How To Use Deer Calls: Grunts, Bleats, and Rattling
Learn when and how to use grunt calls, bleat calls, and rattling to bring rutting bucks within range.
How To Use a Grunt Call for Bucks
A grunt call mimics a buck’s natural vocalizations, and the type you use depends on the situation.
- Standard grunt: A short, guttural grunt that lets other deer know a buck is nearby. Use it any time of year.
- Tending grunt: A rhythmic, rapid grunt that mimics a buck courting a doe. Reserve it for the rut.
- Buck roar: A long, drawn-out grunt that signals dominance. It’s too aggressive to use outside the rut.
During the rut, grunt about once an hour to avoid overcalling.
When and How To Use a Deer Bleat Call
Bleat calls work year-round as a social sound, but they’re most effective during the rut, when an estrus bleat can pull in a buck searching for a doe in heat.
Does and fawns bleat routinely, so a standard bleat rarely spooks nearby deer. Blow a bleat every hour or so, alongside your grunting, to sound natural without overcalling.
How To Rattle for Deer
Rattling works best when it matches the season: light and tentative in the early season to mimic bucks sparring, and aggressive during the rut to sound like two bucks fighting over a doe.
Break a rattling sequence into two or three bursts of seven to 10 seconds, adding grunts and a bleat to paint the picture of two bucks fighting over a doe. Limit rattling to once or twice per sit during the rut—real buck fights are rare enough that overdoing it reads as unnatural. Avoid rattling once a buck is already headed your way; if he’s close and hears rattling, he’ll expect to see two deer, and when he doesn’t, he’ll high tail it out of there.
Match the Rut: Which Call To Use When
- Pre-rut: Aggressive grunts and rattling sessions mimic bucks fired up and ready to fight for breeding rights.
- Peak rut: Tending grunts and estrus bleats mimic a doe in heat and the bucks chasing her.
- Post-rut: Grunts and rattling mimic bucks still fighting over the last does to breed as the rut winds down.
