It was slow this morning....(and I found my flute)....so about 8:00 I made a couple doe bleats....followed up by a series of rutting grunts.

5 minutes later....a HOSS of a 3-pointer () shows up, looking around.

I may have just accomplished the seemingly impossible. I may have called in my first NC buck.

Who knows? If he'd been the one I'm after and I'd killed him......I'd have hung the flute around his neck for the harvest photos.

LOL it IS possible to call our NC deer....they just dont seem to respond very well. Ive called in more does looking out of curiosity than bucks...only called a spike in as far as bucks.

For reference, though.....

I was in a spot I've hunted only twice, so far this year. I've yet to see a doe, there.....and I've seen 4 bucks.

I've got heavily doe laden spots where I "think" calling is futile. I might be totally wrong about this.....but I've just never had any response in those spots.

Rob...I AM willing to experiment.

True. I have high hopes this year for calling as Ive seen/have pics of atleast 6 different antlered bucks and only 2 does? Although doe sightings are down this year for me, they typically bunch up on the property I hunt later in the season. This is the first year Im hunting a specific deer and it's driving me nuts lol.

I have grunted in a few bucks over the years but I have NEVER been able to rattle in a buck. When I rattle I don't bang them together I usually tickle them or lower them to the ground with my rope and let them do a little dancin'. In my area I have never heard a loud, fight to the death clashing of antlers.

No comment.

The sequence you described Jeff works so often... it's not even funny.

I think you may have heard this before but, What are you afraid of, actually calling one in? Be subtle and passive, it doesn't work every time but it can't hurt in a no shot anyway possibility. I'm still not a fan of blind calling though. I call when I see one.

This morning I turned a spike totally around to come right in. I've called them from 100's of yards to a shot and just this morning I called in 2 coyotes and almost got a shot on them using a doe contact call.

As long as your not too aggressive, you might just be shocked.

And for the record, had my arrow connected I have a feeling one of the two on your wall would not be yours because of the call.

I couldn't get a small 8 point to respond to anything last night. He came in on a dead trot, and headed right for some apple trees. Then a few minutes later what looked like 2 button bucks followed his path to the apple trees. I triedcontact callsand grunts and he wouldn't even look in my direction. The 2 buttons at least looked my way. I don't know if he just didn't care yet and was going to feed no matter what, or if I was doing something wrong. It was very frustrating! [:@]

Since you asked.....

I'm afraid of alerting a perfectly calm whitetail that may come by me as to my whereabouts.....or "something's" whereabouts. For every deer you tell me you call in.....there could just as easily be that many (or 2X?, 3X, 4X???) or more who hear it and go the other way.

I'm talking about HERE....where I hunt. I wouldn't begin to think I know someone else's woods better than they do...so I won't speak for anywhere else.