Deer grunt sounds and techniques question

BigB · October 30, 2008, 02:32:31 PM

I've got a few questions related to the technique of using grunt sounds when calling deer. What's everyone's opinions on how to use a grunt call during deer season? Do you use one or not? Do you use one only during rut, before, or after? Do you use it before or after a doe bleet, before or after rattling antlers, just grunting with no other sounds, etc.

Just curious to hear all of the opinions from everyone.

Thanks,
Brian

alscalls · October 30, 2008, 04:18:43 PM

I use only a doe bleat. Rattling only works for a short period of time around here as well as the grunt.
I am a firm believer that the doe call can be used year round to attract deer and during those times when the bucks are rutting......an easy doe is what he wants not a fight.
That buclk I shot the other day?.......I went BAAAAAAAH BAAH BAAH (Bills custom Call)
One long and two short bleats Why? Because that tells other deer Hey I am over here. And that buck came in like he was on a string. Now it only works if they can hear it and if they are being sociable but it works on does as well.
If you want a mature doe wait till some of the other hunters have killed off some of the yearlings then do the same call in a higher pitch any doe within ear shot will come walking in to see if her little one is there.

I aint saying it works everytime but I have killed a crapload of deer like this.
I killed two nice 9 points last year.....one with a bow and one with a gun. Both were called with Tweety making a doe bleat in this manner. come gun season......I will try it again cause it works. If you need to hear it just let me know.

LORDDAL · October 31, 2008, 02:22:54 AM

I do my fair share of rattling and use dominate buck grunts all the way down to fawn bleats just depends on what I feel may work that day. I have rattled in several bucks for my brother in law and a few for myself. The best one I ever rattled in was a nice 8point for my buddy he was about 75 yards to my left and I was sitting under a nice pine tree just made afew nice pawing and scrap sounds and smaked the antlers 4 times for a nice short fight and BLAMO my buddy said he almost didnt see him coming the old boy was heading right to me and just stepped out of the brush just long enough for him to get a shot and DRT next day I zapped a 3 point in the same place after 3 sets of rattles and grunts so yeah it works and it is addictive

Bills Custom Calls · October 31, 2008, 07:42:35 AM

Rattling don't seem to work for me.

I use a doe bleat most of the time 5.........1/2 second light burst of air I do that twice and wait a couple minutes

then do it again.Not always but sometimes add a Deep buck grunt that lasts about 2 seconds long.By doing this I have called in bucks and doe.Some came in fast and others have taken their good ole time sneaking in.

I like to hunt a dry woods or a woods that has a lot of frost so I can hear a deer walking before I see it.

Brian I hope this helps

BigB · October 31, 2008, 08:27:53 PM

Thanks for all of the replies. I've never really "called" for deer before with a grunt call. I do have one from Bill, and it does make some really good sounds. I had really good luck the very first time that I tried rattling, which was about 4 years ago. I've tried a few time since, and haven't had any luck with it. The first time that we rattled, we called in a mature 10 pt. When he left (I didn't get a shot with my bow), we tried to rattle some more to get him to come back. He didn't come back but we called in a smaller 6 pt and 4 pt.

This morning, Dad and I were set up in the ground blind, and we heard a THUMP behind us. We thought it may be a hedge ball falling from one of the trees. A split second later, a big snort wheeze, and then another. The 8 pt buck knew we were around, but didn't know where. He circled around us a few times, but wouldn't completely come out from behind the cedar tree he was hiding behind. I tried to grunt a few times to see what would happen. He would snort wheeze a few times, trot off, and then come back for another look about 5 mins later. It was kind of fun. It got the blood a pumping a few times when you could see his rack peaking around the cedar tree, but that was all you could see of him.

I'll have to try the doe bleet a few times next time to see what that does.

Thanks,
Brian

iahntr · October 31, 2008, 11:15:59 PM

I'll throw my two cents in here too.
As far as rattling goes, sometimes I like to do it early part of the season, real light, more like just "tickling" them together. The bucks can still be running together and sometimes just play around with each other, not aggressive like. I think they hear it, and more like little kids, wanna come to check and see who's playin. The bigger bucks may come along and wanna tell them to knock it off, or show who's the boss. Then more towards the end of Oct. and pre rut, get more aggressive like two bucks actually fighting with some aggressive grunts thrown in there. From about the end of the first week in November, when rut starts, on out I don't do much rattling. Sometimes I think it can work better with two guys, the shooter down wind from the rattler, catching that buck that is trying to come in and smell who's fightin, or tryin to smell, and steal the doe they're fightin over.

Out of the tree stand, basically you're kind of in the open, I try to keep the rattling sessions short and then scan good with binocs, so ya don't get busted with all the movement.

Here I wrote a bunch of crap about rattlin, and ya didn't even really ask about that.

I'll finish by sayin that I don't think rattlin works that great in most places, like in does in say, Texas, because the buck to doe ratio is good enough that they really don't have to fight that hard over them.

As far as buck grunts, I think they work better during pre rut. I think doe bleats, estrus bleats, work better during the rut. I will do some tending grunts mixed in with the bleats. It's neat to hear those leaves rustlin and the buck gruntin then have that doe run by ya with that buck hot on her trail, then later hearing some trailing grunts comin and have another buck come runnin, nose to the ground, right on there trail.

