I have only been hunting about 15 years, which to me is not a long time relative to veterans hunters with many many more hours in the woods than I. That being said, I have developed an opinion on the use of deer calls that may be site-specific to hunting deer in northwest AL.

I use to always take a grunt call, can call, fawn bleat, etc. in the woods with me as a young hunter and periodically I would use these calls throughout my hunts. In all my years of hunting, I have never had a deer respond, come inspect the area, or be drawn in due to my calling efforts (expect 1 time in the peak of the rut when a buck grunted back but didn't come closer to me). I can tell you numerous occasions where I would see a buck in the distance with no shot on him and use a grunt/bleat call, and instead of the deer coming to me, he would wisely circle downwind of the noise I made and pick up my scent obviously leading to a blown hunt.

My opinion is this..if you are hunting in northwest AL, leave your deer calls at home throughout the entire season! They are not worth the money. They do not help you kill more deer. They actually make you kill less deer in the long run; a mature buck is less likely to be killed because you make them aware of a noise that they cannot locate the deer and therefore will not come any closer until they know what made that sound.

I want know know what you all think. Has anyone had any luck with deer calls in Alabama? Please share!

Depending on the location in Alabama, I have had great success calling in bucks with my Wood Haven grunt call and rattling with real antlers.

I've grunted up several deer in Alabama. I've never rattled one in but I've only tried it once or twice. I've never had a deer come in to a bleat but I have called in a few coyotes and a bobcat to two.

I have grunted in a few bucks, and can called in a few. Doesn't work very often, deer has to be in the right frame of mind for it to work. Calling blindly, can lead to unseen deer pinpointing you in the tree. You'll hear some say they grunted one in, just because they grunted and a few minutes later a buck appeared. That buck may have appeared anyway. I only count the deer that i can see or hear, and turn my way right after i use the call.

I hunt in Jackson county and I'm a firm believer in grunt calls. I have called up a lot of deer but have only rattled in one.

These responses for far is what I was expecting. Maybe the fact that I hunt a high pressured area where it seemed the deer are in a fully alert survival mood all but 2 weeks out of the year has something to do with it, or maybe I've must had a few bad encountered that have warped my opinion idk.

Pressure is a big part of it. But, even on the best places they have to be in the right mood for it to work. I like the 7 day span before and after Jan 1st. And I like the last week of Jan.

I seem to have my best luck during that time.

Also time of day and location on the property is key.

Get REAL close to the thickest nastiest place on your property during the middle of the day. He might not step out in the wide open but he can be called to the edge.

Also I like to get in the same type place before daylight without making a noise and rattling 5-10 minutes before you can see anything. They seem to respond in the dark well and will still be in the area a few minutes later when the light starts to open up some.

In the early 80's I used a fawn bleat call if I jumped deer on the way in to my afternoon hunt. If it was a group of does, at least one would usually circle back. I killed several that way. I have had some success with a grunt call on bucks, but they are usually young bucks that have raging hormones and very little sense.

I carry a grunt, but I only use it to try to stop a moving deer, it's gotta be better than saying "HEY!"

I always carry a doe can, usually the fawn bleat & it will pull in a doe that's slipped past out of range, although they might circle downwind. They will often respond to the bleat with a soft grunt sound several times, then work their way towards you, I figure it's looking for the lost fawn. I did it last Saturday morning as a matter of fact, she had 3 yearling does with her.

My calls get different responses every time I go hunting. They ignore it more times than not but occasionally I bring one in. No mature bucks have ever came in that I am aware of. I have never rattled in any deer that I saw but have had some grunt at me or maybe it was some other hunter thinking I was a deer?lol. Have had does walk up as I was rattling though as if I wasnt even there....explain that one to me.

I've killed several 3.5 and older bucks seeing them at a distance with no shot, turning them and calling them in closer. I have an old Rod Benson grunt call that should be in the Hall of Fame. Never heard one that sounded better, it's money.

I have called in numerous bucks using a grunt call. I have had them run in looking for a fight, I have had them come in rubbing anters and making scrapes with the hair on their neck bristled, I have even called them off of does during the rut. (Which surprised me). Remember, deer make different grunts (types of grunts) so it's not only the time of year but the type of grunt you use.

Never tried rattling, but I'll use a grunt call if the time is right. Killed a wide 7 pt a couple years ago that came in running in january. Jackson county.

ZHunt thanks for your input, my next question, is during the pre rut or rut, does the snort wheeze work, my knight & hale death chamber came with it, but i wondered if it works to call them in, like rattling?

or run them off?

in 2011 i have not used themwith any luck. but that doesn't mean i didn't try, but not had any luck calling in jackson, county.

Its all about the setup ive taken my two best bucks out of the same tree in central Al in Jan. both were rattled in the only thing i can tell you about that spot that I think makes it special is that its thick under the tree and on the south side is a steep creek bank so with a north wind they couldnt circle and get my wind but neither buck came charging in like you see on tv they came in cautiously looking for another buck

I grunted to a bachelor group of 5 bucks once, the biggest one broke away from the group and about ran up my gun barrel. I recon he was the boss of the group and wanted to show the others he was bad. What really happened was all the others moved up in the pecking order.

I bought my first call. I blew it once or twice; nothing happened. so then I just started blowing it like a kazoo going full blast, as soon as I did a 6pt charged me out of nowhere. I shot it in the neck, blood squirted a 4ft wide blood path leading right to the deer. since then Ive only had success with the fawn in distress part of the call.

I've never had any luck with a grunt or bleat. The only time I will claim some success is with a rattle, I once had a doe show up and intently try to find the big fight that was going on, but she spooked very easily and was gone before I got a shot. Much like the scents and other gimmicks I've tried in the past my grunts and rattles are staying in the attic this year.