RE: Game call effectiveness
 

You can take the quotes off the I and make that a "We."

Where I hunt in Canada I would say blind calling, any method, works about 7% of the time. Sight calling works about 75% of the time.

In WI, blind calling works about 3% of the time and sight calling works about 10%.

They are two totally different herds and respond totally different.

RE: Game call effectiveness
 

VERY good point on the herd dynamics. The mood of the deer means alot too!

RE: Game call effectiveness
 

Great stuff guys ..... I always felt like I was doing something wrong ..... I guess that'll happen if ya watch too many hunting videos [X(]

RE: Game call effectiveness
 

Probably not, Tony. Remember my theory on "location"?;)

I don't think Bill Dance would pull any 10#'ers out of the pond across the street.

RE: Game call effectiveness
 

Jeff's spot on in his assessment of his herd and calling as well. When I hunted the two days last season with him I roughly saw 10 different bucks in those 2 days. I called to each of them. I had one come into the call and it was the biggest one of the 10. Like he said, they don't need to come to a competitor buck when they have plenty of ladies for themselves. The one that did come probably was the dominant or a dominant buck checking his territory out. I told Jeff, I wondered if that was the bull, last year. It was the right spot.

RE: Game call effectiveness
 

It is all about herd dynamics as others have commented.Where the herd has better balance and more competiition for breeding the use of a grunt call will be much more effective.In Idaho I grunt bucks in practically every year.In NY I have grunted one buck in and killed it.At home here in NY even when I go soft I have been ignored or had bucks spook.I have called doe's in with soft bleating.

RE: Game call effectiveness
 

I start carrying my grunt call from day 1 to the end of the season. I hunt Ill and Wi. I've carried a can call for the last 3 years and try rattling every year.

My results:

Grunt call - 25%

Can call - 0%

Rattling- 0% (scared a lot away though [&o])

I rarely grunt during Sept. but from Oct 17th through Jan, I do it frequently. I blind call alot during early Nov., works pretty good.

The most important thing is .... what the buck is feeling.

You have to play a tune that they like. If not, they'll simply ignore you. Try to guess his mood, aggressive, passive etc. call accordingly. I have some techniques that work well during certain times of the year which I've written about before. A lot of trial and error.

I hear bucks grunting all the time, meaning, every season. This is a good thing, if you see a buck that you'd shoot and he's grunting, START CALLING.

RE: Game call effectiveness
 

never used a call and never will, to many hunters using the same call, to many deer know one call...

RE: Game call effectiveness
 

I was 10 yds from the tree you were in when I shot him.;)

And I didn't see 10 different bucks ALL SEASON, this year. More like 5-6.

RE: Game call effectiveness
 

I grunted up 3 bucks last week alone. The buck:doe ratio at one of my spots supports it. I grunted up the 8 pt that I shot last Saturday. I actually grunted him in from about 100 yards and he was walking and grunting as he came. This, you could say, was a sight grunt. I saw him, grunted at him, and he came too me...no shotthough. Saturday morning, the next morning, I blind grunted and he again responded by coming right to me...grunting as he walked. I've heard a snort wheeze in the woods before but these were my first grunts I've heard. That was really cool to hear. I've grunted in probably 8-9 different bucks this season. The first was in the second week of October and the last one was the 8 pt I shot last Saturday.