Grunt tube - maybe I'm not holding my mouth right!

[j-bird]

Like any deer hunter worth his salt I have a grunt tube (2 actually).

The ONLY time I have ever drawn a deer to me while using a call was when a doe came into a distressed fawn bleat - I was trying to get the yote to come a little closer!

I essentially have given up on them - I simply make a bleat type sound myself to stop a deer if I need to for a shot.

Sometimes I think by using these calls all I am doing is broadcasting that some idiot is over here!

Do you guys have any luck using them?

 

[gwm]

I hardly ever use a grunt tube and honestly couldn't tell you the last time I actually used one. The only time I use one is if I see a buck I would shoot and he's walking away.

 

[BJE80]

I would of not killed my buck this year without my grunt tube. Brought him right in to me after staring at me for 5 min from 60 yards away. I never cold call. I only use it when there is a buck I want to shoot that clearly will not walk past me if I don't call to him.

 

[Turkey Creek]

I have called in a number of deer with a grunt tube and by mouth as well. I can get more distance with the tube. I dont call to deer headed my way but I do call to bucks that arent. Called in 2 for better looks this year.

 

[BJE80]

I think the biggest problem people run into is by calling too much like they show on the hunting shows. I've sat on public land before and heard guys knocking antlers together every 20 min. for hours on end.

 

[tooln]

I've used and tried but have never had any luck bringing something in.

 

[Bill]

I don't use them much, usually only if I see one I want a better look at. Mixed results.

Last year I had a hot doe and a small 10 bed about 60 yards out. She crawled into the thickest snag she could find and he layed just down wind of her.

I grunted and used a bleat can every 5 minutes for an hour. i really wanted them to leave so I could get down. After an hour he finally couldn't take it any more so he got up and came to check me out. While doing circles around me another buck came in and stole his doe.

Bet he never falls for a grunt again

 

[shawnv]

I've shot many of my bucks using my grunt tube alone or with rattling and several more bucks that I either passed up or did not have a clear shot at. In fact, I called in the buck I killed this year.

 

[j-bird]

shawnv - which tube do yo use? Do you have any thoughts as to why you seem to have success with it?

 

[chummer]

I have had a couple yearlings come in foaming at the mouth but anything older than 1.5 ignores me like I'm not even there.

 

[shawnv]

shawnv - which tube do yo use? Do you have any thoughts as to why you seem to have success with it?

I think I have lost track of all the brands I have tried. I use calls all the time and into the late season and is why I made the post asking if anyone knew of one that didn't freeze up. Last year I went back to the HS true talker and that worked good but the reed got out of tune sometime over the off season so I was in need of a new one. I was in a hurry and only had time to stop at Gander Mtn and the selection was poor so I gave the Extinguisher a try (their infomercial on tv drives me nuts). To my surprise, out in the woods is sounds alright although some wood rather than plastic would improve the acoustics. That is the grunt I used when I killed my buck this year. I also called in my daughter's 2yr old with it and another 3yr or 4yr old that stayed just out of range.

If you subscribe to my Extremely Extreme Whitetail Super Duper Secrets and How to be the Deer site I have all of the information there.

 

[BJE80]

The TrueTalker is what use as well and have had good luck with it.

 

[shawnv]

LOL....no actually over the years I've been lucky to spend a lot of time out in the timber and have been able to witness a few buck fights, bucks grunting and etc so I have just tried to pay attention to the tone, how often they call and how loud and aggressive the fights were and try to mimic that.

 

[shawnv]

The short and sweet answer...How much I call and how often is always season stage, stand and pressure specific so I have no rule to lay out in a short answer. I will say I tend to have more success later on when I have been on the aggressive side, probably more so than the average guy. I also may grunt blindly (without a deer visual) too and it works but I just don't over do it. If I see a deer, how much I call depends on their body language and the time of year. I guess my thoughts on it could go into a much longer reply.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

the first buck i ever killed came into to a grunt. It was October 10th in the afternoon. I was in my stand for about 10 mins...i heard two bucks sparring about 70 yds away but couldn't see them. I grabbed my grunt tube and gave three short bursts. the sparring stopped and i heard trotting coming right at me. the buck i shot (a 2 yr old 8 point) trotted right under me headed to a mock scrape i made at 17 yds....and thats all she wrote. Since then i have called in a number of deer with grunt tubes, can calls, and even the horns....but far fewer to the horns. I have snort wheezed at deer with mixed results as well. Some bucks turn tale and run....some go on high alert and even posture but don't come any closer. I think a deer has to be in the right mindset to fully respond to such an agressive call.

I tend not to blind call or even rattle. this year I think i didnt even take the rattling horns into the tree with me. I take a grunt tube (a MAD game calls model with a "snort wheeze tube" attached to it) and a can call. Depending on the phase of the rut if i see a buck i'm interested in at a distance and i don't think he will come my way then i will decide to hit the grunt tube or tip the can over. I would say its about a 50-50 success rate for which one seems to produce results. I will say tho that the bigger bucks i have called in have come to the can call and not the grunt....however that being said...i didnt grunt at them only tipped the can over because i felt they would be more receptive to a lady's voice than a dude's voice. i also think that once the bucks really start harassing the does doing any buck related calling is probably going to keep does from coming into the area....so I really keep things quiet and only call to bucks that don't appear to be headed my way.

