to blind call or not to

[motionlessdeer]

so this year i'm think about hunting a smaller pasture, it has bush on both sides and a home treestand that looks over the middle i am wondering if i should blind call, i do not think there is a huge amount of hunting pressure in the area and most deer are young bucks and does, and if not to blind call do i just sit there and wait for them to come by or what do i do kinda stumped any feedback would be great

[kellory]

so this year i'm think about hunting a smaller pasture, it has bush on both sides and a home treestand that looks over the middle i am wondering if i should blind call, i do not think there is a huge amount of hunting pressure in the area and most deer are young bucks and does, and if not to blind call do i just sit there and wait for them to come by or what do i do kinda stumped any feedback would be great

Welcome to the forum . I personally prefer to be silent, and overlooked by the deer. Just another feature of the landscape. I don't call, grunt, or rattle, unless I can see the deer, and I'm trying to bring it to me.

In my opinion, most people screw up by making too much noise, and too much movement. Movement will get you busted faster than anything else.

Your name should read "motionless deer hunter"

[charlie 01]

I prefer to rattle, but primarily early morn. As soon as I can see 10yds I will rattle and make it a hard and loud. I try to reach out and try to draw something in from as far away as I can on that initial early rattle. Sound travels best then. Hoping to bring in something that is traveling and or hasn't bedded yet, and that I might not see all day. After that first rattle, every 20 to 30 minute interval and not as loud, but louder than antler tickeling. After 4 or 5 sessions, if nothing shows, I will probably call it a day, unless there is sign of rut activity, I will stay longer. Always take a good look around the area before rattling. Rattling presents the opportunity to bring something to you that you may never see. All I can say is if you don't rattle you don't know what you are missing.

Kellory, in the early years I felt as you do, keep quiet, but after trying it and bringing in bucks, it's the thing to do. It is like a magnet for bucks. It is amazing how they can pin point where that sound came from. One draw-back is that if he encounters any does on his way to you, he is likely to chase them around to check them out. I'm guessing he thinks that one of them is what is being fought over. Be patient, if he finds nothing receptive he will continue on to the rattle area. Another draw-back is if he is tending a doe you will not draw him in. I have had bucks that were with a doe, and saw them herd the doe away from me. Basically, rattling is like rolling the dice, some you win and some you lose, but if you don't try you will never know just how well it works.

[shaman]

Yes. . . well, no. . . wait . . . well, maybe?

Look my history with calling is checkered. Yes, I have called in deer with blind calling. I have also called in the two biggest bucks of my life. However, do I feel blind calling is a good idea? Generally no.

Here are the two times I have called in the biggest deer of my life:

Taking The Big One in 2003: The Savage Spoke. . .
Taking the next Big One in 2007: The Savage Spoke Again. . .

These were. . . semi-blind instances. In 2003, I had a deer grunting at me, but I did not know it was a deer. In 2007, I was grunting at one small group of immature bucks and they took off like I'd lit their tails on fire. The reason was that The Big One was lurking out there, and they thought I was him.

I think these instances are good examples of how blind calling gives mixed results. You may be calling blind and The Big One may be out there and be tired and sore from the last fight and not want to give it another go. You may be calling blind and The Not-Quite-The-Big One may hear you and decide you are too big for him and scoot.

When I do blind call, I do a very non-committal non-descript type of calling. I voice it between a doe and a buck. I keep it a simple contact grunt/bleat. I want to sound like the deer equivalent of Pat.


I figure everyone wanted to know if Pat was a guy or a girl, right? They were curious.

[kellory]

Charlie. The diffrence is focus. I'm hunting meat and you are hunting bone. If it is out of spots, it is a good prize for me. And while rattling does tend to bring in the big boys, it tends to chase away smaller bucks and does( my prime target)). You are willing to weed out the lesser deer, I am not .

[charlie 01]

And while rattling does tend to bring in the big boys, it tends to chase away smaller bucks and does( my prime target)).

