Editor’s Note: CVA Pro hunter Tony Smotherman discusses the value of using deer calls when hunting with your CVA muzzleloader rifle.

Question: Tony, let’s talk about deer calls. Do you use them or not?

Smotherman: I use deer calls quite frequently, but my experience has been that they only call in deer about 30 percent of the time.

Question: Tony, what’s your favorite deer call to use?

Smotherman: By using a deer call, you have a 30-percent-better chance of calling-in a buck than you have if you don’t use a deer call. If I was playing the lottery I’d be really excited if I had a 30-percent chance to win. But that 30-percent increase only applies if you’re using a grunt call. I believe that using the snort/wheeze is far-more effective then the grunt call. I’ll always have a snort/wheeze call in my pocket when I’m hunting. I consider the snort/wheeze a challenge call that says, “I am the toughest guy in the neighborhood. If you think you’re tougher than me, come over here, and prove it.” When a buck hears a snort/wheeze, he assumes that the buck that’s made that call will run him off, if he doesn’t leave. But if you use that call, and there’s a buck in the area that thinks he’s the dominant buck, then he’ll to come to that snort/wheeze call. To put it simply, Ibelieve that the snort/wheeze call works on any greedy buck that doesn’t mind banging his antlers on another buck. Therefore I think that the snort/wheeze call is more effective in the Midwest and West, where the buck-to-doe ratio is closer to 1:1, than it is in much of the East. Too, the bucks in the Midwest seem to enjoy fighting more then the bucks in the Southeast do.

For some reason, the bucks in the Midwest just seem to be tougher, perhaps due to age and size. In the Midwest, a 4-1/2-year-old buck will weigh around 250 pounds. Any deer that lives that long and gets that big will think he is dominant and tough enough to whip any deer that intrudes into his area. Remember that in a lot of instances, bucks are often like hunters. Some bucks are just a little-bit greedier than the other ones are. I took a buck in western Kentucky last year that was 3-1/2-years-old. He didn’t have terribly-big antlers – 120 range on the Boone and Crockett scale. But I have video-camera pictures of this buck pushing 4-1/2-and 5-1/2-year-old bucks out of the food plot that he thought belonged to him. This buck was fighting and whipping bucks that had 150- and 160-class antlers. This younger buck was just bad to the bone and more dominant than the older, bigger bucks he was running-off. I’ve learned that the snort/wheeze works on an aggressive buck, regardless of his age or the size of his antlers.

Puzzled by why a big buck would come to a scent he’d never smelled before, CVA interviewed deer researcher Dr. Karl Miller, professor of wildlife management at the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. Dr. Miller explained, “A deer will come-in to check-out any strange smell he finds. He wants to know what that new odor is, and what’s causing it.”

Many hunters are aware that deer will respond to strange smells. Some hunters use:

* shaving lotion;

* the smell of fresh paint;

* the smell of fresh earth;

* fox urine;

* doe urine;

* buck urine;

* tarsal gland and

* a wide variety of other scents and lures to bring deer to within bow or gun range at various times of deer season. Sometimes when you find a buck in a place you can’t reach, such as a clear-cut or a thicket or across a property line, you often can use deer lure to bring that buck to you.

Not all deer lures work equally well, and you’ll find some more effective than others. Dr. Larry Marchinton, retired professor of wildlife biology at the University of Georgia and longtime deer researcher, says, “Lures will work sometimes. Often I think deer react to a lure more out of curiosity than anything else. They may be responding to a strange scent in their environment.” Michael Cartwright, former wildlife biologist for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, mentions that, “During the breeding season, the communication between the bucks and does is very strong. That’s why the behavior pattern of a buck changes, and he begins to make scrape lines and deposit scent through urine over his tarsal glands on his hind legs. The urine mixes with the scent on the tarsal gland, leaves a very-strong smell and communicates information to other deer in the area – both does and bucks. The bucks can tell by the scent a doe leaves whether or not she’s receptive to breeding during the breeding season. Scent communication is much-more developed in deer than in humans.” Lee Christianson of Wisconsin, an avid deer hunter, explains that, “Basically lures are a sex lure that initiates a breeding response, a food lure that calls deer to eat or a curiosity lure that stimulates a deer to come and investigate. You’ve heard the old saying that curiosity kills the cat. I believe curiosity has killed more deer than it has cats. Deer are gregarious herd animals and very social. Because they want to meet and greet new individuals in their herd, they’ll investigate the smells of what they perceive to be other deer.”

