Deer calls do they work?

[RogerTheCat]

Each year I set myself some target species to photograph. This year one of the species is Deer. I live in an area of Devon with a good population of Roe Deer so thought I would start with them. I have been doing some research and one thing I have found are a number of Roe Deer Calls. They replicate the call of the Roe Deer and I guess the idea is to attract the deer closer to you. My question is do they work? If they do then which ones should I buy as I have seen prices that Range from £17 to £50. Finally I have found other calls that claim to attract different species of animals such as foxes. Do any of these work?

[salukiwhippet]

Calling deer is done a great deal in the states, it's yet to catch on here. I have no experience of it, but the "buttolo" (not sure that's spelt right, blame the beer!) seems popular for roe in the rut and there was an article in sporting rifle last month about calling muntjac with one too

Fox calls do work. I use them a lot, a prime example being last summer, we saw a fox aout 100 yards away and a friend of mine squeaked it to within 8 yards, I had to call 'stop' to stop it coming!
The electronic calls are good, but with practice you can bring foxes in without any aids. Most other predators will respond too - badgers, stoats etc.

I seem to recall there's quite a bit of footage on youtube, some will end in the animal being shot, so be warned

HTH

James

[Badger Watching Man]

Not really an answer I'm afraid, more of another question.

I've read that you can use squeaky toys, such as dog toys, to call up deer. Has anyone tried this? Did it work?

[The Woodman]

The Roe call may work. It replicates the soft quiet whistle the doe makes when she's in oestrus and ready to be mated. If a buck is near and hears it, he can come to the call very quickly or just appear as if from nowhere. It has to be used sparingly, use the wind and get well camo'd.

It is probably one of the more difficult calls to use successfully. I really don't think squeaky dog toy can be used for Roe, some Foxes come like trains to them.

Fox calling is a doddle compared to Roe calling.

When you find a well used area, set up your hide and consider baiting the area in front regularly with sheep nuts or calf pencils. Salt licks are a favourite with deer too.

[muldonach]

I've never tried calling roe myself but from reading, yes it does work but mainlly in the rut, and success is highly variable. At this time of year when the cover is sparse there is plenty of opportunity to see deer without needing to call them.

Again from reading the sqeaky toy is most likely to be effective on sika

Cheers
mac