Haven't always been a bone hunter Kellory, just the past 15 or so years. After 40 plus years of deer hunting, somewhere along the line I opted for bigger challenges. I don't know where you got the notion that rattling chases away small bucks and does, but the fact is it does not. At times I rattle in small bucks that I pass on and wait in hopes of something bigger. That is another pay-off, other bucks can tell a buck has just traveled that route and believe it to be safe traveling. In 1990, I managed to only obtain one buck tag, and in early Nov. took a Pope & Younger, (that was a great story in itself). The rest of Nov. I went around to different places with stand and rattling antlers and video camera and video taped all that I rattled in. In that month I rattled in 30 different bucks of all sizes, even one oversized button buck, and two curious does. I put it all together in video and sold them. It was called " Whitetail Bucks In the Natural". It was such fun and a great learning experience. I don't know if you have ever tried it, but I can only say, you are missing out on some great monents if your not. If you have tried it, I don't know what your approach is, but for the most part it is fruitless to rattle in deer that you are observing. I have done it, but one has to be very carefull. That particular buck was in heavy weeds with spoty brush, 125yds away traveling parallel to me, and me being 8 or 10 feet from the ground. He eventually made his way to me. You have to give them time, once they have heard the sounds they will make that effort to find it. Sometimes it is amazing how they can pin point the very spot of the rattling. I sometimes think mature bucks, if close enough and you are high in a tree, can tell that the height of the rattling sounds are not natural and will not pursue.

[kellory]

Charley, we all hear the music, but some of us just can't dance. I have had a rattling bag for years, and it never comes out of my pack. I don't even know why I pack it, it has never worked. I have tried the reproductions, with very small success. And I have even seen deer take flight when others rattle not too far away from me.
I may find a video that can teach me what I'm missing, but for now, that is a dance for someone else. I have stepped on my own toes too often in the past.
You may be the deer whisperer, I'm more the deer assassin. Stealth, speed, and accuracy, followed by tracking are my tools.

And yes, they can tell how high. Their ears are directional, and repeated noises will give them the angle to direct their eyes. They will triangulate on any repeated noise very quickly.

[charlie 01]

Not trying to be critical Kellory, just trying to be helpful. I just find it hard to believe that in your years of hunting, you haven't had some kind of success with rattling. I know it is not a magic wand, and it dosen't work every time. It's like rolling the dice, some you win and some you lose, but whatever your mode, I wish you good hunting this season, and take care.

Those rattling bags and synthetics I don't believe can produce enough sound to carry any needed distance. You would be surprised to know how little it travels in the woods. My primary efforts are to reach out as far as I can in any area I hunt, and the use of real antlers, on the heavy side seems to get me results. I liken it to you being in your yard and hearing a loud car accident down the road from you. I would think you would have an interest to see what happened.

[kellory]

No offense taken, Charlie. I'm just more effective silent, than making any kind of noise. The racks I have taken are screwed to the wall of the hunting cabin. The largest is from an 8 point. Perhaps, if our harvest goes well, I will take them down, and try again. But I consider it a poor gamble.

[Ifishandhunt]

I've tried rattling blindly and never had luck in the past 7 or 8 years I've been hunting. However I have had luck with one call in particular. I've tried numerous calls (blindly) by different name brands but the only one I ever get reaction from is a hot doe bellow call. I am not sure I can name the maker here without it being considered advertising or spam. I am not tied to the maker other than meeting him once thru a buddy who produces hunting videos. Actually I believe Dan Schmidt interviewed him on D&DH. He gave me one of his calls. Using this one call during the rut, I had bucks all over me two years in a row. I have had bucks come looking around, walk away and then I would call again and the same bucks rush back. No joke. It blew my mind each time. I killed the biggest buck of my life last season as a result of using the call. That morning I actually passed on about 4 bucks (around two year-olds I assumed) that I called in and then shortly after they walked away I had this big 8 point walk within 18 yards of my stand. I released the string and he ran 30 yards and dropped like a rock. My opinion is the combination of peak rut and this call allowed me to call these bucks in (plus two does last season).