keith@clodii.columbiasc.NCR.COM (04/16/91)
Hello,
I would like to open up a discussion concerning using grunt and
bleat calls to attract/distract deer mostly while hunting them but
other instances would apply also I think. Deer calls have gained
popularity here in the South in the last 2 or 3 years and now just
about every hunter will have one strung around his neck. I purchased a
Ben Lee grunt call for about $7 dollars in Oct. of '89 and still use
it though I have "worked" on it some to get it to sound the way it
should. Some years before that I bought a bleat call from P.S. Olt but
it sounded kind of "unusual" I thought. Let me relate two experiences
I had using both of these calls. The first time I used the P.S. Olt
call was one day that I got to my hunt spot about 1 hr. before dark.
Just enough time to walk in quietly and set down and watch a small
clearing. Shortly before dark I could hear a deer moving just in the
woods on the other side of the clearing but I could not see it. I
decided to try the call and so I blew the bleat call once softly like
the instructions said and guess what? It spooked the deer and it took
off running and snorting and didn't stop till it got to the next
county! Never got to see that deer. Needless to say, I have never
used this call again.
The second event turned out to be pretty incredible I thought. I was
hunting a small field about 120 yds long by 30 or so yds wide. There
were hardwood hollowson either side of the field and the deer crossed
there frequently searching for acorns. About 9:00 am a small buck
crossed the field from left to right and got into some short pines
before I could get the scope on him. I immediately tried the Ben Lee
grunt call thinking I had nothing to lose and blew one soft grunt with
it. The deer was completely out of my view and about 45 yds from me
when I did it, but guess what? This buck came charging back across the
field almost directly towards the tree I was sitting in! I shot him in
the right shoulder about 15 yds from my tree after I regained my
senses. It was a small 115 lb. 8-ptr. that thought he was a lot
bigger, I guess. ( What would I have done had I been sitting on the
ground? Don't know.) Why did the buck come charging like that? Was he
looking for another buck to fight or a doe to make whoopee with? (I
shot another buck (160 lb 8-ptr) from the same spot later on that I
feel was the dominant buck in that area) I have heard both bucks and
does grunt before.
I have used the grunt call since then and learned that only rarely
will it call in a deer like that. It should not be used with that
intention. I have alsonoticed that it seems to help "calm" deer down
that are skittish. It will also stop deer sometimes long enough to get
a shot but then so will a loud whistle.
I would be very interested in reading about any experiences that any
other deer hunters in the group have had using deer calls. Comments,
discussion, and input are welcome. Thanks!!
Keith Boyd
P.S. I would like to limit this to whitetail deer since I feel that
results may not necessarily apply to all species of big game.
(ie. Bugling for Elk is something totally different IMHO.)
---
| Keith M. Boyd (NCR E+M Cola.) | Nothing could be fina' than huntin' and |
| 3325 Platt Springs Rd. | fishin' in South Carolina! -Me- |
| West Cola., S.C. 29170 | Fax: 791-6998 | keith@clodII.Columbia.NCR.COM |
| Vp: 803-791-6419 | From uunet: !uunet!ncrlink!ncrcae!sauron!clodII!keith |brian%reed.uucp@RELAY.CS.NET (Brian Vandewettering) (04/18/91)
In article <538@erb1.engr.wisc.edu> keith@clodii.columbiasc.NCR.COM writes: > Stuff deleted... >decided to try the call and so I blew the bleat call once softly like >the instructions said and guess what? It spooked the deer and it took >off running and snorting and didn't stop till it got to the next >county! Never got to see that deer. Needless to say, I have never >used this call again. I have had the same experience with the bleat call. A friend and I were putting the sneek on a group of about 10 deer feeding peacefully in a saddle formed by two hills. As we aproached from the downwind side cover started getting sparse and we had yet to see any bucks. I elected to blow my bleat call in order to draw the bucks out. Big mistake. All I saw was a flash of antlers as the entire group bailed over the ridge. These were blacktail deer which may not respond well to calling as I have heard that they are not as vocal as whitetails. >--- >| Keith M. Boyd (NCR E+M Cola.) | Nothing could be fina' than huntin' and | >| 3325 Platt Springs Rd. | fishin' in South Carolina! -Me- | >| West Cola., S.C. 29170 | Fax: 791-6998 | keith@clodII.Columbia.NCR.COM | >| Vp: 803-791-6419 | From uunet: !uunet!ncrlink!ncrcae!sauron!clodII!keith | -- Opinions are MINE!!! Brian Vandewettering - NRA, NRA-ILA, OSSA Motorola Inc., Computer Systems Division - Beaverton, Oregon brian@pdx.csd.mot.com . . . tektronix!nosun!cvedc!mcspdx!brian
roa@davinci.acc.virginia.edu ("Robert O. Anderson Jr") (05/03/91)
>Keith M. Boyd writes: > Hello, > I would like to open up a discussion concerning using grunt and >bleat calls to attract/distract deer mostly while hunting them but >other instances would apply also I think. Deer calls have gained Other stuff deleted..... I've got a couple of grunt (Haydel's & Lohman) calls.....really can't relate any tales about them, except to say that I have made some noise with 'em in the woods. I've also got a K'meer Deer call. I turned a spike buck around three times with it one afternoon. But each time he came back he was always just on the other side of some thick stuff. The third time he got a whiff of the scent gland I had hanging in a tree (my neighbor had killed an 8 pt. and I removed the glands from inside his hind legs). He smelled that and he laid his ears back turned and snuck away at a slow trot. Can't really say I've grunted one in, but I have rattled some in.... I got some competition from another hunter, one October afternoon, both trying to rattle in the same buck. I had to stop to make the shot (deer was about 30 yds.) and the buck(small 6 pt.) became interested in the other hunter who continued to rattle. That "other hunter" turned out to be a good size buck and there were 4 other smaller bucks with him. My buck turned and trotted up the hill with head held high and an attitude that he was going to whip everything up there. As he approached big boy they both put their heads down, I thought they were feeding on moss. When their faces were about 6" apart, I don't know where the power came from, but those two bucks hit with tremendous force. I don't think I can hit two antlers together and make as much noise as they did. With muscles bulging, ole big boy drove "my" buck back down the hill to me....when they got about 15 feet from my treestand, "my" buck spun off to the side and big boy just kinda looked at him with the "you are wasting my time" look, he turned and walked back up the hill...."mine" followed. "NOW I REMEMBER WHY I'M HERE!" I pulled back and put it on big boy and a tree gets in the way...I put it on the other buck...another tree. I'm going back 'n forth trying to get a decent shot as they walked back up the hill. It was just pitiful! They got up the hill and big boy told the other bucks to line up and take their turn. And they did. But I didn't see a fight that equaled the one with "my" buck. Then I remembered MY antlers. when I touched them together, all six bucks stopped and turned and looked at me. I couldn't move. As slow as I could, I hung up the antlers and picked up my bow and looked up to see several tails flicker back forth as the deer moved over the hill. Oh, well....It was exciting to watch. Bobby ======================================= bobby@virginia.edu (Internet) bobby@virginia (BITNET) =======================================