Mule/Coues deer coming to distress calls?

huntinaz

huntinaz

New member
Hey guys, I was just wondering if anyone has had deer come to your distress calls. I called in two mule deer (one buck) the other day with a cottontail distress call, but doubt this is typical. I have seen mule deer come in on predator videos as well. I'm asking because my buddy has an archery deer tag and wants me to go out with him. I want to shoot coyotes and he wants to shoot a deer...you see the dilemma we have. So, what calls have you had success with calling in mule or coues deer? Maybe we can both be happy!
 
I call in mule deer seems like every time I go out. I haven't used my ghillie suit for a while, but last time I did I had some does and a small buck dang near close enough to poke with the rifle barrel. Happens all the time though. Seems like they respond pretty much to any distress sound.
 
I called a little 4 point muley to with in 25-30 yrds. He showed with in a minutes and brought his girls with him. Thought he was gunna kill me. Weasel and BroncoGlen were there also.
 
One thing I noticed last time I was out was that on several stands we saw coues deer spook soon after we started calling. This happened on at least 2 stands.
 
My experience with calling deer is that mule deer have come to a predator call overwhelmingly more often than whitetail deer. I can recall only one time a whitetail came to the call, all the rest ran away with flag raised. Since your friend has an archery deer tag I wouldn't be calling a predator call on his hunt. When the deer have come to the call they were on alert, they came but knew something wasn't right and were looking for it.
 
We have had a LOT of deer and antelope come to distress and howlers. The ones that seem to attract them the most are the Sceery Jack Rabbit and the Knight and Hale cottontail; both are closed reed calls. They seem to be very effective(with the deer) if there are coyotes in the immediate area at the time. We have had a few mule deer get practically in our laps while calling; the funniest being a pair of does raising a cloud of dust from about 3/4 mile out, full speed, right to 15 feet from us when they stopped. They moved into our scent cone and left!! Otherwise we may have needed to rock them. The howlers really get there shorts in a knot. Those are the times we worry about being stomped. Called in 6(mule deer) two days ago on a late afternoon set. To bad the 'yotes weren't as co-operative!! My 2cts worth.............
 
I have called in thousands of mule deer (not exagerating), but I have never tried calling Coues whitetail. So I do not know if this would work on those southern AZ carp deer....just kidding! Mule deer does are especially attracted to higher pitched noises. Use a sound pitch somewhere between a cottontail rabbit distress and a rodent. I call mule deer using an open reed mouth call by immitating a high pitched horse whinnie. Deer come in quickly within 5 minutes. Do not expect deer to come in after that. Bucks are not attracted to this sound, but will follow the does coming in. Typically deer beyond 1/4 mile away will not come running toward the call and will just stand there and look. Does come in agitated and pissed off like they want to kick your butt. I have had some coyotes respond while calling deer, but the deer sounds I use are not good coyote magnets. Better off using traditional rabbit noises for coyotes. A good tweener for both coyotes and mule deer would be the higher pitched cottontail distress sounds. Sorry, I can't help with calling Coues Whitetail.
 
Agree with everything here, but would add that the Doctors have called in alot of mule deer with a lower sounding call imitating a fawn distress. Does definitely more than bucks, so this may be much more productive for deer hunters in Nov-Dec. depending on where you live.
We would agree that you usually don't get the deer over a quarter mile to really come in closer, but they will stand up and so you can maybe plan a stalk easier. It is a great locator tool in rough country.
Doc
 
Last week I had a whitetail doe come in fast within seconds of starting cottontail distress on my Scorpion from up wind. Got to within about 10 feet of call but didn't move down wind. After several minutes she blew and left the way she came. A few minutes later she came sneaking back and I changed to kid goat distress and she came on in again and was all around the call for several minutes.
I have called whitetail does several times with a doe/fawn bleat mouth call. I don't do it any more when bow hunting because they are to wired and could possibly jump the string.
 
Mule deer have only showed mild interest in my calling and usually don't seem to stick around very long, but I have had them come in.

Elk on the other hand... I called in 6 bulls last weekend while on a stand in the Red Desert. They rounded the hill at 600 yards coming to only howls, then I switched to distress (just the normal calling routine). At the distress sounds, they came on a dead run, clearing a fence like it wasn't even there. I was about to jump up and wave them off, when they stopped at 50 yards. They stayed at 50 yards for 10 minutes beating the brush with their antlers and fighting with each other. Eventually my foot fell asleep and I had to move it, that scared them off. I've brought in 10 elk while predator calling this season, all bulls, all miles from the nearest tree, all running in hard.
 
Tuesday night at dusk I had a whitetail doe come to my scorpion running a cottontail distress sound. She came from about 200 yards out of a valley bottom up to my call and JIB decoy. Stopped 20 feet from it. I was set up crosswind about 80 yards away. She put her nose to the ground, and I don't know what I had on my boots after walking out to set up the decoy, but she kept her nose to the ground walked right on my tracks to within 20 yards of me. She then turned and moved slowly upwind. She never saw me sitting in a 2' snow drift, in plain sight. I switched to a different cottontail sound and she came back about 60 yards to within 20 feet of the decoy again, stopping and staring at it. I then switched to the Lightnin' Jack sound and she bolted back into the valley. She didn't like that one.

I just got this scorpion this year. I hope it works near this well during deer season next year. For now I have 2 coyotes called on about 10 sets with it so far. Those 2 sets that brought in dogs were consecutive, in the same night (3F at 2am, full moon). I keep doing that same routine that worked that night and haven't seen another one yet.
 
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