Deer callers - do they work?

aray · Oct 17, 2017

What say you, the experienced hunters on here? Given my very limited experience (3 deer taken in 6 hunts in my first full year) I can't make any certain conclusions but at least when I hunted I couldn't tell any difference that the callers made. Deer showed up or they didn't.

So what has been your experience? Have you seen the deer react, in a positive way, to your calls? Do you definitely attract more deer when you use a caller vs. when you don't? Or are these things all hype designed to sell a product? Are they hunter placebos?

brownspotz · Oct 17, 2017

I usually hang up on them as they are usually sociltizing sex offers or pyrimid schemes.

Doco Overboard · Oct 18, 2017

Guys I know are knocking sika flat with a cow elk mew call.
I seen wt bucks fly right into those can calls and I rattle a small 8 point rack every time I go into the woods from here on out.
You would be surprised what will come to check it out.
Never had much luck with a grunt call though, even though I have had some response from time to time.
Try it and see what works for where your at.

AlBeight · Oct 18, 2017

aray said:
What say you, the experienced hunters on here? Given my very limited experience (3 deer taken in 6 hunts in my first full year) I can't make any certain conclusions but at least when I hunted I couldn't tell any difference that the callers made. Deer showed up or they didn't.

So what has been your experience? Have you seen the deer react, in a positive way, to your calls? Do you definitely attract more deer when you use a caller vs. when you don't? Or are these things all hype designed to sell a product? Are they hunter placebos?

I’ve been deer hunting for 37 years. Tried just about every gimmick out there. Never found calling to be in the least bit effective. Maybe it’s just me because I have a few very good friends that I have absolute trust in their accounts that deer have come on a dead run to their calls. I’ve called to/at deer that were literally bedded down 30 yards from me behind a tree, to try to get them to stand up and move out for a shot. They never even raised an ear to me. I got so pissed once I threw my call at a big 6 point and it barely looked that way.

In frustration a few times I’ve rattled at deer that were staring directly at me, again to no response. Sometimes deer just act weird. Other times for no discernible reason they snort & turn themselves damn near inside out trying to reverse course & get outta Dodge.

I know there will be dozens of guys on this site that swear by calling and I’m not at all doubting their success, I’m just saying it’s never helped me one bit. I know guys that swear by it. I’ve given up trying, and I now just like having the deer act more naturally and not do anythng more to give away my position than I already am by just being there. I will bet that I am in the vast minority on this topic. I’m curious to see if anyone at all even agrees with my experience.

steves1911 · Oct 18, 2017

Rattling has worked for me and I incorporate a grunt tube into my rattling. I've had deer cross 300yds of open fields to check it out.

K31 · Oct 18, 2017

You mean like a bleating fawn call? No.

Neot · Oct 18, 2017

I think given the right scenario during the rut, they could bring a buck in. I've tried them last season and not a peep so I just worry about providing food for the deer. If you have food, the does will come and if they are there, the bucks eventually will be too.

outrider58 · Oct 18, 2017

Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. Picture yourself walking down a street and someone calls your name. You recognize the voice to be someone you're not in the mood to talk to.

Next, imagine you're walking down that same street, different day, and you here your name called out, the voice sounding like that of a friend whom you haven't seen in years. You stop and turn to take a look and see it's him and walk over.

Now, on another day, you are strolling down the street and an old girlfriend calls out to you...

It's kinda like that with deer. It depends on the personality of a given deer and its mood at that particular moment. I use them, but very sparingly. I called in my biggest bow buck to date last year with three aggressive blind grunts. I was getting ready to come down out of my tree for the morning after not seeing any deer. It's something I usually do, more so to make sure there are no deer nearby to catch me coming down the tree. Well, after the three grunts, I heard some leaves shuffle about 45-50 yards away and saw a deer heading my way. The closer it got, the bigger it got. By the time it was 30 yards out, I saw it was a real nice buck. I killed him at 10 yards.

That almost never happens, but it's always worth the try. I try to keep calling down to a minimum most times though.

lazarus · Oct 18, 2017

outrider58 said:
Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. Picture yourself walking down a street and someone calls your name. You recognize the voice to be someone you're not in the mood to talk to.

Next, imagine you're walking down that same street, different day, and you here your name called out, the voice sounding like that of a friend whom you haven't seen in years. You stop and turn to take a look and see it's him and walk over.

Now, on another day, you are strolling down the street and an old girlfriend calls out to you...

