Contact grunt for bucks .... and "Cooper Calls" .

[R.J.]

Been lots of conversation about grunt calls over the last few weeks ....

I'm no expert but they have worked well for me over the years > I use a basic 3-4 call series at pretty well every set up . bahhhhhhh / bahhhhhh / bahhh / bahhh just to let any deer within earshot know that it was a deer making noise during my walk in and set up ( since you can never get in completely quiet ).

During the rut I have had good luck with aggressive bark grunts and rattling .

I have a collection of "Cooper Calls" that forum member " wabi" makes at home . ( here is one I've used for years ) .



Frank V is a believer ... he called in his 1st buck ever with a " Cooper Call " .... he made a few light contact grunts when he got into the stand and this buck showed up right away . Now I'm not saying if you buy a Cooper Call and grunt in the stand a buck will show up every time , but if there is a deer within earshot and your set up is good with the wind , they will most likely come in to check it out . That has been my experience over the years ....



Years ago , I did a set up and as soon as I had gone up with my climber , I did my usual contact grunts and got an immediate response when this young seven point walk up out of the cedars , followed the trail . stopped to pee into a scrape and then walked by my tree ... I was lucky enough to get the whole thing frame by frame ...







Bottom Line ... I wouldn't go into the woods without a grunt call minimum ... been real useful tool over the years .

Anyway > Keep the stories and pictures coming ! .... I got a beauty "Bull Moose Down" picture from Sandman yesterday > I'm sure he will have an awesome photo thread when he gets back from his moose hunt !

[xcaliber]

Nice pics! Very hard to beat a good Wabi call in my opinion too.

[URL=http://s1339.photobucket.com/user/xcali ... g.jpg.html]

[wabi]

Thanks for the kind words about the calls.
Unfortunately the plant that manufactured the laminates I used burned last year, and I haven't had a chance to try out any other laminates yet. I may just switch to natural wood for the calls.
Haven't been inspired to turn any so far this year, but I may turn a few if I get some wood I like.
I made some calls (deer grunt & bleat, crow, and predator) for myself out of olive wood last year and liked the way it looks and finishes. I even made myself a pen to fill out the tags, and bought an "Opinel" olivewood knife for the hunting pouch.
Blackwood is another great wood for calls, but it's almost impossible to find quality blanks anymore. I've tried it from a couple different sources and end up throwing away about half the wood I buy due to bad imperfections (cracks, holes, and splits).



wabi

[Doe Master]

You are one of the craftsman on here .
Nice work .

[R.J.]

Yep a craftsman for sure ...

The laminates are cool but I like all the ones you have made to date ... A doe bleat / grunt call / and scent control = all must have in any gearpack .