Kris87
Senior Member
This may not be an applicable topic to some gun hunters, but for bowhunters, its very important in my opinion. I'm always amazed at the lack of calling, especially aggressive calling to mature bucks. I wish I could detail all the times in a post, I've called a mature buck into bow range and killed him. Its a lot. I'm always amazed at how many hunters don't use a snort wheeze, or a growl, in the woods. I also like to use a half wheeze, which is basically just the first two puffs of a snort wheeze. Its one of my go-to's when a deer is fairly close and a full blown wheeze may be too much. If you have deer close long enough, you will hear all these same vocalizations.
If you see a doe being chased by a buck, grunt and wheeze at her. You're not going to call him off, but if she thinks another buck is close by, she'll often drag the dogging buck over to get him in a fight so she can get away. I've seen that a ton of times in the woods. During the rut, if I see a 1.5 or 2.5 year old buck, I ALWAYS, grunt and call to them to see if I can get them running to me. I think of this as my turkey tactic. Deer are very visual and auditory during the rut, and if they see a buck running towards something, they will follow and investigate. How many times have you grunted at a buck and he just comes, looks, takes a few more steps, looks some more, and then turns and goes way. I see that a lot. If they can't see some commotion, they're not committing. And when that happens, your best bet is to let them get turned and walk away and THEN hit them with a snort wheeze. Now, that said, you have to be prepared for whatever buck you're calling to, to have the opposite reaction. If he's not a dominant buck, he may run with his tail tucked. Some bucks just aren't looking for a fight. That's a risk I'm willing to take.
I'd like to hear any other off the wall techniques.
If you see a doe being chased by a buck, grunt and wheeze at her. You're not going to call him off, but if she thinks another buck is close by, she'll often drag the dogging buck over to get him in a fight so she can get away. I've seen that a ton of times in the woods. During the rut, if I see a 1.5 or 2.5 year old buck, I ALWAYS, grunt and call to them to see if I can get them running to me. I think of this as my turkey tactic. Deer are very visual and auditory during the rut, and if they see a buck running towards something, they will follow and investigate. How many times have you grunted at a buck and he just comes, looks, takes a few more steps, looks some more, and then turns and goes way. I see that a lot. If they can't see some commotion, they're not committing. And when that happens, your best bet is to let them get turned and walk away and THEN hit them with a snort wheeze. Now, that said, you have to be prepared for whatever buck you're calling to, to have the opposite reaction. If he's not a dominant buck, he may run with his tail tucked. Some bucks just aren't looking for a fight. That's a risk I'm willing to take.
I'd like to hear any other off the wall techniques.