CALLING BUCKS AND DEFLECTED ARROWS
I shot this buck at a range of about 20 yards. The buck was very slightly quartering toward me and I hit the back of his near side leg on entry. The arrow deflected back and hit only one lung and liver. Deflections on impact are not common but they do occur.
Greg’s hunt and my hunt had two common themes in this episode. First, we both made what looked like perfect hits to the eye but actually produced less than perfect results due to the arrow deflecting off bone on entry. Second, we both called in our bucks. In this companion blog, I am going to talk about both of these factors.
Deflected Arrows: I have not seen this a lot and to have two of them in a very short span of two days was interesting and caused me to do some thinking. My arrow hit the back of the “elbow” on the buck and deflected backward. He was quartering toward me very slightly so the deflection caused the arrow hit hit one lung and liver instead of a square double lung or even heart shot.
Greg’s situation was very similar. I think his arrow also deflected off the leg bone or off a rib. I am not sure, but I do know his arrow also angled back upon hitting the deer.
There is not a lot we can change about this, other than just realizing it can occur. I don’t want to stop aiming close to that leg, especially on slight quartering-toward shots. I covered it in the Mystery Hits blog: never take anything for granted. Just because you think you saw a certain thing, that doesn’t mean it for happened that way.
Both Greg and I called in the bucks we killed on this episode. Calling has greatly increased the number of bucks I have shot over the years, but you have to be a bit careful. Too much calling can spook or educate bucks.
Calling Bucks: Greg and I both called in the bucks we shot in this episode. I have called in a very high percentage of the bucks I have shot over the years, at least half. I never go deer hunting without a grunt call.
The method I use is very simple. I just increase the volume of my grunts until the buck shows that he has heard it. Then I give him one more to home in on. After that I go silent. If he doesn’t come my way after a short while, I may snort wheeze at him using my mouth, but that is about it.
They are either going to come in as soon as they hear it, or they likely won’t come at all. It all comes down to the mood they are in. Sometimes if they have something else on their mind, they will take care of that first and then drift back later. I have seen this a number of times.
Some deer get called to a lot and lots of calling just spooks them. If you are hunting an area with a lot of hunting pressure, go easy on the calling. I never call blind. I only call to bucks I have seen that I want to get a better look at. This keeps me from calling in bucks regularly that I don’t see (and then spook) or don’t want to shoot and then eventually educate.
If the buck you are calling to doesn’t acknowledge the call (stop and stare), there is a very high probability that he didn’t hear it. Keep increasing the volume until he finally hears it. I have had to use the shrill snort-wheeze on windy days because the bucks just can’t hear the grunt well under those conditions.
If you aren’t calling to bucks that you want to shoot that are passing out of range, you are missing a great opportunity to increase your reach and fill more tags.
