It’s my first season, no luck yet [&:].
Would it make sense to drop something from the stand instead of coughing or grunting, as this way the buck should (theoretically) look down without looking at me?

That' s not a bad thought - my concern is that I like to be at full draw before grunting or dropping something. That way I am ready at the instant I have a shot.

Just me ready and make a soft grunt with your mouth...when he stops -- whack him! That has worked almost everytime for me. Sometimes they just don' t want to cooperate though![:@]

Shooting them usuallys stops them...jk, I make a bleating/bahhhing (sp?) sound. I hear a lot of people do that on tv. The first time I tried it the deer didn' t even look then I did it louder and it still didn' t look by that time it was gone. So don' t yell it but not whisper either.

Animals can pin point soud real good. Try turning your head when making a sound. A lot of it is just a feeling when you know everything is just right. The best of luck to you on your hunt, hope you get a good kill on a nice Buck...

If he' s close in and only walking or feeding.... I don' t even try. I just put it a little forward and tough it off. Deer walking are less likely to hear enough to jump the string. Even deer 30 yards out I give them a chance to stop. I' ve seen too many deer on videos turn inside out at 10 and 15 yards at the sound of a bleat or whatever sound was made in an attempt to stop the animal. BUT HEY, that' s me. If you don' t feel comfortable with the shot I' d just use a soft nasal MMmmmaaaaaa... MMMMMMMMaaaaa. (as in the " A" in the word " AT" . If he doesn' t stop, get louder. You want to force the sound out through you nasal passages as the volume can be controlled better than from deep in the diaphram. Also, it' s easier to get a near deer sound that way if you have a deep voice. You practice 10 minutes and you have the call down for life. Say it once or twice when you first get to the stand or woods and you' ll know how loud to make it. Don' t worry about being perfect... but I think you' ll be surprised at how easy it is. No louder than speaking voice...but if you' re pushing it up into the nasal canals it won' t sound like your voice. Oh yeah, someone mentioned drawing first.... a must, and be tracking as the deer moves. If he' s jogging your first Mmmmmmmaaaa attempt should be louder.

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I also use ths MMmmaaa or the Hey depends on how nervous or off guard I am.

what about whistling?? thats what ive been told.. ive whistled at deer before and they stopped

they all work...just say hi....or bye cuz its gonna die real soon...but u can say anything as long as its one word long!