palmergt3

Just wondering when the majority of you start using decoys and calls.

Rob/PA Bowyer

Yesterday was our opener and I wouldn't have hesitated to use calls had the opportunity presented itself. Deer are very vocal and that's just not during the rut, it's year around.

I use contact grunts and bleats this time of year without being too aggressive. I first started a calling whitetails when I was 15, 27 years ago and it's proven itself to me time and time again. It doesn't always work but when it does, they can come in on a string. One thing I did find though, done wrong and they could be alarmed, done right, they either come or are indifferent. Many are afraid of the calls but done right, there is nothing to lose when using them. What would you be afraid of, actually calling in a deer?

Decoys, well that's been another story for me. I've set out a decoy maybe a dozen times and most of them put the deer on alert. It was a bedded featherflex deer. I'm still undecided on them but I wouldn't even think about putting them out til nearer the rut. I know (and the user escapes me) a member that just decoyed some doe in. Right now a doe decoy might work but a buck one might not. I'm still inexperienced with decoys so I'm going to learn as I go and I'll share my experiences with you all as I go. I bought the "big" Boss series from Flambeua