Hunters go head-to-head in Germany’s deer calling championship

The German National Stag Calling Championship took place last Friday at the Jagd & Hund trade fair in Dortmund, where hunters vied for the coveted title by mimicking the sound of a bellowing red deer.

A tradition that dates back hundreds of years, stag calling was originally used to lure out stags during the rutting season, giving hunters the opportunity to assess their quarry before deciding to take a shot. But in modern times, it’s all about technique, timing, and resonance.

The competition had no animals in sight, but the sounds were certainly enough to transport listeners straight into the heart of the forest. Dressed in traditional hunting attire, complete with green hats adorned with tufts of chamois hair, the competitors employed an array of curious instruments to amplify their calls. From ox horns and triton snail shells to glass cylinders and even hollow stems of giant hogweed, these creative tools helped recreate the unique and varied vocalisations of the stag.

The calls made by the competitors were judged on their authenticity, with stags’ bellowing noises known to vary depending on the age of the animal, the mood of the herd, and the stage of the rut. The organisers explained that stags' calls can range from the commanding, hoarse bellows of an old stag to the more subtle sounds made by younger males in search of a mate.

Three distinct disciplines were featured in the championship. The hunters were tasked with calling the old, searching stag, the dominant male among a pack of does, and finally, the dramatic calling duel between two equally strong stags during the peak of the rut. With the jury listening intently with their eyes closed, there was no room for distractions.

“The stag calling for me, it’s the fascinating thing to play with the stags,” said Fabian Wenzel, who triumphed in the competition. “And maybe shoot an old stag after calling him – that’s the biggest thing for every hunter.”

Wenzel, from the small Bavarian village of Nüdlingen, claimed the championship for the fifth year running and will now go on to represent Germany at the European Stag Calling Championships in Lithuania this October.