Too, for scents to pay buck dividends, you must match those scents to the amount of hunting pressure in an area. As one hunter explained to me, “At the beginning of bow season, deer are in full-rut mode hardly anywhere in the country. So, you may not want to use a sex scent at this time of the year. You may prefer to choose a different type of scent. If you’re hunting in a high-pressure region on opening day of deer season, and everybody hunting is putting-out some type of deer lure, then any deer lure probably will be counterproductive because of the large amount of lure being put-out by hunters.” Many hunters consider the words, buck lure, a misnomer. A buck lure probably contains hormones a doe will give-off when she’s ready or getting ready to mate. These hormones attract the buck because of his natural mating instincts.

Dr. Marchinton believes that, “Many things are labeled buck lures. If the tarsal scents are made from tarsal glands, and if that scent is representative of the actual smell of a deer, then we think this lure can communicate the individuality of the animal. That scent may be able to communicate the sex of the animal that has produced the scent. We strongly suspect that the scent probably even communicates the social position or rank of that deer in the herd. This theory is not proven and is not scientific fact. Biologists only have some circumstantial evidence to support this idea.”

Question: Tony, BPI (Black Powder Products, Inc.), which owns CVA, sells interchangeable Bergara barrels for the CVA Apex. What barrels besides the .50-caliber barrel do you use and why?

Smotherman: Bergara makes many different barrels for the Apex and the Thompson/Center Encore rifles. There are several reasons why a hunter may want to purchase an interchangeable barrel of a different caliber. One reason is the ability to easily change a muzzleloader from a muzzleloader rifle to a centerfire rifle. My first choice for a second barrel is a .243-caliber Bergara barrel. When my two young sons, 13-year-old Alex and 10-year-old Andrew, go with me to the range, I’ll have a rifle set-up with the .243-caliber barrel for them to shoot. I can train them to shoot a rifle with the .243, because it has little recoil, yet is still a deer-caliber rifle. The boys can get accustomed to learning to squeeze the trigger, rather than pulling the trigger, and they can get used to recoil, without becoming fearful of the kick. They can shoot that .243 all-day long without getting a shoulder bruise, and it helps them to shoot a rifle without flinching in anticipation of the recoil. The .243 has plenty of knock-down power to take-down a deer in any hunting situation. A friend of mine actually hunts mule deer with a .243. With the .243, my sons can practice with me on the range, and then when we go hunting, they have a rifle they’re comfortable shooting that they can shoot accurately and use to harvest deer.

In less than 30 seconds after I shoot my .50-caliber rifle, I can remove the .50-caliber barrel and replace it with the .243-caliber Bergara barrel. Then Daddy’s gun becomes their gun. Their scope is mounted to that .243 barrel, so they don’t have to wait a long time to begin shooting after I’ve finished shooting. Each Bergara barrel I have has a new scope mounted on it, and that scope stays on that barrel. So, when I change-out barrels, I also change-out sighting systems. One advantage of the CVA Apex is that the barrel and the Apex’s platform is pieced together so tightly that once I have a particular caliber sighted-in, even when I change barrels, I don’t have to re-sight-in the scope, because the scope on each barrel is dead-on when it’s put on the Apex. Also, with the .243, I can take my boys hunting with me. Whether we’re in a ground blind or a shooting house, if a big buck I want to take doesn’t show-up, but one of the boys wants to take a doe, I easily can change-out barrels. Then my boys can take does. The interchangeable barrel system makes hunting more fun for me and my family.

Editor’s Note: On a recent hunting trip to the Ford Ranch near Melvin, Texas, using the .243-caliber CVA Optima Elite, Michelle Kirby, wife of Quaker Boy President Chris Kirby of Orchard Park, New York, took two trophy-sized bucks, while her husband only took one. Michelle’s a serious and accomplished hunter, and has taken deer with her bow, a muzzleloading rifle and a traditional rifle. But she’ll never forget the G-1 she took at the Ford Ranch in early December, 2010, with her .243-caliber CVA Optima Elite.

Question: Michelle, tell us about your hunts at the Ford Ranch.
Kirby: I took my first big deer, hunting with Steve West. But the deer I remember the most is the second buck I took at Ford Ranch. I had a lot of confidence in the .243-caliber CVA Optima Elite, because I’d taken a nice-sized buck with that rifle the day before. I was sitting on my stand when I saw an 8-point buck. There were about 11-other deer around my stand, and then deer started coming from everywhere. When I spotted this 8-point buck 2 afternoons before when we first arrived at the Ford Ranch, he was so close that I could have taken him with my bow.

Forrest Armke, ranch manager at the Ford Ranch, flies-over the 30,000-acre ranch in a helicopter each year and tries to photograph the trophy bucks on the ranch. One of the bucks he photographed had extremely long G-1s that were in a heart shape and almost touched. These G-1s were some of the longest I’d ever seen when Forrest showed us the picture. We asked Armke to show that picture to us several times, because we just couldn’t believe the length of that buck’s G-1s. We named this buck G-1.

