Missed opportunity?

[BP in ME]

I really don't know what I'm doing when it comes to calling deer and I've had very limited success through the years so I'm appealing to the board here.

A couple of weeks ago (pretty close to peak rut) I was sitting in a tree overlooking a scrapeline in a VERY low deer density area. Every 20-30 minutes I'd flip the doe-in-heat can and watch the raindrops. Shortly after a can bleat I thought I heard a single grunt but I never saw anything and wasn't sure it wasn't just wishful thinking on my part. There was heavy machinery working off in the distance so that added to my doubts.

If it was a buck, should I have answered with a bleat or just stayed quiet and let him come looking for her?

[abe1]

I have never run a deer away while calling sometimes they come in and other times they just keep on doing what they were doing before I called. Once in a great while one comes in at a dead run. All you can do is try and see what happens. Good luck

[ProcraftMike]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BP in ME &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
If it was a buck, should I have answered with a bleat or just stayed quiet and let him come looking for her?</TD></TR></TABLE>

The answer is "yes". Every situation is different. If you can see the buck, vs. blind calling, you can judge his reaction to your calling. I normally call enough to get their attention (so they know from about where the call came from) and then call often enough to keep his attention and keep him coming in. I think too much calling can have a bad affect. With all the calling, the deer is expecting go see something.

I think most of us tend to over call and that's not just for deer.

[brandon08]

Should have tried another bleat. May have had same result though. If he was already on a doe, chances are he would not leave her to go check out your call. Hard to predict how deer will respond. Like posted above, seeing the deer and how it reacts to the call makes it easier to determine if you are calling too much.

[BP in ME]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by brandon08 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> If he was already on a doe, chances are he would not leave her to go check out your call. Hard to predict how deer will respond. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Ha, not much chance he was "already on a doe". This is down around our camp and when I say low density, I'm talking about 1 to 1.5 deer per square mile. We've often joked that they probably wouldn't even recognize another deer if they saw/heard one.

[rhayes71]

Time in the stand, experiment with calls and watch the deer to judge their reactions (get up in a tree stand so you can see!). I'm lucky to be in a high density (managed) deer area and will usually hear a buck grunt early in the morning before I start calling. I just repeat the grunt that I hear. I call once every 30 minutes or so. One morning during bow season I heard a grunt first thing in the morning which gave me the number and cadence. I called in 5 bucks in a row right under my stand. Unfortunately none of them were shooters. The shooters will sneak around behind you and come in downwind. Personally have never had any luck with doe bleats. Then again I have never heard one to mimic it either.

[Fiddlefarter]

Would've been worth a try to call again.

I usually don't call blindly. If a deer hears it and you don't see them they'll slip in downwind and bust you almost everytime. Learned that lesson. I would think if a buck grunted in response to you calling he would have came within view or at least positioned himself to see where the call came from. He may have cut downwind and then silently vacated the area after smelling you over.