To use deer calls or not use deer calls? That is the question. The "Jolly Rancher" buck just might change the way you think...

To use deer calls or not use deer calls? That is the question. The "Jolly Rancher" buck just might change the way you think...

        Do you believe in making noise in the woods with deer calls or do you prefer to be as invisible as possible while deer hunting? For me, I lean very much to the side of using deer calls and I use them a lot. I believe that using calling techniques significantly increases your chances of a buck encounter more than any other hunting strategy if you do it correctly. Your chances of a buck encounter will increase even more during the highly anticipated whitetail deer rut, but all stages of the whitetail deer season will present you with ample opportunities to call a buck into range. I have proven this to be true over and over again in every scenario and stage of the deer season and in all the states I've hunted whitetails in. Now don't get me wrong, whitetail bucks have personalities like we do, and some are just more "callable" than others, but if you keep at it and trust what you are doing, you will have success. In recent years I have had the opportunity to talk deer hunting with many people and one thing that always blows me away is how many people don't utilize deer calls in their arsenal of tactics. When I ask people why they don't use deer calls, they often respond with something like, " I'm just scared to make all that noise when I'm hunting", or " I don't want to do it wrong and scare the deer off". That's Nonsense!!  Through these conversations I have come to the assumption that most people don't utilize this tactic enough strictly due to lack of confidence. If there's one thing to know about the human brain, it is the fact that if you replicate something over and over again in your head, over time you will eventually start to believe it. Therefore, often the best way to get yourself over that lack of confidence "hump" is usually by just telling yourself that you can do this, over and over and every time you start second guessing yourself. So, just do it and believe in what you are doing! Often, this is easier said than done, but if you try it a little bit each time and gain confidence with it, you will eventually be successful and see results. So, try these techniques that I'm about to share and be confident in what you are doing. 

EARLY SEASON CALLING TECHNIQUES

        So, it's September or early October and if it's the first week of your state's archery season, why would you incorporate any deer calls? No, you will not incorporate calls used during the breeding season, but you can use regular every day social deer calls which deer tend to use almost daily throughout the year. One of my favorite calls to use during these times is a low and subtle fawn bleat or a short and soft buck grunt. Nothing aggressive, it's just you trying to let a buck know that I'm here and I'm happy. Next time you are in an early season setup along an ag field edge, and you just happen to spot a shooter buck way out of bow range, try that subtle grunt but only do it loud enough for them to hear it. More often than not, the buck will head your way to investigate the grunt and join the "party". This usually works best when the bucks are still in their bachelor groups or are just starting to break up. If it's a doe that you are after in this scenario, then do a couple subtle fawn bleats, short and sweet. This can draw a curious doe from a nearby bedding area if there's one around. 

I'd like to share a little story about an encounter I had on an early September hunt on Kentucky public land a few years ago. I had hiked back roughly a mile into this small oak ridge where I had hung a stand the previous day and was hunting this white oak staging area along an old logging road that leads to a state managed clover field. It was the last sit of our opening weekend archery hunt in KY and I had seen 3 or 4 really good bucks in other locations near where I was, but they were always in too thick of vegetation to present a shot. This last-ditch effort to connect with one of these bucks in my newly tweaked location gave me some hope but it was already about an hour away from darkness and still nothing but a doe and a fawn fed by me earlier. Then with about 45 minutes left of shooting light I spotted a good buck 70 yards out and feeding slowly my way and crunching away on Acorns as he moved. Then another buck and another and another! They were all good respectful bucks, but the last one was really good and had points everywhere! They were all feeding my way slowly but eventually ended up behind me in a tangle of Cedar trees and Osage Orange which were only about 25 yards away. I waited until they got about 75 yards away and I tried a couple soft grunts, but they weren't amused and just kept walking towards the lush clover that laid ahead of them. About 5 minutes later, I hear crunching again from the same general area that the others came from. It sounds like someone is chewing ice cubes, but I can't see anything still. This happens again and I still don't see anything. Now I'm thinking it could possibly be a squirrel. Again, it happened but this time I see deer legs through the saplings but that's all I can see. The deer is milling very slowly along the same path as the others so I'm thinking it must be a buck and it's probably going to end up in the same tangle of brush and present zero shot opportunities and it will be too dark by the time it reaches me. I decided to try the subtle grunt again and waited as I couldn't see the deer once again. A minute later I saw the deer again and spotted a glimpse of antler about 60 yards out and angling slightly more towards the old logging road i was betting on for a shot. I let out another 2 soft and short grunts and see him walk a few more steps in the right direction but still not fast enough as I'm racing against daylight which is fading fast. Then it hit me, I decided to try something. I remembered I threw a Jolly Rancher in my pocket before I ventured to my stand that afternoon. I opened the half-melted candy slowly and as quiet as possible and I popped that thing in my mouth and started crunching away as loud as I could. I tried replicating the Acorn crunching I heard from him the past 20 minutes mouth wide open, and I went all-in on it. As I stopped a second to assess the situation, I couldn't believe my eyes! The buck I saw through the brush is now walking at a slow but steady gait and is heading right for me! I now am able to see his rack more clearly and I determined instantly that he was a definite shooter but still no shot and shooting light was minimal. I decided to do 2 quick soft grunts and then crunched the remaining jolly rancher loudly again in my mouth to a fine sugar. Here he comes! Now he's walking briskly towards my shooting "lane" so I grabbed my bow and prepared for the shot nervously. He made it to the logging road finally and I swear he looked both ways before he stepped out into it. When he did, I couldn't believe my eyes. He was a gigantic heavy and wide 10 point and he was standing about 45 yards out and quartering towards me. The light constricted woods made him a bit hazy through the peep, but it was now or never so I let it fly. I watched the illuminated nock leave a "vapor" trail through the dusky woods. He ran off like a bat out of Hell in the direction he came from and down into a ravine. I see my arrow sticking in the ground, nock illuminated and arrow clean. When I walked up to the arrow, I knew right away that it was not good. Turns out, I had grazed his brisket and only gave him a haircut. No blood. Defeat. 

I was very mad at myself many hours after this moment and replayed it over and over again in my head about what I did and what I should've done differently. I rushed my shot for sure. The only logical thing I should've done differently was not take the shot. It was just ethically not light enough in that understory choked woods. Lesson learned. I learned a lot that hunt about staging areas and deer movement also. I learned that once again, calling to white-tailed deer works but sometimes you have to think outside the box, or should I say wrapper? Believe that what you are doing will work but not every time. I also learned that deer are so greatly susceptible to calls that you can call them in with a Jolly Rancher! Ever since that day I never go to an early season hunt where Oaks are plentiful without a Jolly Rancher in my pocket! To be specific, Green Apple Jolly Ranchers seem to work the best and I swear it's because they can smell the apple! This has worked for me multiple times since this day and it's quite amusing to see people's reactions when I tell them my little secret. Add them to your arsenal and let me know if you have the same results! Good Luck! 

                                                                          -Justin Wallschlaeger DTTV

 

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