Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Deer hunting,....who grunts, rattles, bleats or just stays quiet?

As most here already know, my wife and I go to Anticosti Island every year. We are due to leave again this November 17th.

Up there, it's a whole nother dimension of deer hunting,,,,,,,,HONEST. I would imagine deer density and buck to doe ratio are the biggest contributing factors. Both my wife and I are very successful with both. We have both rattled them in with no grunting, and grunted them in with no rattling. And we have brought deer in doing both. We have brought them in not knowing they were there before and we have brought them in seeing them before we called or rattled. Talking to folks I am of the opinion that when we grunt we grunt with a tone that is too low in pitch. Mimicking an old mature deer. I have seen deer turn and run to these calls. After I got a little experience calling, I learned that a higher pitch call has better results. It scares less deer away and if there is a big ol' bruiser nearby, he'll "generally" come in for a looksee. Rattling, I always start by just clicking the antlers together. I never "bang" them together, but rack the tines together to try to imitate pushing and shoving. I have NEVER called in or rattled in a deer in the New Hampshire woods, EVER. OTOH, I have NEVER NOT called or rattled deer in on the island. It doesn't work EVERY time but it does at least 50% of the time.