Jackson Bowner

Last night I had an unusual experience with a sound I heard from the bowels of a swale I was overlooking. On two separate occasions, I heard something I don't ever remember hearing in my 40+ year of deer hunting. At first I thought it was a wild pig or something like it that had let out a single blast of air thatin some form ofpig bark or grunt. It was very deep pitched, loud, and guttural. It wasn't a typical deer grunt, even from a mature buck. It occurred about 30-45 minutes before dark. I sat there wondering what the heck it was. I knew it wasn't a coon that sometimes get pissed off and l lets out a loud growl. It certainly wasn't a dog. We don't have wild pigs here...or we're not supposed to although somehave gotten loose from canned hunting landbut are supposedly way over in the western portion of the county. I have never seen a pig track here. So what the heck was it I kept thinking???

Well, last night I have one of the hunting shows on watching what I wish I could have seen last night (monster bucks getting arrowed..hahah). One of Mark Drury's shows was on and on this show was some crazy video of several different buck vocalizing the "growl" as they call it. Sounds more like a buck bark to me, but growl is what they call it. In these cases the bucks were in the peak of the rut and it was a sound the dominant buck made in aggression to let other bucks know they should keep away or else!

What a coincidence! I realized this is what I had heard although it was not a series of gowls...or barks. It was a single blast of guttural air much deeper than a grunt, and I would call it a bark. I heard it two times about 20 minutes apart from each other and each time it was just a single bark or growl. If you would like to hear what I am talking about, go to this site http://www.obsessionarchery.com/buck-growl-mad-calls-p-830.htmland watch the video clip. About 5 minutes into the video a dominant buck lets off a series of 5 "growls" as it chases another buck off a hot doe. This is what I heard, except he only made the sound once each time I heard it.The videostarts with Drury giving a few blasts on his new growl call he is promoting. I'll tell you all one thing, this is a pretty poor representation of the sound they are trying to mimic. The pitch is WAY too high and no where near guttural as it should be, unless they are trying to replicate a gay dominant buck...haha. However,there is some great footage of a sound I don't recall ever having heard. Or maybe I have...I just never associated it with a buck. Maybe this will help you all too. If not, it's still pretty entertaining!

sr77

I was going to say it may have been a "growl" but I guessed you figured it out for yourself, first time I saw a video of a deer making that noise I was like holy ----. sounds very primal if you ask me.

Shane

scsohunter

I heard that sound while bowhunting a few years back and it scared the $&^* out of me. I dont get scared very oftern but I did get up and leave the woods. Now it sounds a little silly, knowing what it actually was.

TradTech

Same thing here. Hair stood up on the back of my neck. Next evening, same hollow, I saw where the loud and violent grunt came from. I shot him about 10 minutes later. One of the dangest noises I had ever heard in over 20 years of bowhunting.

Buck Huntin Girl

Oh goody, that's just what I need to hear... I'll pee my pants!



I've never heard it, not sure I want to either. I did, however, here a buck grunting tonight across the set aside field in the other side of the woods we hunt... I thought it was kinda early for them to be grunting already, but hubby says that's probably what it was... or a frog. LOL It got farther away as it went, so unless it was a fast moving frog... LOL

LaHoytguy

Well I will tell you I have heard it and I never knew what it was until now, I have allways described it as a kinda a nasely growl with kind of a hiena wheeze to it. I was setting up my climber a few years ago and was there very early because I had to hike back there like 30 minutes then set me stand up so I knew I would be making noise, it was like 430 am and as I was quietly setting up my stand on the tree I felt really un easy and kind of blew it off as never being in the woods at dark with no light, then I heard foot steps,,,,, then I heard it circling around me. At this point I stop trying to be quiet and started trying to get in that stand! Just as I get my last foot in the sturrup and can climb the woods came alive!! I hear something crashing through the woods coming right at me at less than20 yards away and closing fast making the most horrific noise I have ever heard. It was so loudit seem deafining Iwill never forget it. Luckily I was able to get about 10 feet up(2-3 seconds)before it got to the tree. Then I heard it walking around the tree looking for me of course I didnt stop till I was at the top of the tree, lol. It eventually walked away and was long gone by day break. Well you heard the noise, I have never ever heard any thing like it and never knew what it was that made it, but that sounds alot like what I heard that morning.

Mathewsboy

Sasquatch...!!!!!

10pointhank

wow that was amazing never heard that sound before

Zim

On my recent Nevada elk hunting trip there was a bull that would come out bugling every night at my tent. Extremely strange bugle. It sounded like some sort of electronic resonating sound. It was real though, I could tell by the grunt that followed.

BowHunter46

"The M.A.D. Calls Buck Growl produces buck grunts and mature-buck growls."

At the beginning of the video, is he usingthe grunt orthe growl? It sounds more like a grunt to me. To me it doesnt resemble the "growl" in the video at all.