Like I mentioned earlier, I like to use my binoculars a lot. It's crazy what you can see through the trees. I compare it to, with your bear eyes looking through the trees it's more or less like a "wall" after say 75 yards or so, versus looking through your binoculars it's crazy what you can see, and how far you can see. (hope that makes sense) It's more like what the animal can see. So once you start callin you basically give your position away, we know how good animals can pinpoint the source of a sound. I'm sure there's been MANY a deer settin back in the timber laughin, or scratchin there heads looking at that thing up in the tree makin all that noise and we have no clue they're even there.

I usually only call when I'm bored or not seein anything, or as a last resort and that buck is going away from me. If I see deer, and think they may come my way I don't do any callin. I think deer can be just like people, some are more aggressive and cocky, some want to avoid everything, and it can also depend on there mood. I will say I've called in a lot more smaller bucks, then I have larger ones. One of the biggest bucks I've seen out of a tree stand ran, literally bolted, away from me after I did a couple soft grunts to him.

He came in down a ridge behind me coming right towards me, and then turned at about 75 yds and started angeling away from me and was probably at 80 to a 100 yds when I grunted at him. He stopped, turned around and looked my direction, and bam, shot outta there. He should've been able to kick any body's butt in the timber.

I've also stopped many bucks walking away from me by callin, but they wouldn't come back to me. I think maybe it was because they couldn't actually see the deer that was making the noise. Maybe if there was a decoy??? Sorry that's a whole nother subject

One of which I'll give my quick opinion on, some times I think it can help ya, and sometimes I think it can hurt ya.

Sorry I'm rambling, I'll stop here. Plus I have to get to bed so I can get up in a few hours and try and accomplish what we're talkin about.

Good luck to all of ya.
Scott

Okanagan · November 02, 2008, 11:50:12 AM

Brian,

I'm curious to read what folks post on this also, as I have done some grunting and I think it made the difference in killing a pretty nice 4x4 whitetail, but don't feel like I have a handle on it. I asked a Saskatchewan friend who hunts BIG whitetails about which grunt call to buy, etc. and he said that he just uses his voice, that the exact sound isn't all that important. He demonstrated with sort of a pig grunt.

A few weeks later I tried it when hunting in the Canadian Rockies with a friend who'd never killed a deer. We saw a nice buck cross the road in the headlights as we drove in about 3:00 am after an all night drive. I stopped and kicked a mark in the snow at the side of the logging road. We came back the next afternoon, walked into the thick timber about 75 yards and fearful of spooking the buck, set up in thick stuff and I rattled. I put my friend 15 yards downwind of me. After 14 minutes my friend made a tiny motion to indicate a buck was near him. For the first time, I simply grunted like a pig, and the buck stepped to where he could see and shoot it. I still haven't killed a whitetail as big as that one he shot. I never saw it till it was dead, but he said that when I grunted the buck stepped out from behind cover fixed on me like a bird dog on point.

Since then I've begun to add some softer grunts to my calls for blacktail bucks and mule deer bucks. I kill some but don't know how much if any effect the grunts have. I have killed both by calling without the grunts, usually using doe in heat sounds only. My family bought me a deer grunt call with several settings for small deer, doe, big buck grunt etc. but I haven't remembered to carry it for a couple of years.

FWIW whitetails seem the easiest deer to call, mainly by rattling, but I've only done that in the East Kootenays of BC and know that each area is different.

Especially for blacktail in timber, I use binoculars to try to pick out a sneaky buck, and those are the sneakiest of sneaky deer. Several times I've seen a small white spot or something and focused on it with binoculars through a lace screen of brush to see it is maybe the corner of the mouth of a blacktail buck.

Okanagan · December 11, 2008, 11:31:29 PM

Further field testing of grunts:

Case 1. On Nov. 12 or 13 (can't remember which) I grunted a departing 4x4 whitetail into turning around and coming back to give me a shot. The buck was with a larger 3x3, a doe that seemed in heat, another deer I never identified but think was a doe, and a small 3x3. I saw the two larger bucks standing near the road in a small opening in timber as I drove past on a local highway. I stopped, checked the regs to make sure it was OK and got out to stalk them around through the timber. The 4x4 had a pretty rack, light mass 16 inch wide, 3 1/2 years old I'd guess. He took off in a slow trot, hopping over logs, up a hill in brushy timber. I grunted like a pig with my nose, and he turned 180 degrees instantly and came back down the hill. He gave me a broadside shot at 50 yards when he stopped in a clear lane. I had three more days to hunt, wanted something bigger than I've taken before, and knew that a much larger buck with heavier body and antlers was near. I leaned on a nice rest and held the cross hairs on the buck's shoulder with finger on trigger, and decided to let him go. Didn't see the larger buck again.

Cases 2. I rattled and used a grunt tube quite a bit without ever seeing a whitetail come to the sounds, Nov. 12-15. On two occasions I heard a deer moving in the timber, but none came into view. Except for the two bucks mentioned above that seemed rut stupid and vying for a doe, I saw zero horn rubs, zero scrapes, and no other indication of rut activity. Weather was unusually warm. Always before I have rattled at the end of Nov. or first day or two of Dec. and had success.

I think I learned that time of rut is critical for rattling and grunting to be effective. Duh. That grunting to a whitetail buck is more effective than I had realized. And it was fun.