Ruger1

Marlin 450;

Thanks for the comments. Like you we have hunted in full blase orange for years, and have really had little problem getting close to deer. I was asking about the gilly suits mainly for handgun hunting. It seem to me the little movements at very close range could be effectively covered by the gilly suit. We in the past have had does all around us - and we like that because they will eventually draw in the Big Boys. Many times you have to set with the does for many hours, the suit would seem to make it more ' comfortable' because it could hide the smaller movements and the movement of setting up the handgun for the shot.

I' m just fishin' here. I' ve got the stuff to make the suit but I' m still not fully convinced that it is going to be worth the time and effort. We hunt alot of open area in western Kansas - and I was thinking maybe it could provide a liitle extra cover.

Thanks.

Dave

J Pike

Marlin, I have harvested 3 bucks from calling that were 3.5 years of age or older, and called a total of 6 into bow range, 2 of them within 15 yards. One of them I called back in 4 times over a 2 hour period but he never gave me a broadside or quartering away shot, always facing me, the second buck, I called into 40 yards and he stopped and stayed for 15 minutes, when he finally decided to come the rest of the way he walked right under my stand but it was too late and also too dark to shoot. The third buck was comming straight in until he saw the new decoy I bought the day before and made a sharp turn to his right and walked to within 3 ft. of it, completely broadside 20 yards infront of me but there was a tree completely blocking his vitals, he stood there for a couple of minutes before he rammed it and took off running. The other 4 bucks I harvested were 2.5 year' s old including the buck I shot last year in my first year hunting in OH. The problem isnt calling mature bucks in my area, its finding a buck that is 2.5 years of age or older, here in my area, we harvest 80% of our 1.5 year old bucks.(Until this past year anyway). If calling works here, with the tremendous bow and rifle hunting preasure and also our out of wack buck to doe ratio I think it will work anywhere. Pike

Rack-attack

I respectfully disagree. I am sure that on the public land I hunt on, your best odds of making it happen are right there and right then. If I have a shooter in eyesight my best chances of taking him are now, and I will do all I can to do so. I have called more than a few mature bucks into bow range, some blind and some after they were seen.

I do agree however that overuse and improper use will do more damage than good. I am not a big scent user, and I for the most part use calls as a last resort to a skirting buck. But I wouldn' t pass them off as trash or gimmicks so quickly. They can be very effective in certain areas and at certain times. They have filled more than one tag for me.

skeeter 7MM

I agree the location and cover is the key to hunting mature deer. I also agree by calling you can give the deer your location. However if you limit your calling and if he' s coming let him come, if he stops why would you call...only call when he looks to become uninterested. It only stands to reason if he is stopped and at full alert the chances are much higher of being picked off. The use of calls and scents in the areas you mentioned, provided you know what your doing, what phase the deer are in and where the deer will travel, bed and loop around can be very effective. I have used scents in combination with rattling and had lots of success. I don' t use the scent as an attractant however but rather as a cover to the circling downwind buck. The instructions on a bottle of scent goes completely against my way of hunting. So I place my sent in a half moon around my location " Downwind" , not upwind like they suggest. This helps throw off my scent when the big boys cirlce the ranch. I also use calls in combo with rattling & I never blind call unless rattling! While rattling, calling or scent will never produce 100% of the time, it still remains to experienced hunter a great advantage.

You posed the question about mature deer. I won' t get into numbers, age, etc. but I will say I use the technique faithfully and only harvest mature bucks and consider myself a trophy hunter. So I disagree it can' t be done on mature deer, it ain' t easy but harvesting a mature deer never is!!!!!

J Pike

Rack Attack, I agree when there is a shooter in sight but out of bow range, there is no better time to try to harvest him then the present!!

Skeeter, I agree that when you have a buck hold up 40 yards out, the worst thing you could do is try to call him in further, I call it " The who ever speaks or moves first loses period" when this happens I wount move a muscle I will wait for him to make the first move, If he starts to come in further I let him come as far as he wants to on his own, no matter how long it takes him, The only time I will hit the grunt tube is after he turns and starts to walk in the direction he came from before I start to call to him again. One other thing I forgot to mention is I will not hunt a stand or area more tham 2 or 3 times a season. Even without calling a mature buck will pattern you if you over hunt a stand even if you take every precaution in the book. Pike

Marlin 450

Skeeter, I guess that after 10 or 15 minuates of him just standing there, I thought that he needed a little coaxing or he stopped just because he heard something and was not sure what!!
I guess that if you are hunting an area that has a lot of competition, the calls may work, but I have had guys from Alabama, New York, Massachusettes, Rhode Island, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio here hunting with me and I have yet to see a Mature Buck killed with a call or with the use of scents.
Last year I had 2 guys that bet me they could kill a buck with scents and calls, because they do it all the time in Massachusettes. They went home empty handed and saw 2 deer total, a doe and a 4 point.

Marlin 450

Jpike, I agree that over hunting a stand will screw you for sure. I am a tracker by nature, but I guide 10 to 16 hunters per season and try to move them around to different spots during the week, but I have had great luck sitting them 3 days straight in the same spot.

FlDeerman

Rugar,the gilly suits work great during all seasons EXCEPT bow season,to much to get in the way.The " leafy" suits work with a good arm guard,been useing mine for years.As for calls,it depends on how much you want to put in to it.I only use a " true talker" and if you can learn to " play" it it works great.If you want to use a cheap grunt noise maker,well you get what you payed for .Scents have worked for me during the rut and I love the fresh earth scents for cover scents.

skeeter 7MM

Marlin, I mentioned I use calling & scents when I rattle. Are you referring to rattling as part of the call technique or just the grunt tube, doe bleat? I am just curious, b/c although I believe in the grunt tube, I would never try and use it alone for luring in a muture deer! I use all three attracants if you will and obviously only in the right phase. I never use scents or calls alone, only when rattling and when I absolutely know the area in which I am hunting. If it is fresh territory or other times in the year (such as early pre rut or post rut) I believe stealth is the best mode.

I agree Buck to Doe ratio factors in to the success rattling will bring. As I stated it isn' t 100% foolproof and I spent many hours of nothing, before finally finding success through this method. Know I will say you must adapt to your area and play the cards that work out to win the hand...so yes the technique is not for everyone but I can say it does work on mature deer in my neck of the woods.

Pike, excellent point...I agree 100%. Something else to add if you choose to rattle success is often much higher the deeper and closer you get to the bucks bedroom. Keeping this in mind, it is absolutely essential to only hunt a given stand or location with the right wind. A marginal wind will kill your efforts and most likely your stand!

kevin1

Hi Ruger 1 ,
I own 2 ghillie suits , one leaf cut and a bush rag . They are definiely the ultimate in concealment . The Military bush rag style isn' t reccomended for warm days since all that burlap insulates pretty well . It also tends to get in the way of bowstrings unless trimmed .The leaf cut is very good on most terrain , and not nearly as warm . As with all camo , movement can still give away your position , but the ghillie hides it best . It is adaptable to almost any terrain , even in the field in the case of the bush rag . If you don' t feel like designing your own , sportsmansguide.com has bush rag kits for $35 in the Military surplus section right now . I paid $80 for mine . The leaf cut is also carried by them for about $80 . [8D]