I feel that i can produce a more realistic grunt with my mouth, but i can't get near the volume so i rarely deploy it since the only time i really call is to deer that are at a distance. I rarely use any noise to stop a deer...i have been fortunate enough to get lucky and have most bucks that i have shot take a long enough pause in range and in a lane to make a shot. I really don't like to stop a deer with a noise unless there is no other way. I feel that if the deer is in range and you give them the "bllleeeehhhtt" they tend to stop and look up at the noise (you) and then they get that adrenaline surge and even very hard hit deer will make a good run and get farther than they would if they weren't on high alert. I also think that deer that are stopped with a noise are much more likely to "jump" the string which can cause a miss or worse bad hit.

 

[dogghr]

There's not a mature buck I've shot over the years that I didn't bring in using a grunt, bleat , or rattling from here at home to the midwest and Canada. Most calls today are too much like bull horns. I've never heard a deer grunt, bleat, or snort/wheeze loud. Same as your calling, do it on quite days and not a loud call. In addition, have your down wind blocked from them scent checking before coming in. My favorite grunt is an old Knight and Hale and best call to use is the doe bleat.

Rattling is a win/ lose trick. When it works, and it does, its amazing. Do on cold quite days. And to be effective, have downwind side blocked. My successful time are early Nov and sitting in a pinch point with a open field to my downwind side. I rattle loud and hard for 5 minutes. Don't do it soft, waste of time. I've used antlers, rattling boxes, and even aluminum arrow tapping on stand, all have worked. I usually will rattle at 9 and 10 in morn and around 4 in evening. If they come, typically it will be almost exactly 30 min after the rattle. You can set your watch to it. I called in 9 bucks in 6 days this year with 3 shooters in the mix and I hunt heavy pressured deer. Try it, Its a hoot when it works.

 

[shawnv]

There's not a mature buck I've shot over the years that I didn't bring in using a grunt, bleat , or rattling from here at home to the midwest and Canada. Most calls today are too much like bull horns. I've never heard a deer grunt, bleat, or snort/wheeze loud. Same as your calling, do it on quite days and not a loud call. In addition, have your down wind blocked from them scent checking before coming in. My favorite grunt is an old Knight and Hale and best call to use is the doe bleat.

Rattling is a win/ lose trick. When it works, and it does, its amazing. Do on cold quite days. And to be effective, have downwind side blocked. My successful time are early Nov and sitting in a pinch point with a open field to my downwind side. I rattle loud and hard for 5 minutes. Don't do it soft, waste of time. I've used antlers, rattling boxes, and even aluminum arrow tapping on stand, all have worked. I usually will rattle at 9 and 10 in morn and around 4 in evening. If they come, typically it will be almost exactly 30 min after the rattle. You can set your watch to it. I called in 9 bucks in 6 days this year with 3 shooters in the mix and I hunt heavy pressured deer. Try it, Its a hoot when it works.

In the buck fights I've watched, it's amazing to me how much noise even two little bucks can make and how long it can go for.

I will say my hands/arms almost hurt when I am done rattling from hitting them so hard. I will second that, that grunts are not usually all that loud.

If a big buck comes out and is checking the field on the edge, bad time to grunt. That is when I tend to get burned more often than not (I don't do that anymore). Better to wait until he starts moving again.

 

[shawnv]

I have used the Mad Call too but that froze up really easy and the hard plastic was too noisy so I quit using it. I also had success with the Primos buck roar but like the Mad call it froze easy and was on the bulky side.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

I have used the Mad Call too but that froze up really easy and the hard plastic was too noisy so I quit using it. I also had success with the Primos buck roar but like the Mad call it froze easy and was on the bulky side.

i've had the call for a few years now. the plastic can be noisy if it hits other hard objects for sure. I don't wear it via the lanyard around the neck mainly because it was always clicking off my safety harness buckles...not only that but i don't like the idea of anything potentially dangling into my lower limb/cam/string at full draw if i have to bend aggressively at the hip for a closer shot opp. I just keep the call in my release hand cargo pocket. its very handy when sitting...i can then stash it back into my release hand regular pant hip pocket once I am standing and the deer is on his way without much movement or noise. I've never had the call freeze, but then again i don't use it much past middle of November where at most we are only going to have mid teens temps at the lowest and only for a very short period of time in the AM. I also don't blow into the thing very often so there isn't going to be much condensation from my breath on the reed.

 

[shawnv]

Like any deer hunter worth his salt I have a grunt tube (2 actually).

The ONLY time I have ever drawn a deer to me while using a call was when a doe came into a distressed fawn bleat - I was trying to get the yote to come a little closer!

I essentially have given up on them - I simply make a bleat type sound myself to stop a deer if I need to for a shot.

Sometimes I think by using these calls all I am doing is broadcasting that some idiot is over here!

Do you guys have any luck using them?

So what happens when you grunt, they ignore you or do they take off?