On Thusday, I saw a nice buck out crusing through the switchgrass (just for some background, I'm in NW iowa in pure dirt farming country, but I'm hunting on 200 acres of switchgrass surrounded by corn/bean fields).
I watched him chase a smaller buck around, but basically he was out by himself looking for a girlfriend. He was on a hill 500 yards or so away and I thought I'd try & call him in. I hit the horns together and he swung around, looked toward me and started my way. He crossed a creek and then he started down a mowed path thru the switchgrass heading right toward me on a slow trot. There are a few other paths mowed thru the grass and when he got 75 yards away, instead of keeping on going straight down the same path he'd been following for 200 yards, he turned off and went down a different path that followed a fenceline behind & to my left (he was still on the property I'm hunting, but it makes an "L" right there). At this point, I hadn't called anymore, but instead of letting him walk out of my life forever, I grunted to him and he just kept going; I snort wheezed, which stopped him, but only for a second and he kept on. Then I lightly rattled and he threw his head up, turned on a dime, jumped the fence and headed my way. That presented a few problems because I can't shoot on the property behind me and I had to turn to see what was going on. I'm set up right on the fence along a thicket and he kept on coming and I thought he was going to jump the fence again, come around the thicket and give me a chip shot, but instead he stopped in his tracks behind the thicket, stood there for a minute and took off. The wind was in my favor so he must have made out my shape or saw me move a little.
Anyway, my question is this.....should I have called another time or two when he was on his way so that he could pinpoint where it was coming from?
I figured since he was basically coming in on a string and there was a path leading him right under me that no way he would turn off and I didn't want to over-call, but when he did, everything that happened afterwards was so unexpected I probably screwed myself out of a good buck.
It was a very cool experience, but I'd like some opinions for future reference.
I watched him chase a smaller buck around, but basically he was out by himself looking for a girlfriend. He was on a hill 500 yards or so away and I thought I'd try & call him in. I hit the horns together and he swung around, looked toward me and started my way. He crossed a creek and then he started down a mowed path thru the switchgrass heading right toward me on a slow trot. There are a few other paths mowed thru the grass and when he got 75 yards away, instead of keeping on going straight down the same path he'd been following for 200 yards, he turned off and went down a different path that followed a fenceline behind & to my left (he was still on the property I'm hunting, but it makes an "L" right there). At this point, I hadn't called anymore, but instead of letting him walk out of my life forever, I grunted to him and he just kept going; I snort wheezed, which stopped him, but only for a second and he kept on. Then I lightly rattled and he threw his head up, turned on a dime, jumped the fence and headed my way. That presented a few problems because I can't shoot on the property behind me and I had to turn to see what was going on. I'm set up right on the fence along a thicket and he kept on coming and I thought he was going to jump the fence again, come around the thicket and give me a chip shot, but instead he stopped in his tracks behind the thicket, stood there for a minute and took off. The wind was in my favor so he must have made out my shape or saw me move a little.
Anyway, my question is this.....should I have called another time or two when he was on his way so that he could pinpoint where it was coming from?
I figured since he was basically coming in on a string and there was a path leading him right under me that no way he would turn off and I didn't want to over-call, but when he did, everything that happened afterwards was so unexpected I probably screwed myself out of a good buck.
It was a very cool experience, but I'd like some opinions for future reference.
