Last Saturday, about a half-hour just afterdaybreak, I caught a glimpse of a deer run past a clearning about75 yards away from me; I couldn't tell what it was, so I decided to give a couple calls on the true-talker. After a few minutes without hearing or seeing anything I gave a couple more grunts, and out of nowhere, a six pointer came charging right inon me. I just happened to be hunting on the ground, and he was so close - within 10 feet - I couldn't do anything.

I've had a lot of success with calling, but it's cost me a few as well.A couple years ago, I blew on my grunt tubewhenthere was a real nice8 point directly behind my treestand.I didn't know he was their, because it was raining, so Ididn't hear him; sure enough, he bolted.

Lesson learned. I use caution with the call now, and always scan my surroundings before using it.

On Thurs day I washanging my climberon the tree and a smaller buck ran out into the clearing grunted and stomped a couple times so I was going to mess with him a little bit. I grab the horns grunt one time and tickle em and to my left about 10yds away a mature buck came charging at me I almost soiled my pants. When he seen me he took off the other way. Pretty crazy.

I "can" called in a Doe and Fawn three separate times, after they vacated the oak flat where I have my stand.
Other than that, not much.

I decided to try more blind calling this year without any luck, all of the 25 or so deer I've seen this year just walked in.
So I'm questioning those marketing schemes, as those fancy DVD's you buy with a call must be caged animals or something??!
Obviously not NH hunting!

Rattling bags and grunt calls have been working good in Texas over the last two-three weeks.

Yes. I needed the buck to step 5 more yards from his scrape into my shooting lane. Every time he tried to walk away I'd grunt and he'd come back and go through his scrape routine,3 times,then he got bored and walked away. He responded but no shot opportunity!

Zero luck with blind calling, but the buck that I got last Friday is another story. I first saw him at what I thought was about 75 yards, crossing and heading deeper into the timber. With nothing to lose I hit the rattle bag and grunt tube which must have caused him to U-turn on a dime because he came in on a string and did not stop until he was directly below me. No doubt the bag and call brought him in.

Two successes with calls this year. Have never hunted in areas with good buck/doe ratios, so calling is still something I am learning and hesitant to use consistently. I am hunting in east TN. Very early (first half of Oct.) I had a spike bumping a doe around for some unknown reason. She outdistanced him into the timber, and he started to move off. I grunted and brought him back into bow range right by my tree. I'd like to say I passed him, but with the freezer empty he would have gotten shot had he given me a clear opportunity. Fortunately for him, he didn't.

The second time was eight days ago, last Monday. Around an hour after first light, I gave a two bleats followed by a series of grunts. Within a few minutes, A large, heavy racked buck showed up in the pine thicket behind me, bristled up and ready to fight. He also never gave me a clear shot, and only hung around for about two or three minutes until the wind began to swirl and the game was up.

Jon

I don't do much blind calling, but will blind rattle. I've gotten nothing with that, but that is nothing new around here. Calling to bucks I have gotten looks almost every time and got a buck to leave a doe he was chasing with some can bleats and grunts, and I believe the buck I shot was looking for the same calling I had been doing.