Many of you have probably seen hunting shows where the hunter blows on a grunt call or rattles a few times resulting in a huge buck coming in ready to do battle with the buck he thinks is in his territory.
How many of you, after seeing these shows, have rushed out and purchased a grunt call or rattle bag then headed off into the woods with high hopes of harvesting a monster like they did on television? You rattle a few sequences or grunt a few times throughout the course of the hunt and never have anything respond. This is a frustrating feeling for many hunters leaving you thinking that grunting or rattling just doesn’t work where you hunt.
Don Bell, founder of Code Blue Scents, gives some insight on the reason why grunting and rattling by themselves often times doesn’t work. Bell tells us that deer rely on three main defenses: Their eyes, ears and nose. When a buck hears a grunt call or a series of rattles, more than likely that buck is going to circle around downwind to check out what is going on. This is where many hunters make their mistake by not using a buck scent. When that buck gets downwind it is important for him to be able to smell what he thinks he heard. Placing buck scent near your stand can give you the upper hand on tricking two of a buck’s senses – his ears and nose. There are many buck scent options available to hunters. When Bell is really looking for a mature buck he prefers using a tarsal gland like the ones sold by Code Blue.
If you have given up on using a grunt call or rattling try using Bell’s tip of using a buck scent along with rattling or grunting, you might be surprised at what you are able to call in.
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