Travis Smola
Hunting Season Noises

These are our favorite sounds of November.

November is full swing and for many outdoorsmen and women, this is their favorite time of year due to hunting season.

Most deer ruts, both whitetail and mule deer are in full swing. Antlers are clashing and there are so many vocalizations you can only hear at this time of year.

Here are some of our favorite outdoor sounds of nature.

These are the different sounds that remind us every November why we’re sitting out here in freezing cold temperatures.

Doe Bleat

November is mating season for most deer, and dominant bucks are out cruising for does. So, whenever we have a doe in front of us making a big racket, we get excited!

More so in November than the pre-rut or post-rut, because this deer sound is more likely to bring in a mature buck now than at any other time of year. Whenever I have a doe making an estrus bleat in front of me, my head is on a swivel, watching for her potential suitors.

Buck Grunt

Nothing gets the blood pumping while gun or bowhunting like hearing the loud cracking of sticks and branches and a series of excited buck trailing grunts or tending grunts. There really is nothing else that is quite as exciting in deer hunting, because you know a buck is hot on the trail of a doe and they’re right on top of your deer stand.

Hope you’re ready to make the shot!

This is our favorite sound that deer make because there’s just no mistaking it when you hear grunting. You’re about to see a buck and it makes your mind race wondering if it’s the big one!

Antlers clashing

This sound will make the hearts of deer hunters skip a beat. There is no mistaking it when you hear it. Two bucks are sparring or fighting.

The noise of antlers clashing together echoes through the cold November woods and you know a chance at an animal may be coming with it. We love the sounds of antlers clashing for any big game. It’s even more impressive when you’re talking elk or moose.

It’s just one of those sounds where there is nothing else like it in nature and that’s why we look forward to hearing it every year.

Any turkey sounds

Sure, we love the big game sounds of the woods in November, but wild turkeys are vocal all year-round and we love to hear it. Even if it’s just adding ambiance to our sit in the woods.

We enjoy all turkey sounds this time of year, whether it’s a bunch of yelps, some clucks or even the occasional gobble from a fat Tom. It’s cool to hear those sounds in the spring during turkey season.

But hearing them in the fall just makes it feel more like we’ve found outdoor paradise when we’re hearing these sounds combined with the others on this list.

Elk Bugle

The first time I heard an elk bugle was in Yellowstone National Park during a fall visit. I heard it come echoing out of a hollow in Hayden Valley. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up in excitement.

An elk bugle is just so much louder than you expect it to be and it’s just a cool and iconic sound. You often must be listening closely in order to hear many deer calls like grunt calls and other sounds. But with an elk bugle, it’s near impossible to miss it. It’s an iconic sound we like to associate with the wild nature of the American West and it gets our blood pumping every time we hear it.

Duck vocalizations (and wings beating)

If you’re a waterfowl hunter, nothing gets you more excited than hearing the excited chatter of ducks and their wings flapping on a frosty morning hunt. They’re coming and they’re coming in fast. Put down that coffee and get your shotgun ready, because these mallards are making a beeline for your decoys.

We could actually put just about any waterfowl call on here. There’s just something special about sitting over a group of decoys. But it’s even better when you hear the sounds of the first group of birds of the day as they wing their way onto your setup.

The sound of a gun or bow!

While we enjoy all these natural sounds in the woods this time of year, the only thing that makes it even better is that “thwack” sound of an arrow hitting its mark or our gun going off. The only thing better than hearing this from our own gun or bow, is hearing such a sound coming from the direction a friend or relative is sitting! We’re hoping we’ll get to hear this sound again this year over all others and we hope you will too!

For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis Youtube channels

NEXT: HOW TO KEEP YOUR WIFE OR GIRLFRIEND HAPPY DURING DEER SEASON

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The post Noises of November: All the Sounds We Love to Hear in the Peak of the Fall Hunting Season appeared first on Wide Open Spaces.

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