I think the best tip,is to just read conditions. Pay attention to sign,the wind and try to find a locale that is gonna steer critters your way.
I like a fairly stealthy setup,maybe not because absolute success hinges on it,but more for the fact that it boosts MY confidence. Sorta the same reason I don't try to call Sprigs in with a trumpet,while wearing a blaze orange suit. A guy makes his own luck.
My preference is to have my back against something to break up my outline and to allow a leisurely position to sway a buncha fidgeting about. I like to slip in,get set up and move in a methodical/slow manner while calling.
I like my ass on the ground and the rifle across my lap. That situation is comfortable for me and the rifle is easy to get into action,should something fast and furious be on the menu. It generally isn't,but if you can deal with the most difficult situation,anything lesser is a given. Plus with my back to heavy cover,I've purposely negated a Pear Harbor happening on my blindside.
My calling is far softer and in a different cadence,than my pards. I'm not intent on making the most decibles possible,nor the sharpest note. The softer/warmer tones are my focal point and the K'meer is the bestest at it IMHO. I bite the call pretty hard and actually sorta chew on it,to "break it in". The plastic lips become more malleable and with that,one can skew tones. With a bite and an upward flex of the call to boot,one can realize some good sounds. At least sounds I like to work with.
I bite on the call in varying degrees of pressure and sorta screw around with air volume and cypher what combo it takes to yield a sound I find pleasing. My usual regimen,is to start a cadence with fairly firm teeth pressure on the call and moderate wind power. At the end of a note,I tend to relax some of that pressure and increase air pressure,while flexing the call,to yield sort of a soft feathered finish. Impossible to relate in text,what the hell I'm trying to explain,but for sheer comedy I'll try.
I like to start with a longish soft note,that I liken to a "where are ya?":
"WAaaaaauhhh" Then wait a coupla seconds and repeat,while adding to it,with another seperated tone.
"WAaaaaauuuuhhh" "Waaauuhh" Then wait just a smidge and add even more to it.
"WAaaauuhhhh" "Waaauuhh" "WAaauHHhhhh" Then finish with a smallish finisher death nail.
"Waauuhhh"
All of it,in friendlied tones and sorta melting together,rather than jackhammered on top of each other.
I know IMMEDIATELY,the sounds I like and firmly believe in their merit. The key is to discover for yourself what fishes and what don't,then get it down as far as the ability to reliably repeat it. Much,if not all of calling,is confidence(my opinion). So I am tuned in and on full alert,with game face on.
As I prefer to call in heavy vegetation,binoculars are a must. I lay a cadence down,maybe repeat the whole series and then up go my glasses. I'm trying to look THROUGH the vegetation,to see him,before he sees/winds me. Killed lots of them as they were slipping in and I find much satisfacton in that. They will sometimes travel a trail right to you,as if on a leash and that ain't a bad thing either(grin).
The tones I prefer,are not condusive to calling in Does. I doubt I call 1 Doe in,to every 10 Bucks. Pards have ratios at direct opposite of that and I think it is the higher pitch of a more Fawn distress-like sound,that promotes the Does' interest. That ain't a right and a wrong,but is certainly something I've noticed. Some guys like to yard the Does in,during the peak of the Rut,so they tow Bucks in with them. That approach is of much merit IMHO,though I still stick to my guns and largely have abandoned those sounds.
I sent a tape to someone here(am thinking it was Len),on this very subject,so as to more aptly relate what the hell I'm trying to explain. If I recall correctly,he had much luck honking Bucks in and figured out an approach that worked well in short order.
I'm a grinder. Meaning in good country,with good sign,I'll grind a location out for an hour or better,hoping to coax something in. I believe patience will up the odds too. Lotsa guys call,wait a coupla minutes and move on. They wanna cover lotsa country. I'm more apt to want to set up less,but be more selective in location and to stay with it longer. I've killed some dandies that came slurking in,late in the game and that is a handsome reward for a little patience.
So now that I've really screwed you up,I'll leave you alone. Best advice I have,is to just get out and practice and see what sorta presentation works best for you.
Needless to say,calling is my favorite way to hunt Bucks..................