It's kinda like that with deer. It depends on the personality of a given deer and its mood at that particular moment. I use them, but very sparingly. I called in my biggest bow buck to date last year with three aggressive blind grunts. I was getting ready to come down out of my tree for the morning after not seeing any deer. It's something I usually do, more so to make sure there are no deer nearby to catch me coming down the tree. Well, after the three grunts, I heard some leaves shuffle about 45-50 yards away and saw a deer heading my way. The closer it got, the bigger it got. By the time it was 30 yards out, I saw it was a real nice buck. I killed him at 10 yards.

That almost never happens, but it's always worth the try. I try to keep calling down to a minimum most times though.

Now that is something I had never thought of, calling before getting out of a stand or ending a sit. It’s wuieter ending a sit, but still have to stand up, put on pack, settle things down, probably take a leak.

Something I’ll at least starting doing is a few calls, wait a few minutes and then get down/up.

On Sika, I have heard calling can be more effective. Are decent calls easy enough to find? Also is it very season dependent? I know the roar is in October, only work then? Work later in the season like November or December?

GuitarmanNick · Oct 18, 2017

I've hunted deer in Pa, Md. and W.V.

Most of the time I used a ground blind or still hunted.

I have had luck calling in bucks using a grunt call, and rattling a set of 8 point antlers that I had taken from one of my larger bucks. I have also had success using a doe bleat during the rut. This worked best in conjunction with cotton balls hung nearby soaked in doe urine. The intention is to call in the does and they will in turn attract the bucks.

Selecting which call to use depends upon the conditions. Since conditions are constantly changing, I usually carried a few different calls and the rattling antlers in my backpack.

Now, just because I usually had good results using antlers and calls does not mean that it always worked! There were many days that I never even saw a buck.

Whatever you decide to try, I would suggest practicing before using on a hunt. You would not be happy if you scared the deer away instead of attracting them.

Doco Overboard · Oct 18, 2017

I can agree with everything written here.
I'll find out what kind/ brand mew call the guys are using, one thing is certain few have gotten away to clue their buddies in.

Mike3888 · Oct 18, 2017

Doco Overboard said:
Guys I know are knocking sika flat with a cow elk mew call.
I seen wt bucks fly right into those can calls and I rattle a small 8 point rack every time I go into the woods from here on out.
You would be surprised what will come to check it out.
Never had much luck with a grunt call though, even though I have had some response from time to time.
Try it and see what works for where your at.

Agree on the sika call. We r using one from primos and it's the real deal.

Doco Overboard · Oct 18, 2017

Not the one I was talking about but pretty nifty

Racer Doug14 · Oct 19, 2017

I hate when deer call me. They mock me and ask why I'm not in the woods trying to kill them. So mean!

Actually, I have have the "Extinguisher" grunt call. I'll say that I think it pulled in the first deer I killed two seasons ago.

Moyaone · Oct 19, 2017

I've never called in a deer with a call, but if they are cruising by I have been able to stop them with a grunt call. Could be simple curiosity, but with bucks I get the impression they are looking for a competitor. Have shot one that I stopped with a grunt and the others have just been a bit of a field experiment.

lazarus · Oct 19, 2017

Moyaone said:
I've never called in a deer with a call, but if they are cruising by I have been able to stop them with a grunt call. Could be simple curiosity, but with bucks I get the impression they are looking for a competitor. Have shot one that I stopped with a grunt and the others have just been a bit of a field experiment.

How do you usually do it? Just a single quick grunt? Or do you do a series of grunts?

I am pretty sure the does this morning were called in with my doe bleats. Could also just be they were headed my direction anyway and and came in cautious from the calling.

Racer Doug14 · Oct 20, 2017

"Deer Society" videos on YT are a great tool on grunt calls.

Sewer Rat · Oct 21, 2017

Personally, they haven't worked for me in MD.... FL was very effective; but admittedly I was in the woods more in FL. much much more.

Moyaone · Oct 22, 2017

Lazarus:
I have had success stopping deer with a short grunt to get their attention. A bit longer (and louder) and drawn out if they don't stop initially. Again, in my experience this only seems to work on bucks. I'm certainly no deer expert, but I live in a place that has a lot of deer, and I see a lot of bucks. However, I don't shoot bucks as I prefer the taste of does. So, I play around with the grunt when ever I have a buck in the area just to see what they do. Watched a big 8 point this morning chasing does around, then watched him go over and tend a scrape. As he walked over the hill heading out of the area I hit the grunt call, and sure enough, he stopped in his tracks and swung his head around to locate the source. After a minute or so he continued on his way.

Racer Doug14 · Oct 22, 2017

Calls are meant to draw out dominant bucks. Scent lures for buck too. Does just do their thing.

Deer callers - do they work?

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