Many hunters can be divided into two categories. The first group sits silent, motionless and hidden until a game animal wanders or flies into view. This tried-and-true hunting method takes plenty of game, but some people prefer a more 'active' approach. This group of hunters also remains hidden, but they make plenty of noise. They are wildlife callers, and their success depends on producing a convincing enough reproduction of an animal’s calls to convince a game animal to come to them.

But, you can’t simply buy a call, head to the woods and reap the rewards of game flooding to your calls. Just like any worthwhile activity, becoming a competent caller takes practice and education. No matter if your interest lies in calling turkeys, waterfowl, deer, elk or whatever, each call demands the appropriate calling technique, and the only way to become competent is to learn what the call should sound like, how much to call, where and when to call, and a long list of others. The following are some tips and suggestions on starting or improving your calling for a variety of species:

Deer
Deer simply don’t vocalize like turkeys. In fact, many hunters have spent a lot of time in the woods and have never heard a deer make any type of noise. But they do vocalize, usually in the form of a grunt or a bleat. (They also 'snort,' but this often is associated with an alarmed deer, and isn’t a sound commonly used by hunters.)

The grunting sound of a buck whitetail is perhaps the best-known call for luring deer. In fact, so many hunters use grunt calls that a fall walk through the woods can sound like the 'bean scene' from Blazing Saddles!

Bucks are territorial during fall, and often come to a grunt call in an attempt to run off a buck that might compete for the affection of any does in the area. Fawn and doe bleats also bring bucks within range. In Calling Whitetail Deer, the book he penned with Harold Knight, David Hale says that a fawn bleat call is his favorite early season call. 'When used sparingly, this call can produce some exciting results,' he said. 'When I say sparingly, I mean producing only one or two ‘BLA-Aas’ and that’s it — no more!'

David Hale’s No. 1 deer calling tip: 'No matter if you’re using a grunt call or a doe bleat, the more sound you produce with the call, the better the chances the deer will locate your exact position.'

Elk
Practice is key to calling elk. Practice until you can make a wide variety of elk vocalizations long before you ever set foot on an elk hunt. There are plenty of places to get instruction, from short audio CDs to full-length video DVDs.

When you head out to hunt, start the morning out with only a cow call. If you get a bull to answer your first cow call, why bugle?

Create an illusion of a small herd of elk of various ages is important to playing on a big bull’s herding instinct. Use different calls to sound like elk of various ages, and begin calling sequences at a new location with shorter calls to mimic an animal that is a little distressed or lost. As you continue that calling sequence, make your calls longer to imply that the elk are calming down.

Squirrel
Did you know that even squirrels can be called? By barking or chattering on the call, hunters can convince squirrels to come out and take a look at what’s going on, and usually that’s all it takes to harvest them. The Knight & Hale Squirrel call works on both grey and fox squirrels, and comes with either an instructional cassette tape or informative VHS providing all of the information you need to become a successful squirrel caller.

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