Absolutely would be a perfect time to throw a grunt or two. One thing about calling, if they are coming or looking your way....do not call any more!! It's not like duck hunting where you call until you shoot for sure. That's often how they pick you off OR they are smart enough to see there really isn't a deer over there and get buggered.
Grunting tips
- Thread starter Steelheadtracker
- Start date
Absolutely would be a perfect time to throw a grunt or two. One thing about calling, if they are coming or looking your way....do not call any more!! It's not like duck hunting where you call until you shoot for sure. That's often how they pick you off OR they are smart enough to see there really isn't a deer over there and get buggered.
PA Bandit
Junior Member
I knew it would somehow turn into that I was making some sort of personal judgment which I specifically stated it wasn't as I don't know you nor anything about your life/experiences. I just thought it was a very improper to compare one opinion vs. another and relate the fact that because you kill "Big Buck" your opinion is 100% valid again its an opinion thus their is not 100% validity other wise it would be fact. I have nothing against you and actually am fond of reading your posts on this website.
Regarding the "wait till you see a buck" to grunt philosophy though I am still a little confused in the manner in that how does the fact that you can see a deer have any influence on the deer's response besides that you can visually see how he responds. Its not going to make him come in anymore than the deer that may be 200 yards away in the bushes that you can't see. (Again all this for the sake of discussion)
Buckslayer
*Supporting Member*
I never grunt unless I see a buck and its headed the other way. Occasionally I test my grunting skills on smaller bucks to get reactions. However, I did blind grunt one time 10 minutes before dark. Immediately got an answer grunt from a ridge above me, I was hunting on a shelf along a gas line. He came running down the gas line stopping to grunt, I always answered him until he stopped 70 yards away on the opposite side of the line. I grunted 3 times, he turned, came to 8 yards where I shot him. My second archery buck back in 2007. I havent blind grunted since.
You were making a personal judgement. You basicly.made the assumption that if everyone had big bucks to kill they could and would kill them. Even a seasoned deer hunter from PA should know that is complete horse shit.
How about this pa bandit. I will give u access to 800 contiguous acres for 2 weeks. One week to run as many cams as you want. Then I'll give u another full week to kill the biggest deer u have on camera over 125 . If you don't succeed you pay me 1500 bucks. If you do succeed, I'll give u a pat on the back and tell you great job.
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And because a buck that already coming in doesn't need grunted at. One that is going the other way you grunt and try to turn him. He will either come in or ignore it and continue on. Sometimes they'll freak and run.
I worry about the freak and run on deer I can't see. That's why I shy away from blue grunting. Worried I'll run one off. Not saying it doesn't work, just not sure it does.
I've had deer come in after blind grunting but who's to say 100% that it was as a result of grunting? Maybe he was already coming.
runhunter
Junior Member
- 323
- 38
Thanks for all the help guys. It's a lot easier getting help here then sorting through YouTube videos wondering if the guy who made the video knows what they are talking about.
I agree with the majority here. I rarely blind grunt. I would never grunt or rattle before shooting light or close to the end of shooting light (5-10min before end of light). I use grunting to try to turn a buck I see which is NOT coming my way.
Blind grunting: I have a couple stands within 100yds of known bedding areas. These are small bedding areas. On a calm morning close to the rut, I am not afraid to let out a 1-2 second grunt. Soft, but deep grunt sound. Has to be calm. Only at first light. Has to be in an area I can see where the deer will be coming. One grunt. Either it is going to work or it isn't. If no response, the grunt tube goes away.
Rattling seems to have a more mixed bag of opinions. Grunting seems there is a bigger majority of people who agree on how/when to do so. Rattling seems like the hunters either believe in it or don't. I DO believe in rattling in a deer. Timing has to be right to blind rattle for me. When performing a rattling sequence, I will also use a grunt tube.
PABandit- To be honest with you, your posts are a bit confusing to me. No offense meant. Just a bit tough to follow.
Blind grunting: I have a couple stands within 100yds of known bedding areas. These are small bedding areas. On a calm morning close to the rut, I am not afraid to let out a 1-2 second grunt. Soft, but deep grunt sound. Has to be calm. Only at first light. Has to be in an area I can see where the deer will be coming. One grunt. Either it is going to work or it isn't. If no response, the grunt tube goes away.
Rattling seems to have a more mixed bag of opinions. Grunting seems there is a bigger majority of people who agree on how/when to do so. Rattling seems like the hunters either believe in it or don't. I DO believe in rattling in a deer. Timing has to be right to blind rattle for me. When performing a rattling sequence, I will also use a grunt tube.
PABandit- To be honest with you, your posts are a bit confusing to me. No offense meant. Just a bit tough to follow.
PA Bandit
Junior Member
Its the internet I do not take offense to comments from people that I have no relation with.
A partial reason that it may be tough to follow is that I originally posted what the OP was looking for in my opinions/experiences with grunting then was basically bluntly told that I don't know what I was talking about, that I am some sort of "bone collector" wannabe, and that because I am not a "Big Buck Killer" my points were not valid. This in turn went into dialog that I was merely trying to express that what a "Big Buck" is considered is highly dependent on there area you hunt as a 120-130" where I come from is a considered a mature deer (although scoring is not as heavily used in PA to define quality of deer). The only reason I pointed this out was that I felt that there was a comparison being made in that because I don't shot 160" deer I must not know what I am talking about.
