DOUBLE CALL TO BAG BIG BUCKS
Duet Calling
Editor’s Note: I went to Texas to learn the double-calling
technique for calling deer, which could involve two
or three hunters. From what I saw and learned, I believe
double-calling deer is much more effective than if a
single person tries to call deer alone. With this tactic,
I believe two or three hunters can see and take twice
as many bucks in a day of hunting as one hunter can.
In the early days of professional football, one athlete
might play both offense and defense and be required
to play several different positions on both the offensive
and defensive teams. However, as the game developed,
teams soon learned that having specialized players at
each position on both offense and defense helped them
perform more effectively, score more touchdowns on offense
and stop more touchdowns being scored on defense than
if one man tried to play two or three positions. From
what I saw of double-calling, this philosophy also could
be incorporated successfully into deer hunting.
"I believe two hunters can call and take bucks
more effectively than one hunter can," wildlife
biologist Steve Warner said. "As you saw th is
morning, the buck came in upwind of us. But when he
had come a certain distance, he began to circle downwind,
possibly in hopes of picking up our scent before he
came in to investigate. Many times deer will come in
from behind you when you call. Even if you hunt a thick
bedding area and expect the buck to come straight out
to you, you don't know for sure that buck is in that
bedding region. Nor do you know he will come straight
in when he hears the horns and the grunting. I'm convinced
a better tactic is for the person with the grunt tube
to sit facing one direction and call and the person
with the rattling antlers to face the other direction
and call."
The first apparent problem with this technique is that
the person with the grunt call faces the opposite direction
from the person using the rattling antlers. Then the
sound of the rattling antlers will appear to come from
one direction, while the sound of the grunt call will
come from another direction. However, the person using
the grunt call either can cup his hand over the barrel
of the call so that the sound from t he
grunt call is thrown to the area where the rattling
is coming from, or he can call to the side, which may
give the impression of another buck standing off to
the side of the battle and grunting while he watches
the fight taking place.
One of the most effective ways to double-call bucks
is when the hunter who is working the antlers stops
his rattling sequence. The other hunter starts using
the grunt call and points the call in the same direction
that the rattling antlers have been heard. Then he begins
to move the call as he grunts around the tree. This
tactic will simulate a buck's walking away from a fight
as bucks often do after they clash antlers. The buck
may walk away 5 to 10 yards, turn around and come back
to the first buck to continue to duel. The main advantage
of having the two hunters facing opposite directions
is that both hunters now have eyes at the back of their
heads to look for deer that may approach from be hind.
"One of the forms of rattling that has proved
to be the most effective for me has been limb breaking,"
Warner mentioned. "I take one of the antlers, rake
it down the side of the limb like a buck that is battling
a bush and grunt at the same time. I've learned that
sometimes I can call in bucks more effectively than
when I clash the antlers together. Many times in the
prerut, the rut and the postrut, bucks will come in
to investigate the sounds of another buck's raking his
antlers against a bush or tree. Bucks have a natural
curiosity that often requires them to visually identify
other deer they hear in their area, probably because
of their herd instinct.”
TOMORROW: TRIO TROPHY-BUCK CALLING – THE SHOOTER
& THE RATTLER
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