deer calls
- Thread starter PITBULL
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I've used a number of call and have come to believe that deer aren't that fussy, as long as you don't overdue it. My favorite is the HS Truetalker, it's got a huge range of tone, my favorite feature is the rubber coating which keeps it from clanking against my bow, zippers, binoculars, and whatever other junk I decided I "must have" around my neck at the time.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...&parentType=index&indexId=cat20821&hasJS=true
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...&parentType=index&indexId=cat20821&hasJS=true
scout26
Member
"Here deer, deer, deer, deer, deer."
"Bammmmmbi, Bammmmmmmmmmmbiiiiiii"
What has worked best for me in the past is:
Setting up and getting into/out my stand. (Had two deer watch me for a good 20 minutes from about 25 yards a few years ago as I set up a ladder stand.)
Snoring
Going to the bathroom (gun/bow must be a least 15ft away) works real good. There is a correlation to the more "complicated the maneuver" the more/larger deer you will see. The sound of a zipper coming down and an extremely full bladder draws them in like moths to a flame.
Having the shotgun slung on my shoulder while walking to/from the stand works also. I think that as I walk down the trail, the deer are putting on a 1950's style big budget musical and jumping/dancing/backflipping across the trail behind me like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
Eating Lunch/taking a drink. Had a small buck skid to stop about 10 feet from me while I ate lunch on a fallen log. Of course my unloaded shotgun was about 5 feet away, and I only had an "anterless only" tag. (used my antlered tag the day before). That face-off lasted about 3 minutes, before he decided to use a different game trail to complete his journey. But it was fun to watch as I remained motionless and he snorted, pawed the ground and bobbed his head up and down. He knew I didn't belong there, but couldn't figure out what I was. (for the record, I was wearing BDU camo pants, an orange bird hunting vest over a plain green sweater, shooting glasses and an well worn orange NRA Staff Youth Shooting Sports Camp hat.)
I've used calls, scents, rattled antlers, and pretty much used/done everything else and in between. The deer are gonna do what the heck the deer are gonna do, especially once they all go into freak-out mode when all the hunters start stomping all over the woods and fields. IMHO, Carrying a four leaf clover is just as good as buying all the latest and greatest gear and tech-no-doodads advertised on the hunting shows. Go out, be safe and have fun in the woods and fields. Remember: "The work starts when the hammer falls."
"Bammmmmbi, Bammmmmmmmmmmbiiiiiii"
What has worked best for me in the past is:
Setting up and getting into/out my stand. (Had two deer watch me for a good 20 minutes from about 25 yards a few years ago as I set up a ladder stand.)
Snoring
Going to the bathroom (gun/bow must be a least 15ft away) works real good. There is a correlation to the more "complicated the maneuver" the more/larger deer you will see. The sound of a zipper coming down and an extremely full bladder draws them in like moths to a flame.
Having the shotgun slung on my shoulder while walking to/from the stand works also. I think that as I walk down the trail, the deer are putting on a 1950's style big budget musical and jumping/dancing/backflipping across the trail behind me like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
Eating Lunch/taking a drink. Had a small buck skid to stop about 10 feet from me while I ate lunch on a fallen log. Of course my unloaded shotgun was about 5 feet away, and I only had an "anterless only" tag. (used my antlered tag the day before). That face-off lasted about 3 minutes, before he decided to use a different game trail to complete his journey. But it was fun to watch as I remained motionless and he snorted, pawed the ground and bobbed his head up and down. He knew I didn't belong there, but couldn't figure out what I was. (for the record, I was wearing BDU camo pants, an orange bird hunting vest over a plain green sweater, shooting glasses and an well worn orange NRA Staff Youth Shooting Sports Camp hat.)
I've used calls, scents, rattled antlers, and pretty much used/done everything else and in between. The deer are gonna do what the heck the deer are gonna do, especially once they all go into freak-out mode when all the hunters start stomping all over the woods and fields. IMHO, Carrying a four leaf clover is just as good as buying all the latest and greatest gear and tech-no-doodads advertised on the hunting shows. Go out, be safe and have fun in the woods and fields. Remember: "The work starts when the hammer falls."
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.41 magnum man
Member
If I go into the woods deer hunting without my call, I feel almost as out of place as if I left my gun behind. I'd say close to 50 percent of the deer I've taken have been deer I called in. Then there is the uncounted many that I've called in and didn't get or didn't shoot at. I agree with Whitman on the HS Truetalker. I've got several of them around here. I think they have the best natural sound, as well as good range of tone. You can do bleats and grunts and imitate a fawn, does or bucks, young or mature. There are many example of calling in deer that I could give. I did a fawn bleat one time that was so pitiful and wailing that six does came running in at the same time.
Calls don't always bring in deer, but they work enough times that it is worth having with you. I agree with Scout that most hunting accesories are gimicks. I've never had scents to work, and though I used cover scents and scent eliminators in the past, I don't anymore. I just hunt the wind.
But a good deer call is worth its weight in deer meat. It is a wonderful tool
to have, and I don't leave home without it.
By the way, those other tips Scout gave--they have all brought in deer for me too.
Calls don't always bring in deer, but they work enough times that it is worth having with you. I agree with Scout that most hunting accesories are gimicks. I've never had scents to work, and though I used cover scents and scent eliminators in the past, I don't anymore. I just hunt the wind.
But a good deer call is worth its weight in deer meat. It is a wonderful tool
to have, and I don't leave home without it.
By the way, those other tips Scout gave--they have all brought in deer for me too.
jamesb
Member
I have found the best call is the beeping of my GPS when I am ground stalking, lost trying to figure out where my truck is. Rifle slung on my back or bow leaning against my leg, head down, beep, beep, curse where the hell am I, snap of a twig, turn around just in time to see bounding whitetail but.
I am not sure of the make or type of call I have, was my grandfathers before me, but I use it when I think I hear a deer just out of sight or when they are calling. I also use it to get them to stop in my shooting lane to be able to take a shot when I bowhunt.
I am not sure of the make or type of call I have, was my grandfathers before me, but I use it when I think I hear a deer just out of sight or when they are calling. I also use it to get them to stop in my shooting lane to be able to take a shot when I bowhunt.
Kingcreek
Member
I also use the HS Truetalker. It is a good call but what works one time might not work the next. Calls are best used sparingly, and only if there are no deer near you or if they are moving away. In some areas with hunting pressure, deer can become very call shy.
I always carry my call but I don't use it every time I hunt. I would rather arrow a relaxed and unsuspecting deer, than have them come in at full alert and looking for the source of that sound. They are useful for sometimes pulling in bucks or young deer that maybe wouldn't otherwise be in bow range. But it can be real hard to fool those old does.
I always carry my call but I don't use it every time I hunt. I would rather arrow a relaxed and unsuspecting deer, than have them come in at full alert and looking for the source of that sound. They are useful for sometimes pulling in bucks or young deer that maybe wouldn't otherwise be in bow range. But it can be real hard to fool those old does.
My experience with grunt tubes, bleats, snort/wheeze, and horn rattleling goes likes this:
It doesn't work, it doesn't work, it doesn't work, then all of a sudden its like magic and the deer come straight to it.
The point is, not all deer will respond each time, but when they do, it is amazing. Also, I can not say that I have ever screwed up by trying to call.
It doesn't work, it doesn't work, it doesn't work, then all of a sudden its like magic and the deer come straight to it.
The point is, not all deer will respond each time, but when they do, it is amazing. Also, I can not say that I have ever screwed up by trying to call.
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