deer advice wanted

[armedindy]

hunted morgan monroe the other day...saw nothing..i know its been heavily hunted. was using a deer call some...and antler rattled just once or twice in the morning....ive heard theyre not rutting quite yet (or something like that) and i heard no deer calls or anything while i was out.....it was rainy and windy, so maybe theyve bedded down. but, given the unique circumstances this year...is it even a good idea to be using my call at this time, or if none of the deer out there are calling, could i just be scaring them off,

 

[sbcman]

The rut is winding down- pretty well done at this point.

I've bagged a buck and 3 does this year- never once used a call. I think they have their place, I just don't use them. YMMV

 

[cschwanz]

Sometimes a call will bring them right in. Sometimes a call will scare them off. the joys of hunting .

I do a fair amount of "blind calling" (calling when i dont see any deer). I try to limit the amount tho, like every 30-45 minutes ill hit the grunt call or rattling antlers.

 

[Lonnie]

hunted morgan monroe the other day...saw nothing..i know its been heavily hunted. was using a deer call some...and antler rattled just once or twice in the morning....ive heard theyre not rutting quite yet (or something like that) and i heard no deer calls or anything while i was out.....it was rainy and windy, so maybe theyve bedded down. but, given the unique circumstances this year...is it even a good idea to be using my call at this time, or if none of the deer out there are calling, could i just be scaring them off,

Deer move a few times every day , they have to feed to stay a live.
Some guys I have talked to have grunted and rattled a few deer in
Any time I have had success I use it very spairingly.

Maybe you didnt hunt long enough on stand or you wasn't it the right location etc.

Just stick with it you will get to see some Im sure.

On a side note (no saying you dont already know this)
Just going in and calling and rattling doesnt mean your gonna see deer
their is a lot of things that need to fall into place , the most important of them is deer need to in the general area. Wind cuts down on their hearing too just like it does yours and mine


good luck and Happy Hunting

 

[armedindy]

thanks for the input. i was thinking that if the deer arent out there calling to eachother and hearing each other be active...on a rainy day when many of them are probably laying down, do you think a call would warn them away from my area....(i.e. are the deer saying "who is that moron trying to fool? none of us deer could possibly be out calling or bleating right now. good luck jackA$$!"

 

[JNG]

The rut is winding down- pretty well done at this point.

I don't know about that. I saw three bucks dogging a doe hard on Sunday. The next few days should still be very good, weather permitting.

As to the not seeing anything in the OP, there are three things that need to happen to successfully hunt deer:

(1) You need to set up somewhere where deer regularly travel within the effective range of your weapon and be there when the deer come by;

(2) You need to avoid scaring the deer away before the shot;

(3) You have to make the shot successfully.

If you find a good spot, sit down and use calls sparingly. Ratting is usually a pre-rut tactic, so you might want to avoid the movement and noise at this time of year. If you want to call, use a bleat can sparingly (like a couple of bleats an hour). Past that, just stay clean, play the wind, and spend enough time in the woods, and you'll see some deer.

 

[Shootin'IN]

The rut is still on down here!

As the temp drops the deer get a heaver coat of fur, and when you get a warm sunny day the deer will not move much (they will overheat) accept around 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm they will have the need to drink.
Find there drinking hole and sit over the pathway between the water & bedding area. When it is warm, water is more of a draw than food or sex.

 

[infinititech]

strange year for me this year i have only seen one doe and tons of bucks and none were chasing and their necks not swollen

 

[Willie]

Weird year for me too.. I have yet to see a mature buck dogging a doe..

I did call a buck in accidently the opening morning of the Ilinois gun season.

I had a yearling 8 pointer come in and he ended up getting downwind of me. He stood in some thick stuff for a long time testing the breeeze. I try to keep clean and I keep my clothes in a tote with Earth Scent Wafers. He could smell something but he wasn't quite sure what it was. This was almost noon so I thought I'd play with him a little. I took out my grunt tube and started doing some grunting. Pretty light at first and then louder.

He started to circle to try and get a look at the buck grunting. About that time I look down through the woods and here comes a 2 1/2 year old 8 pointer headed for the yearling buck. Nice deer with antlers out past his ears, but not quite good enough for that area. He might score 120". We try and maintain a 140" minimum so he got a pass. They stood and looked at each other for a minute or two and then the yearling turned and took off. Not sure if the 2 1/2 thought that the yearling was doing the grunting and he was after a doe or not but he took off the same direction.

Never had much luck blind calling but this time it worked..

 

[Willie]

BTW - We killed four bucks but only the bigggest (a 160" ) was rank with rut smell. The other three had clean white hocks.

 

[dcary7]

The bucks are still chasing does... I've been spotlighting at night and watching him. I've called a few in during this season... I find that I bleat first, and follow it up with a few low grunts.. and its brought two bucks in to come check it out.

dcary7