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Grunt Call Success Rates?

have you had a grunt work?

  • Total voters
    118
  • Poll closed .
I have called in a small buck on sept 15 (opening day in NH) a few years back. Really light rattling just tickling the antlers together and a few light grunts. He came in on a string and busted me behind a log at about 3 yards.
 
Cotehex said:
On heavily pressured deer I've seen it scare them off. I have used it with success on less pressured deer when I can see them. I don't like to blind call as this seems to make them come in downwind.
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I think what happens a lot is people call with to much volume and to low a tone. If your using a low grunt that identifies as a big bodied deer. I'm not trying to elicit an aggressive response I just want deer to think there are other deer in the area. I'll use more of a mature doe bleat and a young buck grunt. Nothing pisses off a mature deer then thinking that little squirt is courting my doe. But nobody wants to come in for a fight with godzilla buck, or try to get with a doe who is with a monster. Also on public they get called to a lot by folks who get all their calling info from you tube out in the mid west during the rut. I've never had any luck with that style of calling. I've never rattled a deer in either. They do say rattling works best pre rut but what I'm doing works well for me and I think the herd around here responds well to it.
 
Bowmanmike said:
I tried grunting a buck in that i watched for a while and he was going past me at 60 yds. He didnt care one bit about the grunt so i snort wheezed. Wow did that ever do the trick. He turned towards me immediately and came straight in to 20,looking for a fight. A little sapling saved his life when he finally turned...
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I'll have to try this as a last resort if I get a good one who won't come in to a normal sequence.
 
Nutterbuster said:
This thread is making me excited.

It seems most success happens during the rut. Anybody have any stories from early archery?
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Both of the encounters I mentioned were about this time of year.

Also at this time of year, maybe a week later, I pulled two bucks from the backside of a cluster of apple trees. Two different encounters, a year apart. Both were 8pt bucks, one was mature and one wasn't. Both were looking for the source of the grunt and came around the trees walking broadside to me at 15-20yds. This was on moderately pressured private.

I missed a huge buck in VA after grunting him in around this time of year. He was on a ridge too far for a shot and I was below him. I can't recall why I grunted instead of seeing how things played out a bit more, but he wasn't obviously coming in and at the time it just seemed like what I needed to do. I got him to come in broadside at about 40yds. I really remember two things about that hunt. First, I remember like it was yesterday watching my arrow tracking perfectly and then, just before reaching destination, seeing my arrow deflect off a twig that I hadn't seen and skip over his back. Secondly, I remember how when he first came into view all I could see was this massive rack shimmering in the morning sunlight with the sun shining behind him. It was just awesome.

I actually find myself grunting less during the rut, although I've witnessed deer grunting during this time. I kind of let the magic of that part of the season just do its thing.

Last year on public in November, I saw a buck square up and snort wheeze inches from another buck's face. They were both nice bucks and in range. I just took it in. Got a pic of the one, which I sent to my brother who still says I'm an idiot for not shooting him. Let me tell you, that snort wheeze made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Also, hard not to laugh when you see something like this.
 
Kurt said:
If I have a buck I can see I'll blow the first one in his direction quiet, if he's coming in but then hangs up I blow down and away. I live and hunt in a hilly spot so I'm usually blowing off a bench or if on the bench then down the hill and away. The seven point I shot two years ago was set up just like that. I saw him down the hill I swung off the platform to get the tree in between us then I grunted right at him, he looked up but didn't commit and started feeding away and I hit him with a longer louder grunt to the bench behind me and he came right to the tree and then past going up to the bench. It helps if they can't see until they get into range. In his case he had to pass me to get on the bench so he could see.
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That hilly terrain could help this issue a lot.
 
I have 2 special stand areas i do not hunt until Halloween.. that is my trigger point for pre-rut into full on rut here in northern lower MI.
I go into these spots which are pinch point hubs, set up for all day hunts, and cold call about every 45 minutes or so.
When I call, I resist the temptation to overdo it, which doesn't take too much.
I sound a loud, but short buck grunt, wait about 15 seconds, do the can call one time, followed by a three or four buck grunt song, rotating the call as I grunt.
The first call gets the attention, the second buck and doe cadence tells the story. Then I get ready, total attention for at least 15 minutes, not relaxing for at least 30 minutes. Last year, my special spot, on November 4th immediately brought a 4 point right to my tree, 5 yds out and staring up at me ( which bummed me out obviously). 15 minutes later a dandy 8 point sauntered in all puffy and tuning up brush along the way. I shot him st 25 yds.
Sometimes it goes like that, and more times than not, I do that all day to no avail.
I stop at least an hour before dark and just hunt whatever is coming on its own.
This has worked for me many times over the years and when I was younger, settling for smaller bucks, the hit rate was pretty darn good.
4 years ago, I had a beautiful 8 point come in an hour before dark and hang up in secondary cover. He wanted to cross a 25 yd opening but wouldn't. I knew he would wait until dark and all I could see were his legs where he hung up. Sure enough, at dark, he came right toward me but it was psst shooting light so all I could do was sit him out, which too another 20 minutes before I could vacate. Yes, I love calling deer.. its an exciting and difficult way to hunt but man when it comes together. There's no greater feeling
 
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I have called in bucks in Nebraska, North Carolina and Missouri on public land. It does not take much and I do not blind call. When I see a buck and it looks like he is not going to walk wear I need him to I will give a short grunt and see how he reacts. I always give him some time, because I have seen some that act like they did not hear it and end up investigating the grunt after several minutes. I have also had some that react immediately. I had a 10 pt and 8 pt sparring last year about 75 yards away. I gave them a deep, long grunt and both broke contact and ran straight for the base of my tree. Neither gave me a shot opportunity.
 
