couldn't locate the buck that was grunting at him. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
We have had great success with calls. For the last two years we have been using the extinguisher call with impressive results. We have used it to call in multiple deer. We cold call every 20 minutes during the chase phase and again this year we called in bucks. As for rattling, we dangle rattle and dont rattle in a tree. It gives you the advantage of ground level rattling plus the pounding sound of hooves and leaf rustle since the rack is on the ground plus rather than all the movement that goes with rattling natural antlers, you are only tugging a line/rope to lift and drop the antlers. The added benifit is that the line you used to dangle the rack is tied off to a branch or hook near you so you can rattle with a deer in close proximity without being spotted and you simpley let go of the line (with the one hand you were using to tug the line) and you can have the bow in the ready position without having to put away a set of antlers to grab your bow. We have had very positive results with grunt tubes and rattling in WI.
They don't work everytime, but they do work. The only call I use is a grunt tube and will snort weeze in desperation. And I only use it if a buck I want to shoot is going away from me. Most of the time they ignore it, sometimes they trot right into it, and sometimes they circle around to get down wind. I actually just took a buck Saturday with the grunt tube. He was walking away from me at 100 yards and grunted and he came right in on a rope.
I try to avoid absolutes in deer hunting, such as "calls don't work" or "scents don't work." I think proper deployment at the right time can make a difference, even if it's never worked for me. I gave up on both of the above but I would never dispute someone's successful hunt with those items.
I pulled a hot doe in with a rattle and grunt and then an hour later brought a nice 3.5 year old 6 pointer with a bleat. The doe just moved through but the buck circled around downwind and hung around a little while.
That's the worst advise! You know when you rattle in a buck just by his body language, and how fast they come in. Calling when done right makes hunting that much more enjoyable. Watch deer fights on youtube and mimic that DO NOT watch people people do rattling videos. I heard a hunter rattling Saturday that was just funny to listen to if you do it wrong they will not come.
I agree 100% with your first statement. Does it happen, sure. I have friends though that rattle a time or two and a buck shows up an hour later and they claim they "rattled him in". They get mad when I say, no you didn't, he just was coming by on his own volition. Now if your rattling and within a few minutes you get a buck coming in postured looking around then sure you rattled him in. I don't agree that calls are a waste but must be used at the right times on a deer in the right attitude. The intersection of those things take time to learn and never 100% fool proof. Most hunters, myself definitely included, probably don't have the first clue about really successfully calling in a deer. We get lucky sometimes.
I personally don't go to the woods without carrying my grunt call. I have used it with a lot of success over the years. I have called in several different bucks over the years. I grunted in a nice buck on the last day of muzzle loader just a couple of weeks ago. I also, had a nice 10 point pass by my stand just a couple of days ago and he stayed out of range so I tried to grunt at him but he never responded. It's just like that sometimes. Keep at it and you'll have success. Just don't over do it. Do a couple of light grunts and read the reaction of the deer. If he stops, picks his head up, turns his head, adjusts his ears your direction, etc. he's heard you and the best thing you can do is wait to see what he does next. If he begins to walk away again, try it again then wait for his reaction. Remember, you're trying to get the deer in bow range so if he's coming your way don't call. If he isn't, try the least amount you can to get him to react and turn around. Increase what you're doing to try to get him to react. Also, remember that sometimes a buck will leave and come back a little later (I've had this happen several times). Basically do what you think is right. If you don't feel comfortable increasing your calling to try to get him back, then stop calling. If he never reacts after a few tries then I'd probably stop calling or I'd snort wheeze to see what affect that has. When it works it works but sometimes they just don't care. Once you have success with it you'll use it more often.
Calling is fun and works when done properly. NOT a substitute for poor scent control or any of the many variables involved. I use it every 15-20 minutes as mentioned. There are several grunt sounds. Tending grunt is the one I use most often - several short soft grunts a few seconds apart. youtube deer sounds. I don't worry about the sounds as they get pretty specific on when to use them (early rut, post rut) and Couple years ago, saw a buck chasing 2 doe way off to my right several hundred yards away in an adjacent field. As they jumped the fence onto the property I was hunting, I hit the grunt a few times hoping to change to their direction and bring them in range. The does kept moving, buck came into the clearing and got shot. I definitely called that buck in, wouldn't have had a shot on him without the call. Sunday evening, I'd been grunting every 15 minutes. I heard a young buck grunt twice not far from me. I'm hunting a very dense overgrown property and never got eyes on him. I responded with 2 grunts (i think they were too deep/mature sounding) and I never heard him again. Doesn't work 100% of the time, nothing does, but its another tool in your toolbox. Use it sparingly when you start out. my call has a doe bleat reed in it as well. its handy, blow to grunt, suck to bleat. Couldn't tell you the name of it. I'll see if its marked. I'd avoid the ones with 4 different sounds - blow, snort, wheeze, honk. keep it simple. the ones that strap to your arm are handy. mine has a necklace loop thing, i'm always worried I'll bang it into something or the string hits it or something stupid.
Most of the bucks I kill are either coming to a rattling sequence or grunt calls, or both. I would guess you might be hunting highly pressured deer. Where pressure is light, calls flat out work. And they work pretty consistently.
Last weekend i rattled and a fork came quick, did he respond to rattle? I think so. Last year i did a grunt rattle combo and boom buck came trotting in, shot that guy. I think it can work, I think its easy to screw up and and if anything is out or the ordinary deer bolt out of there.
