Should I use the calls or not?

[raiderfootball247]

I Have A Bit Of A Delema. It Seems My Lack Of Bow Shooting Has Givin Me This. I Am Now Having To Attempt To Get A Deer In This Late Part Of The Year My Question Is Do I Use The Calls Or Will They Have No Effect. I Have A Flextone-all-n-one Deer Call And A "can" In My Inventory Id Appreciate It For Ur Advise.

[airborne]

It all depends on where you live. Here in PA the rut was late due to warm weather. We are still using scent to draw the buck in. You can still try that. There are some scents that are for after the rut. Are there a lot of other hunters out there that keep the deer moving? You can try your grunts but I wouldn't think that at this point they would be very effective. Here in PA, grunts don't work that well because there are plenty of doe for the bucks. There doesn't seem to be a lot of competition between the bucks. I would stay with scents and use the grunt to stop a buck if he is moving to fast for a shot. Good luck

[jobenoutdoors]

Calls still work. But it's a good idea not to call merely periodically. This time of year calls are mainly effective when an animal is visible useing the call to just close the distance. Reason being the bucks especially have regained a little survival skills as the rut dies, and are very apt to locate you by stalking your call and possibly make a quiet escape before you notice their presence. Versus the rut when they just come runnin and gruntin. so if you call.. sit still.

[Buckbuster]

Guys, don't forget that all does do not get bred the first time they come in to estrus. If they don't hook up on the first cycle, they will come in later and effectively extend the rut. Like Yogi Berra said, "It ain't over until it's over."

As far as calling, I'd agree that finesse is the key on the shoulder of the big rut. They're definitely more suspicious, but if they catch a scent of doe activity on the air it will still trip their trigger. They won't come in running stupid, but they will come. The sit still advice is always applicable.

One of the critical techniques that I have taught my sons is to scan the horizon constantly, by shifting the eyes from far left to right and back, and slowly turn the head an inch at a time. Jerking your head around every time a bird flits in the brush is a great way to spook a sneaking buck.

Buckbuster