I think there's a time for every method, and I do use the "ghost method" when I think it's called for. However, I have tremendous confidence in calling. I've called in a LOT LOT LOT of deer over the years. Thankfully I just kind of have a knack for it. Because without it, I probably wouldn't kill many bucks.
It's my main method of hunting. Now if only I could put a tag on all of the mature bucks I've called into range, I'd be John Eberhart. lol But I usually manage to screw something up, like misjudge the yardage or get caught on the wrong side of the tree, etc. Putting them in range is not usually a problem, putting them on the ground is.
Just so we are all on the same page, I can count on one hand how many of the bucks I called in were true GIANTS (150"+). What I'm mainly talking about is solid 3-4 year old bucks that are "slammes" on public land. Like most or all of you, I hunt mostly heavily pressured public land, but I always try to find the odd spots that most people overlook. Which doesn't always mean a butt breaking hump.
An example of my "unorthodox spots" is this: I hunted and called in a really big ten pointer no more than 20 yards from where everyone parks their car at a WMA. Buck didn't even come from the WMA, he came from across the street. Of course I couldn't get a shot as light was fading and I didn't feel good about it, but I called him into 20 yards along with 5 other bucks that came in before he did. I've had people shake their heads when they see where I setup. Who cares, the deer don't expect hunters in these idiotic spots either. lol
Now I know a lot of people don't like "blind calling", but I do a ton of it. It's one of the reasons I hunt so many different spots throughout a season. I rarely hunt the same tree more than twice and I hunt quite a bit most years. I do have spots that I will hunt multiple times, but they aren't typically big buck spots, or they are so easy to enter and exit without alerting animals that I can get away with it, I also won't really ever call at these locations.
I know that deer come to investigate these sounds long after we leave, and what are they going to find? Human scent. So any time I do a major calling sequence in a spot, that spot is usually retired for at the very least a couple of weeks, if not the rest of the season. I also use that delayed response to my advantage. You'd be surprised at how many mature bucks show up to investigate that morning rattling sequence an hour or more after you do it. Or even later around noon to 3 pm. HOURS AFTER you do it here they come, still very suspicious and cautiously, but they're looking for information about the fight they heard.
Funny thing is too, I don't usually call in small bucks. I mean, occasionally I get them to come in too, the real aggressive lil buggers that think they are bigger and badder than they are, but usually the way I call scares the young 'uns off.
I've also had the wonderful opportunity to hear a lot of real calling, between wild deer and pen deer, because of this, I feel like I can replicate their sounds extremely accurately. I don't actually like a lot of the calls on the market either, so I've learned to make most sounds with my mouth, but I also use manufactured calls for more volume, but I tune them and adjust them to my liking, they almost never come out of a package sounding the way I want them to.
Rattling is actually one of my favorites for bringing in mature bucks too. But I don't do the "tickle the antlers together"...I do "I'm gonna bleeping kill you, this is my turf" fights and I act out the entire thing over the course of an hour or more. I won't go into everything I do, because if any of you hunt near me, I'll be screwed...lol.....But my advice for calling is to really immerse yourself in what is supposed to be happening. I imagine myself as an actor trying to put on the performance of a lifetime. I imagine how the whole situation might play out....I get really into it and only do things when I'm confident in it.
You guys got me thinking now, and out of all the bucks I've shot, I can only remember three that I didn't call in, there might be another one or two that I'm forgetting, but I don't think so. Like I said, it's something I greatly rely on for getting bucks in range.
I understand it doesn't work for a lot of people though, so if you think it will hurt your chances (and it certainly can), be as ghostly as possible. I actually think the ghost method is probably better, but I usually just can't help myself.
Either way, good luck out there!
