Three Do’s And Don’ts Of White Tail Calling
By: Coltin Gresser
There are some ways of improving your calling for deer. On the contrary, there are some things that can hurt or lessen the impact of the calls you are making. These dos and don’ts I’ll be talking about below I have personally experienced in the field. I’m not saying these rules apply 110% of the time, because as we all know sometimes the deer will make moves out of the ordinary. These are just good rules of thumb to remember and keep in the back pocket.
THE DO’S
Whether it is calling with an estrus bleat, grunting, fawn bleat, or rattling. Make sure you add some realism to it. This can be done by moving your feet to act as if a deer is thrashing through the brush. Do not go too crazy with this unless you are imitating Bucks sparring.
Do not be afraid to blind call! If you haven’t seen anything move for over an hour and a half to two hours. Do some short sequences of grunts and bleats. My rule of thumb is usually 15-30 minutes I give before I start a new sequence of calls.
Cupping your hands around the end of the call. This can really help you get the sound to travel a little farther or direct the call in whatever direction you want it to go. This can help make the deer believe you are coming from a different direction or farther away so they can come as close as possible to you.
THE DON’TS
Calling directly at the deer can do more harm than good. Especially with older more mature deer. This is because when you call right at the deer, they have that land you are on imprinted in their brain where and what is safe. So, if you call right at it, they will be locked on to exactly where you are and put you at a disadvantage. Instead, try to throw your call in different directions.
If the deer is heading your way do not keep calling at him or her. They already know you are in the area, and you have already sparked their interest do not yap at them. Now if they are coming and stop and head a different way then give out a few calls, but do not be calling like your life depends on it.
Don’t just move around and grab for a call make sure you scan around you before you move around to make your call. One too many times I have been thinking about making my calls and how I want to present them. I go to move to grab whatever call I need and before my hands even get to it. All you hear is the blow of a doe that was hidden behind you or just behind some brush.