I like the flexible grunt tubes either ones by flextone or at least have a flexible tube extension but the "softness" of the entire call including the mouth piece just sounds more realistic to me. I've had luck with all kinds of calls but again, just like calling turkeys, you need to put some personality into the calling. If you're just puffing air through the grunt... ba, ba, ba with no inflection or tone or variation, it sounds contrived. If you're making a contact grunt, make it, blurp, blurp, blurp, make it sound like there's some wetness or softness to the grunt, not just a dry ba, ba, ba,. I believe you can achieve this with short, staccato type grunts in flexible calls and by moving the call trying to visualize a deer's trachea and moving while walking, running, trotting like they so often do during the rut. If you're just putting the call up to your mouth expecting it to do everything you're not calling right in my opinion.
 
I was reminded of this thread tonight as I watched a young buck grunt and aggressively chase a doe away from what he must have thought were his acorns. I usually only think about it when I see it but a couple things worth mentioning.
1 I don’t hear deer vocalize much.
2 When I do hear bucks grunt even when acting aggressive it’s subtle and not loud at all. About 60-70 yards is as far as I’ve ever heard one grunt. It was quiet and I had to listen For a second grunt to verify that’s what I heard then. Tonight it was only 10-15 yards and still wasn’t loud.
 
woodsdog2 said:
I like the flexible grunt tubes either ones by flextone or at least have a flexible tube extension but the "softness" of the entire call including the mouth piece just sounds more realistic to me. I've had luck with all kinds of calls but again, just like calling turkeys, you need to put some personality into the calling. If you're just puffing air through the grunt... ba, ba, ba with no inflection or tone or variation, it sounds contrived. If you're making a contact grunt, make it, blurp, blurp, blurp, make it sound like there's some wetness or softness to the grunt, not just a dry ba, ba, ba,. I believe you can achieve this with short, staccato type grunts in flexible calls and by moving the call trying to visualize a deer's trachea and moving while walking, running, trotting like they so often do during the rut. If you're just putting the call up to your mouth expecting it to do everything you're not calling right in my opinion.
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Wow with that explanation you must be an orchestra conductor!
 
Blind called during GA second run phase after a morning December snow. Killed him at 15 yards with a 30.06. First ever ga deer hunt in the snow. My biggest buck to date.
 

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I never grunt or any call for that matter unless I have a visual on him and never make a sound while he's looking in my direction, if within 100yds as they are way to good at pin pointing sound. I will make exceptions on some blind 3-5 second lite rattling in pre rut, rut every 30 mins + -. I've rattled in way to many bucks to know that short lite rattling does work the right time of year
 
woodsdog2 said:
I like the flexible grunt tubes either ones by flextone or at least have a flexible tube extension but the "softness" of the entire call including the mouth piece just sounds more realistic to me. I've had luck with all kinds of calls but again, just like calling turkeys, you need to put some personality into the calling. If you're just puffing air through the grunt... ba, ba, ba with no inflection or tone or variation, it sounds contrived. If you're making a contact grunt, make it, blurp, blurp, blurp, make it sound like there's some wetness or softness to the grunt, not just a dry ba, ba, ba,. I believe you can achieve this with short, staccato type grunts in flexible calls and by moving the call trying to visualize a deer's trachea and moving while walking, running, trotting like they so often do during the rut. If you're just putting the call up to your mouth expecting it to do everything you're not calling right in my opinion.
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I think it's all about inflection.

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Not a big believer or user of grunt calls in my heavily pressured southern NY areas but I have had success of sorts twice in my life.
First was a real cold november morning which I just got in my tr*****nd and blind grunted just because it was the rut. Not two minutes later a 6 pt walks out of an area dense with saplings and young trees. He got within my range and I took him. Now was he already walking my way or did the grunt coax him out I'll never know.
BUT...
Just last year hunting in Connecticut I get up a tree and an hour later the biggest buck I've ever seen live, other than those on tv, walks within 25 yds on my weakside and stops. Unfortunately for me but lucky for him there's too many limbs from surrounding trees to get off a shot. He made a right turn and slowly walked off heading for a real dense area of trees and brush about 80 yds out. Watching the opportunity of a lifetime about to disappear made me desperate so I grabbed the tube and grunted 3, 4, 5 times louder each time until all of a sudden he stopped and did a 180 and headed right towards me. He stopped at 35 yds and scanned the area. After what felt like forever, I couldnt move because I would have been skylit from being too low and the trees void of leaves, he walked away to my left. He was 50 yds out and about to hit the downside of the hill so I hit the grunt tube again as his backside crested the slope and in amazement watched him come back to within 30 yds and stood in that spot motionless for 10 solid minutes. Again too many limbs between us prevented me from a shot but I remember giggling to myself in awe of what just happened. He eventually left down the hill and ignored my final hail mary grunts but that morning will forever live with me as one of my happiest times being unsuccessful.
 
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