Deer Season has begun for some of us and for others its only a few weeks away. What types of calls ( Brands) have you used in previous seasons with success and failure with regards to your pursuit of Deer?

I've used a grunt call with some success in the past.

My strategy has been to use a non-descript mid-range grunt. The idea is to put a question mark in the deer's head. Was that a buck? Was that a doe? Was that a greeting or a warning? Curiosity takes over and I've had a few deer come in.

Two of my largest deer did just that. Both times, I let out a grunt early in the morning and got an angry, aggressive return call from the buck. He wanted a piece of me and he was coming to teach me a lesson.

How much do I call? Hardly at all.

I rattle a lot and will use a grunt call while rattling. I've had pretty good success. I've used the Primos "Can" as well and had success.

Acorns, water, bedding areas and where the girls hang out.

The sound of a feeder works good....

"The Can"

Waaaaaaaay over thinking it. lol

I've grunted in a bunch of big bucks during rut, many were coming in ready for a fight. Find their bedroom and hunt the wind. Rattling is golden at the right time as well. I've seen mature bucks cover some serious ground to come to rattling, but most times they don't pay it much attention.

I've only had an estrus bleat work twice, but that's enough for me to keep carrying one.

Primos “can” is my most favorite
I also use a grunt too, it works when the deer is in the mood.

I grunted in a 7pt. buck just at dusk during the peak of the rut once, that was the only success I've had with a grunt call. I have also used the can and rattling with no success with either.

Turned two nice bucks right around and brought them in on a string with a Knight & Hale Ez-Grunt-Er.

The only deer call I have used, is a yellow cedar call, made by a native friend in SE Alaska! Called blacktail with them on the islands! I've tried calling Oregon blacktail , with 0 success! Calling whitetail sounds interesting!

I like rattling best but you really need to understand that bucks often don’t come into your rattling, but they get on their rub lines checking things out. Get your self on a ridgetop with a good view is some edges and rattle as loud as you can and if you can sit long enough you will see one. Sometimes they do charge you when you hit horn.

I have bleated in a pile of bucks. Bigger ones will be trailing a doe with the way I call .

I like the story a friend of mine told about rattling from way back in the thick stuff that he knew was surrounded with other hunters. They got off their stands and stalked the "buck fight" and he had an instant deer drive. With 600,000 of us out there on opening day, a guy needs to be real creative to get away from other hunters on public land.

I called in a doe once with a Burnham Bros distress call, and grunted in a small buck with some tube or other. My son has rattled in one or two in VA. So, it can work, but I don't hang my hat on it, and reserve it for times when I'm bored and/or desperate to see something. A potential bonus for a distress call is it might bring in a predator.

I never go deer hunting without a grunt call. Can't count the number of times that I've turned around a buck that was out of bow range and headed away from me, and had them come in on a string. Also, works great to bring attention to a decoy if your using one. Of course, I've had other deer stop and listen and keep on trucking. My favorite is still the old Hunters Specialties True Talker. A little bit on the large size but simple and seems to work on the deer and doesn't freeze up. I think they actually just started making it again.

I have called in many does with a predator call both whitetail and mule. The grunt call has worked for younger bucks but the main use I have for it is to stop a deer as it hot foots across a sendero. Just about any call or even a whistle can work but the grunt call may be less likely to spook them.

I think it is like rattling in that there are only a few optimal windows when it will work. Also the buck to doe ratio is critical with usually the closer the better it works.

I holler hey. They come right to me!

Timing seems to be the key, I too had a small 6 point buck going away crunching in the leaves, but out of sight. A grunt call brought him right back and that was pre-rut October 31. Three does were walking along another time and I blew the same grunt call and they couldn't have left any faster than if I'd hit them with a paddle. The Can sounds good to me, but it never worked on an actual deer in my experience. I have called does with my voice by baaing like a sheep or maybe a deer I guess.

Nothing!!!!

I throw out an elk bugle every not and then. Really get's em movin

Grunt call and doe bleat "can".
They work.

Have called in bucks in bow and gun.
With both.

Have rattled too, worked for a few yrs until everybody around my spot started that BS opening day of bow.
Think the deer went deaf.

Last yr, went out around Halloween. Snuck in at first light, waited 15 mins and did a couple of grunt calls.
Waited 15 mins and did two more.
See what was in thicket next to me.
15 mins later hit the can call. Couple bleats.
8 pointer at 10 yards.

