Calling In Bucks
Why Grunt
 Editor’s
Note: One time when I hunted in Mexico, because of the
grunt call, I held a buck within shooting range for
over an hour. I also bought myself time to see a bigger
deer. When no other trophy showed up, I used the grunt
call to position the buck to allow me to take an effective
shot. On that day, in that place, the grunt call made
the difference in whether or not I bagged a buck. And,
often calling deer will make that difference in your
hunt, as we’ll learn this week.
To get a fight started, just make a statement such
as, “Billy Bob’s call company was the first
to manufacture the grunt call.” When my first
article on grunt calls appeared many years ago, I had
nine different manufacturers call me and claim to be
the first to invent the grunt call.  I
knew hunters as far back as anyone ever had deer hunted
probably had grunted to deer. Early sportsmen used their
mouths to grunt. But like other calls, different manufacturers
crafted tools to mimic the grunt sounds outdoorsmen
made with their natural voices. After that first article
I wrote on grunt calling, I decided never again to get
in an argument about who developed the first modern-day
grunt call. More than likely, several people all worked
on similar devices at the same time. Knight and Hale
Game Calls in Cadiz, Kentucky, produced the first grunt
call I ever used. The company gave me a grunt call on
a hunt at Land Between the Lakes. David Hale, one of
the owners, showed me how to use it. On the first morning
of my hunt, I spotted a spike at about 50 yards, quartering
away from my tree stand. I blew the call, not expecting
anything to happen. To my surprise, the spike came in
and bedded down not 5 feet from the tree where I’d
placed my stand. The young deer stayed beneath my tree
and slept for about 45 minutes before finally standing
up and starting to walk off. But when I grunted, the
spike came bac k
to my stand. A few minutes later, the little buck finally
walked off. I realized I’d discovered one of the
most-deadly deer lures known to man – the grunt
call.
However, always remember that much like duck and turkey
calls, no grunt call will produce game every time you
use it, regardless of the quality of the call or how
well you blow it. But I much prefer to hunt with a grunt
call than without one. To choose a grunt call for your
hunt, always consider the call’s ability to change
tones and pitch and whether you can direct the sound
of that call. If you can change the sound of the call
to give a variety of calls, you can simulate more than
one deer’s grunting in the region where you hunt.
For example, if you use the grunt call in combination
with rattling antlers, you’ll want to change the
pitch and the tone of the call. Then you’ll sound
like two bucks grunting as they push and shove each
other. If you try to mimic a buck’s chasing a
doe in during the rut, give a deep grunt to sound like
the buck and a higher-pitched grunt to resemble a doe.
To giv e
the impression of several deer feeding in an area, alter
the sounds of the grunt call to reproduce the grunts
of several deer. A call with a tube on the end of it
allows you to throw your call wherever you choose by
pointing the barrel or the tube end of the call in that
direction, much like a ventriloquist throws his voice.
I always try to throw a call beside or behind my stand
when I have a buck at less than 100 yards form me. But
you can throw your call in front of your stand, behind
your stand and/or on either side of your stand to make
the buck to look at those places as he responds to the
call. Never cause the buck to look straight at the spot
the call has come from – the hunter. Also consider
the distance you want the call to cover when you try
to decide which call to buy. No grunt call will lure
in a buck if the deer doesn’t hear the call. If
you plan to call deer across wide-open spaces, use a
magnum-type grunt call that’s extremely loud and
able to sound across great distances. You’ll also
find this call productive on very windy days when you’ll
have a difficult time hearing anything but the howling
of the wind and the rustling of the leaves. If you hunt
thick cover where you only can see 50 yards or so, you
may want to utilize a softer call that won’t blow
a deer out of the cover and spook him but will coax
him to come in to you.
Tomorrow: Why Cackle to Bucks
and What About the Bleat Call
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