Again I apologize for any misunderstandings and was by no means (as I stated in other posts) judging anyone but was more so referencing that hunters should not be compared. No where in my previous posts did I bluntly state that shooting a "big buck" is easy I was more so just distinguishing that if you have quite a few big buck running around on private property that you are a lot more likely to shot one of them then the guy who has only one or even none in some instances (this just being a matter of general probabilities).
I think Kaiser already made some great points about having deer to hunt and killing them, and Lord knows I of all people know it's the truth, so spare us that synopsis again. For the sake of the OP, read below and consider this came from another of the most successful big buck killers on this site.
brancher147
Junior Member
WOW, tension is getting high on here. I think we all need to go sit in a treestand and forget about it. Everyone has different tactics with calling.
I have had some success with grunting, it has never put a big buck on my wall, but it does work if the buck you are calling to is in the right mood. I do call blindly sometimes and try to mimic what I have seen bucks do in the woods when following does, which is a series of 4 or 5 short grunts spaced a few seconds apart. If I have the buck in sight and want to try to bring him closer I would probably try a longer deeper grunt, but it all depends on the situation. They take a couple years to get comfortable with. I have heard a buck "growl" once in SE Ohio but have never tried to mimic that call. I stick to grunting and rattling. I don't get caught up in all the different calls and products on the market, although you do want to search around for the grunt call that fits you the best and sounds the most realistic.
I have had some success with grunting, it has never put a big buck on my wall, but it does work if the buck you are calling to is in the right mood. I do call blindly sometimes and try to mimic what I have seen bucks do in the woods when following does, which is a series of 4 or 5 short grunts spaced a few seconds apart. If I have the buck in sight and want to try to bring him closer I would probably try a longer deeper grunt, but it all depends on the situation. They take a couple years to get comfortable with. I have heard a buck "growl" once in SE Ohio but have never tried to mimic that call. I stick to grunting and rattling. I don't get caught up in all the different calls and products on the market, although you do want to search around for the grunt call that fits you the best and sounds the most realistic.
I won't blind call at all anymore, I use to, but I was also 12. Like alot of the other guys said, I'll only use it in a last ditch effort to bring him back. I grunted a buck back in last year that trotted past me, but decided not to shoot him, a week later the other guy that hunts the farm grunted him in from the same location and killed him. That buck was an asshole and he was looking for a fight.
Inspired by Brock last year, I blind rattled and grunted on an evening hunt on Veterans Day. I was rewarded immediatley with a shooter buck exiting a nearby bedding area and coming right to me. But, it's just not something I do on a regular basis. There have been a few times walking into my stands in the dark that I have bumped a few deer. I will give a grunt or two in the dark to hopefully calm them down
Everyone has their opinion, it really comes down to doin what your confident will work .
I myself don't blind grunt . Not saying it won't work but the risk versus the reward isn't worth it to me . If I was 100% sure a deer can't downwind me I'd consider blind calling, otherwise I wait till I can actually see the animal . I have grunted and rattled in some bucks and killed em . But it has been a long time since its happened on a shooter deer for me . I always carry horns and a grunt tube with me from about now on until gun season.
I myself don't blind grunt . Not saying it won't work but the risk versus the reward isn't worth it to me . If I was 100% sure a deer can't downwind me I'd consider blind calling, otherwise I wait till I can actually see the animal . I have grunted and rattled in some bucks and killed em . But it has been a long time since its happened on a shooter deer for me . I always carry horns and a grunt tube with me from about now on until gun season.
2 words....THE EXTINGUISHER...
Watch the infomercials....it works! :smiley_coolpeace:
Over the years I have called in and shot a lot of deer using a grunt call, but I can honestly say im not sure Ive ever called in a shooter buck by blind calling. Not saying it wont work, just saying it's much easier to call in a buck that you can see and read his body language before, during, and after you call to him. If he shows interest or stops and looks your way after calling, give him 1 or 2 more grunts and be sure that he heard them. Put your call down and get your bow ready...most of the time he is coming to look for you. If you are in open woods where visibility is good, chances are he's not going to fall to a call where he can't see the other deer. If you are in thick cover or tall CRP grass, calling to another buck can be very successful. I think the buck knows that his visibility is limited, yet he is relying on his hearing rather than sight...so he will most of the time come to investigate what he hears. Chances are he will try and circle downwind of you while doing so, not always, but most of the time. In addition to a grunt call, take an antler with you in the woods and rake it along the side of the tree that you are sitting in once in a while when you grunt....this has worked for me several times.
Watch the infomercials....it works! :smiley_coolpeace:
Over the years I have called in and shot a lot of deer using a grunt call, but I can honestly say im not sure Ive ever called in a shooter buck by blind calling. Not saying it wont work, just saying it's much easier to call in a buck that you can see and read his body language before, during, and after you call to him. If he shows interest or stops and looks your way after calling, give him 1 or 2 more grunts and be sure that he heard them. Put your call down and get your bow ready...most of the time he is coming to look for you. If you are in open woods where visibility is good, chances are he's not going to fall to a call where he can't see the other deer. If you are in thick cover or tall CRP grass, calling to another buck can be very successful. I think the buck knows that his visibility is limited, yet he is relying on his hearing rather than sight...so he will most of the time come to investigate what he hears. Chances are he will try and circle downwind of you while doing so, not always, but most of the time. In addition to a grunt call, take an antler with you in the woods and rake it along the side of the tree that you are sitting in once in a while when you grunt....this has worked for me several times.
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