Late season Grunt / Can call use

Just wanted some of your thoughts on the use of Grunt and Can calls during the late hunting season ( Early to Mid Dec. )I tried both some this last weekend while muzzleloader hunting in Central Minnesota and can not say it was all that successful. I did manage to bag a nice 130 – 140 Lb. doe early sat. morning so all in all it was a great weekend of muzzleloader hunting. I hope all of your late season hunting is going great as well. Best of luck the remainder of the season!!! and Be safe !!!!

I will use the Can/Grunt and even horns through the end of the season. I let the deer’s mood dictate the frequency of the calling, but definitely have them on me. Believe me the majority of the does are done breeding but the bucks are far from done. Early December is a great time to hunt and use calls. This 2nd rut is not as long as the first but it is way more intense as their is more competition for a very few does. Find a hot doe you will have your hands full as every buck in the section will be after her. This along with bucks trying to regain their strength from a rigorous rut makes those big boys show themselves during daylight and make mistakes they usually do not make. The buck in my avatar was shot 5 years ago to the day, while he was scent checking a group of does I had near me in the very early afternoon. Timing and location are very key, but if you time it right those big boys are up and moving during the day in early December searching for that last hot doe and very acceptable to calls.

I tried using the can, snort wheeze, grunt and buckroar on 3 little bucks on saturday afternoon. Could have shot them but they had no response to calls exept to look my way. The only thing they seemed interested in was the corn in the cornfield.

I use calls and rattling this time of year, but…..rattle gently and do not expect sub-dom bucks to show up close. Rattling will draw in all deer, year round, as they are curious. I will grunt, but only subtle grunts like the yearlings make. I believe that most of the does involved in the second rut are yearlings that come into esterous. Just my opinion. The “Can” works at times, never my favorite call. I use it to stop deer a lot, does not spook them, just stops them. I have had other responses from the Can, just not on a consistent enough basis to use it a lot. If you are after a big doe, make a fawn in distress call like you would if you were hunting coyotes, they often times come in at a charge. If you have ever had a deer phonate while dying, you know what this sounds like. Good luck.