Year before saw a buck way out in picked corn.
slid into same stand.
Grunt called a couple times. Did again 15 mins later.
15 after that, here he comes.
Circled around, 75 yards.
If I had a decoy I might have gotten him closer, he was looking for who made the call and seeing nothing, moved off.
Then a fat 6 pt walked under me looking around.

He left and I bleat called him back, to 10 yards.
Then he left and a forky showed up.

Fun morning.

I pretty much stay the hell out of my ticket spot until Halloween.

Kids hunted next door, rattling, grunting, scents.............we did not see many deer.
Property sold, guy that hunts it is conservative.

We all see more deer now.

Gee, wonder why?

Grunt calls, doe bleats, can work early bow season.
But think they work better closer we get to gun season.
Have yet to try a snort wheeze.

IMHO come gun season, a decent buck should have a doe with him.
Can't compete with that.

Have used calls to pull in lesser bucks in gun.
Never a big one.

Don't use calls for deer (mulies) hunting, but have had them come in to predator calls (rabbit) that were not used too aggressively. Sounds a good bit like a fawn bleat. If the rut is on, the bucks will come right along with the does. Typically it's not a leisurely arrival. They come in on the run and on the fight, but leave just as quickly when they figure out they've been had.

Used that strategy years ago when doing composition counts on large numbers of deer. Everything in the basin would come in close so one could differentiate does, fawns, yearlings, and bucks.

I've used one of those Hale and Knight rattlers on fallow bucks. It works really well if they are in the mood.

Haydel older model grunt tube and the "can" have worked pretty good for me on public land .

One that worked for me when I was younger..........

Have some madeira, m'dear. It's really much nicer than beer.
I don't care for sherry, one cannot drink stout,
And port is a wine I can well do without...
It's simply a case of chacun a son gout
Have some madeira, m'dear.

I have had bucks come to a grunt call. I use to have a woods wise breeding bellow call. I use to call at deer that I let pass and sometimes they would turn around and come right back. So sometimes they do work

My best stand is a pinch point where 10 trails converge because of terrain only time I hunt it is during the rut

I had very good success with the old K'meer Deer fawn in distress call. I used it for coyotes, but have also called in 3 bears with it while coyote hunting. After buying it from the back of a Sports Afield magazine in the late 60's, I lost it a few years ago.

When does respond, they usually come in on the run. If bucks are hanging around the does, they will follow the does, but, I have never called in a lone buck.

While deer hunting around Kremmling, CO, some years ago, a buddy and I were sitting in his truck, waiting for another buddy to show up. Several Mule Deer walked out of a draw, so I roll down my window and told Duane, 'watch this', and started with the K'meer Deer. All the does start charging up the hill towards us, with a decent 4x4 trailing.

The lead doe came to about 40-50 yards of the truck, and stood there stamping a foot at us.

Lot's of E-callers have this sound loaded on them, and those have worked as well, though I cannot use an E-caller for big game hunting in Colorado.

Have called in does with an old fawn distress call.

Have called in nice bucks with a grunt tube.

Have gotten interest from bucks with an estrous doe can.

I've had bunches of does come to either a fawn bleat or canine pup distress calls. Always wondered if I timed it right if a nice buck might follow...

Anyone have success with the old rubber band call? I was sitting on a rub line and used one. Don't know if the buck was following his line or coming to the call, but he certainly wasn't spooked by it.

I meant to reply when this thread was fresh a month ago but got busy hunting. Anyhow...

I had some good success this past year on mule deer does with a Crit R Call peewee. My son had a doe tag and I was able to get him several good shots with simple fawn bleat distress calls. He wasn't able to connect, I think due to nerves, but the calling was definitely an aid. Does didn't always come in, but sometimes it was effective to get a doe moving that was bedded down that we couldn't see at all. Once up we would try to figure out an approach, even if it didn't come closer. There were a couple cases where the does came right to us out into clearings.

I killed an eater-grade whitetail buck yesterday in western Montana where the rut seems to be peaking. At my first stop I used a Primos Big Buck Bag, rattled once, waited 10 minutes, rattled again, waited 5 minutes, then gave two small grunts figuring I'd move in another 10 minutes if nothing showed. I saw a flash in the trees 50 yards upwind as an animal started coming in fast, I got my 308 up before I could see headgear, then he was in my scope trotting in on a string. I dropped him with a Barnes 150 gr. TSX which made quite an impression at 8 yards! Fat public land 3X3, perfect for the freezer. I was back at the truck with him in an hour. The final grunts seem to be what closed the deal.