dohcrxl

I think it is because deer can tell the difference in a natural doe bleat or buck grunt from a mechanical sound made by our callers. Or maybe deer have a language we don't know about and when we're calling, depending on the type or length or pitch or tone or whatever, we might be saying:

1) Hey honey, I'm hot and ready for you...

2) Better run foo I'm gonna ram these 14 points straight up where you wont like if you come over here...

3) This is a mimic from a voice box simulator please don't be tricked...

So why do you guys think calling is most times pointless?

kevin1

There are really only 2 reasons why deer won't respond to an artificial call :

1) There are no deer nearby to respond to it .
2) You suck at calling deer .

That's really about it . With the increasing sophistication of calls these days it's very difficult for them to tell the difference . Many probably also respond just out of curiosity if no other reason .

HUNGAR

I think alot of times people think these calls are magic and should work all the time. I think you have to use the right calls at the right times and the deer must be in a responsive mood for them to work and a good buck to doe ratio. I believe they work fine, sometimes I've had no results and other times I couldn't believe what was going on.

dohcrxl

Yea, I probably do suck but by your definition, if there are deer in the area and you don't suck, all deer will respond. Perhaphs you forgot to mention as #3 and #4 that sometimes deer just aren't interested cuz they have better things to do or that maybe they're spooked by the call?

Everyone's got their own opinion as to the workability of technological advances but I don't think any piece of wood or plastic can compare to an actual voice box of another deer and they can tell the difference to a degree.

cardeer

Just like years ago when people started using treestands. Now I seen deer before entering a woodline they check the horizon for people. I think they are getting smarter to calls. this past year I rattled and some nitwit over the hill bleated back at me everytime. the deer were probably kicking back laughing their buttts off

kevin1

That could be possible too I suppose ,
but from my observations when deer that were obviously within earshot didn't respond it was usually because I sucked . I am discounting rutting bucks on a hot trail , of course .

Most of the time they would at least stop and listen . If a quality call is operated correctly I don't honestly think that they can tell the difference , especially when it's a cd driven recording of live deer .

dohcrxl

While we're on the subject, anyone got any calling tips so I can attempt to "unsuckify" myself? Reason why I was led to believe that calling most times doesn't work is partially because that was one of the most mentioned things in the "what doesn't work" thread. Moreso, I heard a buck rubbing away at a tree in November and could not grunt him in. I knew it was a buck and not another hunter because I'd seen this buck once before on that same trail that I was hunting that day which crosses a stream. On that day I heard him walking, breaking twigs about 100 yds away then splashing across the stream then rubbing a few min later. Like I said, I couldn't call him in. The grunting actually made him stop rubbing.

I have this caller that looks like a flute and has buttons you depress for different sexes and ages of deer. It was suggested on the instructions that 2-3 short notes followed by a full one second blurt is an ideal buck call. That didn't work. The instructions also said that I can gain a buck's attention by mimicing a doe bleat followed by a buck grunt signaling a buck chasing a doe. That didn't work either. What has for you guys?

ShadowAce

3. They are call shy due to hearing so much of it.
4. They do not see a deer in the area that could be making the sound.
5. They are not in a call responsive mood.
6. A bird in the hand...they are already trailing a doe...why leave her to find the source of the sound?

Total Kaos

In response to how good the mechanical/manmade calls are...

The more reputable companies use sound analization equipment in making calls, adjusting pitch,tone etc to mimic sound..the sound they are trying to mimic are made from actual deer...basically they will get a 2 second call or bleat and make a piece of equipment (call) that mimics it...

How do I know?..Well I saw them doing it, I wont mention the company so that I dont seem biased but was told lots of the top guys make them the same way..

My question was the same as one mentioned earlier, how do you know that grunt was not one that said hey heres corn or one that said get away from my girlfriend. The answer was we dont but will make calls taken during the rut(for instance) that precedded an altercation and just guess that was an aggressive get the hell out of here grunt

dkeener

LMAO!! First time I rattled this year I heard rattling back within a few minutes and figured someone was trespassing. While I was sitting there pissed off trying to decide if I should leave my stand and confront the trespasser, two bucks passed by from the same direction the rattling had come from and I never got a shot off!!