When I saw G-1, he wouldn’t stop; instead, he kept walking by my stand and didn’t present a shot. I’d already taken my trophy-sized buck, so I was planning to bag a pencil-horn spike or a doe. But about 15-minutes later, G-1 returned. I looked through my binoculars, and I was confident that this was the deer I’d seen in the photograph. I picked-up my gun and laid it on my lap. I didn’t really want to shoot another trophy buck, but as the deer kept coming, I wrestled with whether to shoot him or not. Then the G-1 buck started walking away, and I thought, “Okay, this is perfect, I don’t have to make a decision.” But, the buck turned-around and came back toward my stand. When G-1 was at 30 yards, I couldn’t stand the pressure anymore. I picked-up my .243-caliber CVA Optima Elite and dropped him where he stood. When I walked-up and saw the deer, I couldn’t believe I’d taken him. Next, I thought about Chris. I didn’t know whether Chris would be happy or upset that I’d taken a second trophy buck, because although this was permissible, you had to pay for a second hunt. Five minutes later, Chris showed-up, and I told him that I took G-1. Chris was really excited for me and proud of the deer I’d taken with my .243-caliber CVA Optima Elite. Although CVA no longer produces the Optima Elite, the company fully supports this gun. CVA has replaced this rifle with the Apex, which also uses interchangeable Bergara barrels.

To learn more about the Ford Ranch, go to www.fordranchhunting.net/, email fordranch@hotmail.com, or call Forrest Armke, ranch manager at 325-286-4572.

Editor’s Note: Allen Treadwell of Seligman, Missouri, is on CVA’s Professional Hunt Team and Hunter’s Specialties’ Professional Hunt Team and is the co-host of Bass Pro Shops’ “100% Real Hunting” TV show and Winchester’s “Whitetail Revolution” TV show, both airing on the Versus Network. 

I get as big a thrill when I harvest a big, mature doe with my CVA Muzzloader rifle as I do when I harvest a big, mature buck. If you take a 4-1/2- or a 5-1/2-year-old doe, she’s just as smart as a 4-1/2- or a 5-1/2-year-old buck, and maybe even smarter. Remember, mature does teach the fawns how to avoid danger. They’ve lived longer than most other deer in the herd and are much more keen at detecting human odor, noises and the silhouettes of hunters, even if they’re dressed in camo. That doe has survived as long, if not longer, than a buck with 160 inches of antler on the top of his head. Those does have been in the field where there were hunters and know all the games hunters play. Hunting old, mature does also will make you a better deer hunter. That old doe won’t let you make a mistake and get away with it. Just because she doesn’t have horns on top of her head doesn’t mean she’s not still a trophy, and you shouldn’t be proud of her.

Also, you have an opportunity to use your muzzleloader more often when taking does than you do when harvesting bucks. In many states, you can take more does than bucks. In states like Alabama, you can take a doe a day, and at certain times of year, on specific lands, you even can take more does in a day. Another thing about hunting does with your CVA muzzleloader rifle, is you can see how your loads, bullets and powder charges perform on an animal instead of a piece of paper. To be honest, I won’t be nearly as upset about missing a doe as I’ll be about missing a buck. Early in the season, before the rut arrives, and you seriously start hunting bucks, is the best time to take does. Taking a good number of does every year, especially in the early season, also helps you to calm your nerves, learn how to hold your breath as you take the shot and hold your rifle steady. Whether I’m hunting does or bucks, I always take Caldwell Shooting Sticks with me. This way, I can make sure I have a good, solid rest. Whether you’re shooting a CVA Accura, like I do, or any other type of muzzleloader rifle, a quality rest will make you more accurate and more successful.

I try to make the best shot to produce the quickest and the cleanest kill I can. I’ve learned over the years that having a good rest is one of the major keys to accomplishing this goal. Any time you get a new gun, you first need to spend time on the range learning how your bullet, powder, cap and scope perform on paper. Then before you begin seriously hunting a big buck, I suggest you start taking does. Taking does in the early part of the season will help you build confidence in your blackpowder rifle. Also, you’re helping the landowner to control his herd and helping the herd to keep its numbers in check to prevent overpopulation. You also are reducing the number of mouths eating the browse on that property; therefore, older-age-class bucks will have more to eat and will live longer and be able to grow to full maturity. Most landowners will allow you to come-in and take does and cull bucks. Let’s face it. Taking several does and a cull buck or two can be 1 or 2 day’s work – time to find the deer, take the deer and then field dress it, skin it, quarter it, cut it up, package it and take it home. One of the best ways to prepare mentally for a hunt like this is to decide before you leave home, “I’m not going to take a big buck. I’m going to help out the landowner and only shoot does and cull bucks, if that’s what the landowner wants.”