How to choose a call

Game calls have been around for nearly 400 years. Duck calls were among the first type readily available; they were used to entice ducks into caged enclosures. It was the 20th century before calls were mass-produced for waterfowl, big game, small game, and predators. Today, just about every type of call imaginable is available to imitate natural vocalizations and sounds and entice wildlife into range, and deer calls are among the most-diverse types available to hunters in North America.

Deer calls can imitate every vocalization and noise a deer could possibly produce to attract other deer into the area, including doe bleats, fawn bleats, grunts, wheezes, snorts and other types of calls that sound like antlers rattling together.

While most calls produce sound when the user blows or sucks air across a reed or series of reeds, some are designed to produce sounds via gravity or from physical maneuvering.

Few deer calls are created equal. Each manufacturer produces its own calls to emit certain sounds of varying tone, volume and rhythm they feel will better entice deer from a distance.

When deciding to purchase a deer call, hunters need to choose the calls based on the specific situation they intend to replicate. Even though deer will produce vocalizations throughout the year, certain calls such as rattling, wheezes and snorts are typically only effective during the mating season. More commonly, bleats and grunts are used throughout the year and can be very effective for calling deer into range during the height of the rut.

When choosing between specific calls, hunters should choose calls that will function well during a wide range of conditions. Knight & Hale was the call manufacturer to patent a deer call, and Harold Knight prefers calls that are versatile, able to produce a wide range of sounds.

“Deer make all kinds of noises, and few grunts will ever sound exactly alike,” he said. “I have made and sold hundreds of thousands of deer calls over the last 30 years, and I personally like ones you can activate by inhaling or exhaling and (that) will blow loud, soft and at different speeds — like the second deer call that I ever made, the Easy Grunter Plus. I love to hear that clicking sound when you slow down that call. It can be deadly.”

Calls produce different sounds depending on which direction the air is pushed or pulled across the reeds and which end of the call the sound is coming out. Versatile calls producing different tones, pitches, and notes may be right recipe for enticing a wearing buck into range.

Fortunately, calls are not overly complicated. According to Knight, a novice caller can experience a very short learning curve.

“In 10 minutes, you can master it and sound pretty good very quickly,” he said.