kicking myself

So, there is a spot on our property that 8 always have a stand in, it’s a good morning spot, but the last two years the deer started skirting the edge out of range. So when I pulled stands I picked a new tree to try. Fast forward to September when I re-hung my sets and I managed to convince myself that a different tree would be better. Well, second guessing that placement cost me this morning. Did a little grunt-bleat sequence and I could hear a deer coming on a run. The commotion riled up the squirrels and I lost track of exactly where the sound was heading and when I figured it out he just started coming over the hill, directly behind me and walking towards me. It took one look to know which buck it was, the ‘great eight'(he’s actually a 9). I froze so he wouldn’t pick me out and just hoped he would pass by on my right so I could get a shot, but no he walked the rim of the draw and out of site. The kick in the pants was had I put it in the tree I originally planned I’d have had a broadside 5 yard shot.

Ok guess I can’t attach the picture on my phone

Shrunk the picture to try again. I only had velvet pictures of him till this week he just showed back up.

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Picture from this past week.

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Gotta love the cat and mouse game that is trophy whitetail hunting.

Having a day to ruminate on the encounter I was a lot more excited about having had the encounter at all, I will admit yesterday I was pissed, mostly at myself.

This buck was by far the largest buck I’ve ever brought in that i can 100% for certain say it was the calling I did that brought him in.(this buck literally came running from the next ridge over when I did my sequence). Spent a lot of time the last decade watching and listening how live wild deer communicate and then trial and error attempting to replicate, probably the biggest thing I’ve picked up is that I was, and I suspect most hunters are, way too bashful and monotone when it comes to calling. Don’t be afraid to not sound like the ‘typical’ perfect toned grunt everytime, seeing enough bucks pushing does and making very non deer like sounds (compared to the typical ‘expert approved’ deer grunt sound) I have firmly come to believe that a non perfect yet ’emotional’ sound calling sequence will bring deer in way more often than the prototypical ‘perfect’ sounding sequence.

That’s an interesting observation. I’ve felt that way about turkeys for the last couple springs. Hens make all kinds of odd sounds. So when I sound like dung, I don’t feel so bad.

I hope you get another crack at the big boy!!

Agreed on the turkey calling, I’d say that was probably what started me studying deer sounds harder was picking up turkey hunting/calling about 10 years ago (though I’ve since dropped turkey hunting for spring fishing). I’d say I’m far from any kind of expert at it, but my own personal response rate to calling deer has increased tremendously the last 4-5 years (though 90% of the time it will be small bucks or does on occasion), which is when I’ve started getting more ‘aggressive’ (for lack of a better word) in my sounds. I’ve been using a primos buck roar for several years now, I’m sure other brand roar/growl calls would be similar, but it allows for a lot more range in calling where a more standard call turns into a duck call blowing on it like I can with the roar.
Terrain plays a huge difference as well I think, the bluff country we are in I can really ‘reach out’ with the calls in some of my ridgetop sets. The buck from Sunday was probably not more than 200 yards tops away from me ‘line of site’ (about 160 according to google earth if he was exactly where I suspect he was), yet he had to come down one hillside and back up again (probably about a 100′ change in elevation) to get to me. Outside of knowing that area is a popular day bedding area I had no idea that he (or any other deer) was actually there, big part of the reason I like that stand for morning sits, it has the lowest chance of me bumping deer walking in pre dawn, deer do pass through there in the mornings, but then later on I can ‘blind call’ and try to lure deer hanging out in that bedding area over without encroaching on the area at all (to actually get to a stand closer to the area would be extremely hard to do without bumping deer and/or making your presence known due to the terrain and woods/ag field layout).