Buck growl?

[shaman]

The thing you have to remember is this: just because a deer makes that vocalization, it may not be the best call to make.

The buck growl is just a very aggressive grunt.  Somebody popularized it a few years ago, but I knew about it when I successfully used my first grunt call back in 1989. The problem is this: a low growling grunt is the cervid equivalent of walking into a biker bar and yelling "Which one of you sissy's wants it first!"

You may get the ultra-aggressive besotted dominant buck to respond, but there will be a bunch of bucks that aren't on the top of the pecking order that are going to disappear right then and there.

Last season on the KY Opener, I was up in my stand watching 4 younger bucks hanging out just out of range. I kept trying to get the scope on them, but the thick cedars were getting in the way.  I decided to mix it up a bit and gave three little poots on my grunt call-- all four suddenly decided to leave. It was a Quaker Boy Ridge Runner that I'd just won in one of their story contests.

Now it just so happens that the Monarch of the Forest was in earshot and came in, and he's still out at the taxidermist. However, my point is this: if your deer does not think he's dominant over what's making that grunt  or that growl, he's going to leave.  I've got more details on it on my weblog and website.  I killed my two best out of the same stand, Opening Day in 2003 and 2007, both with light contact grunts.

I go the other direction.  I get a tunable grunt call and set it a notch or two higher than a buck-- somewhere between a young buck and a doe. Then I blow a few contact grunts.  Instead of trying to be Arnold Whatzisnegger, I try sound like Wally Cox or Paulie Shore. That way, the dominant bucks think I'm some wussy trying to move in on their girl, and the subdominant bucks think I'm one of their weaker buddies. 

I also use it sparingly.  Outside of the rut and the false-rut, I've found deep grunting in general to be non-productive. You need a worked-up deer. It just so happens I was chatting with Brian Warner of Heirloom Callslast night about this very subject. He's trying out a line of new handmade wooden grunters, and I was asking him if they were tunable.  He concurs with me: the big deep grunters will scare off more deer than they attract. If'n you talk to Brian, tell him the shaman says howdy.

That's not to say the aggressive low grunts and growls are useless.  If you've scouted up the Biggun, or paid to have someone scout him up for you like they do on TV,  you may get him to come on in.  My theory is that the really big ones are not all that concerned with showing dominance and eschew fighting, and that's how they got to be so old and big.

Your mileage may vary.

[howhill1]

i witnessed this call/sound two years ago the best way i could describe it is very aggressive, just an over pouring of adrenaline from a buck who is beside himself with testosterone driven fervor. i bought a primos version last year and like it better than the mad version as it seems to have more volume and breaks over less. i also love the wrist/arm strap setup on the primos version.

[howhill1]

i believe another strong contributing factior in the use/worthiness of this or any other call is your paticular herd ratio. if you have a well balanced ratio where competition between bucks is more common calls like this are obviosly going to be more usefull and affective.

[EatDeer]

My friend used his growl call,and called in some does and a few small bucks at first. Then he used it on a mature buck with a few doe's near him,and called that old buck away from the doe's. I heard a buck growl before, but it was a real low toned growl compared to the mad growl. The buck I heard growl was trailing behind some doe's and seemed irritated towards the doe's, like he was moving them along.

[howhill1]

the buck i heard "growling" was also chasing a group( 8-10) does around. it was the first week of november. as i stated before it was like he was just ready to explode with excitement. oh by the way he was in the 130-140 range

[EatDeer]

Neat, the buck I heard growl was near 135'' inches too, my father ended up harvesting him with his bow when he was trailing a hot doe past his stand.

[bowtech21]

I purchased the primos buck growl before last archery season. It is by far the most effective call that i have ever used.  Last year i called in scrubby bucks with it, and i called in wall hangers as well. So, from my experience with it, i don't believe that it really scares off any sized deer (unless you use the snort wheeze, that scares the little guys). They are all atleast curious during the rut. And when a buck growls or roars that doesnt neccessarily mean he's lookin for a little scrubber to beat up. He could be chasing does and completly exhausted and fed up and he will growl. Last year, i was watching a group of does in nasty thickets get run around by a buck that i only heard at first, but he sounded like a brute. Very Deep and loud Grunting and Roaring non-stop for 5 minutes. It turned out to be a 3 point. There were very few times when i whet out last year and didn't have a buck respond to this call. My advice - use it!!!!  

[GTOHunter]

I have one of the M.A.D. Buck Growl calls and have used it for 2 Deer Seasons so far with "NO" sucess yet! [8|] Like most have stated a lot depend on Deer Density and Buck to Doe ratio if it is going to work and it may end up scaring several decent younger Bucks away instead?The Buck Growl is a nice call and is made of some good durable material but I have learned to use it sparingly.I had the same problem when I used my Flambeau deer decoy with the 8-Point Buck antler kit on it...a young 4 Point Buck saw it and I gave a light grunt and it hightailed it out of there in a hurry! [:D] When a Doe saw the decoy she was nervous around it because it never moved and after a few minutes she moved further away from it. [&:]

[bkbowhunter08]

i've used one of the growl calls and it's worked, i was bowhunting in november here in minnesota, and tried it i had 2 little bucks come in and 1 big ten that i ended up harvesting, i don't believe that it scares younger deer if used at the right time!