any patterns associated with deer blowing/snorting?

[LogicallyCompromised]

this topic crossed my mind today when i did some last minute scouting. i did not have a clear idea on how i wanted to hunt this ridge which has many isolated beds and gets all rubbed out during the rut. these beds are like you have read and seen yourself; rotating around points and often up against some sort of object with thicker cover around most sides. if my plan manages to come together this fall i may share my information gleaned from scouting(with maps) and how i choose to hunt the spot.

caveat: below are two recent scouting stories where i try to associate the blow's i heard with maybe a gender of the deer? do bucks tends to blow more less if there is competition within the area? do you tend to see more mature deer blow more or less? maybe a doe will blow more or less when their fawn(s) are smaller and more hopeless? any other rhyme or reason to when you see a deer blow and what gender you were able to confirm it was?


we received a lot of rain last night and i figured i would try and scout this spot i had not been to since march. as i walked into the very thick woods i started following a prominent trail which was leading to one of the possible buck beds i had previously scouted; it had a couple rubs heading from the bed and one about 30 yard prior to reaching the bed(opposite side of tree/heading to the bed). i eventually reached a spot with heavy sign; paths merging and lots of deer feces. i stopped here and started to put together that this may be the staging area for the possible aforementioned buck. i began to look for a suitable tree without moving my location; maybe spent 2 minutes. i was having a difficult time and decided to press closer to the beds. i made it another 5 yards when i heard the loud blow from the ridge just above me; about 60 yards. i was in a thick area and moving slow and very quietly. i immediately started to retreat and reflect on this event. i would like to believe what i saw was indeed his? staging/safe area(pending how you define it). it would make sense that he? would not tolerate anything to get much closer than this area he? can account for with his senses. i also was surprised with the blow from such a far distance. i suspect, based on all the rubs i have seen here there are lots of property conflict and this deer was maybe more dominate and was not about to move. i think maybe a lesser dominate deer would just slip off without any noise when it sensed me but this deer wanted to challenge the noise, smell, maybe sight of me? based on what i have seen here and my limited experience i want to believe this was a mature buck but i am offering my experience here for those with more experience to help confirm or deny my suspicions. i can also see how a mature deer would trust his senses more and just safely retreat without alarming something to his presence.

about 5 days ago i was scouting more public land and decided to scout some nasty swap within 1/4 mile of a heavily rubbed peninsula. i made it 20 yards into the swap and crossed paths with some monster tracks; they were not dried up. after about 15 minutes of walking through a wet, thick, jungle i crossed my first bed; guessing 200-300 yards in. i made it another 50 yards from this bed when i heard something i was not able to pin point. after a minute stand off i moved closer. i then heard the unmistakable noise of a deer making about 2 quick leaps; it was within 30 yards but so thick as i could not see. i stopped and waited about 3minutes, before i decided to press further. i made it another couple yards over the course of several minutes before the deer blew at me. i did not move and the deer waiting about 10 seconds from the blow to gallop off. i moved in to confirm the bed quickly and mark the spot on my gps phone app than retreated. in both these instances i feel these deer were bucks. my limited knowledge wants to believe these deer were dominate and were trying to stand their ground in a heavily active rutting spot. as i also mentioned, i could see a big deer just leaving without drawing much attention to itself as well. both these deer i was very quiet as i moved. today i had the luxury of a wet ground and when in the swap i moved slow and methodical to limit my noise.

have you seen any patterns which suggest when a deer may blow?

thank you for your time and consideration.

[christian1]

Off the top of my head-1)I can never remember a deer blowing when it was close to me 2)It seems that does often blow when they wind you 3)I can't remember any known buck blowing at me. It always seems that it is does. I'm quite comfortable with anyone shooting down my thoughts, but as I recall hunts these are the things that I remember.

chris

[dan]

I have heard many people make claims of being able to tell buck from doe, or that bucks don't blow... But, from what I have observed there is no way to know for sure unless you see the animal do it... I got a pretty nice 8 pointer on film when I was filming my son Rat Slayer blow about a dozen times up close... Seen big bucks blow once, blow many times, and seen does do the same... The only thing I can say I think might be the case, and thats that I think does might blow more often than bucks because they are more worried about the group than a buck who is a loner and seems more likely to just sneak off.

[Terry]

While tracking deer, I have noticed that buck are a lot less likely to blow and they don't blow as many times when they do. Usually when I jump a buck I just catch a glimpse of his hind end quickly leaving. The doe on the other hand will often blow several times, but stick around a little longer in a panicked state.

[Zap]

Deer also blow to get all the air out of their lungs and take a good smell of what is around.

JMO.

[christian1]

[quote="dan"]I have heard many people make claims of being able to tell buck from doe, or that bucks don't blow... But, from what I have observed there is no way to know for sure unless you see the animal do it... I got a pretty nice 8 pointer on film when I was filming my son Rat Slayer blow about a dozen times up close... Seen big bucks blow once, blow many times, and seen does do the same... The only thing I can say I think might be the case, and thats that I think does might blow more often than bucks because they are more worried about the group than a buck who is a loner and seems more likely to just sneak off.[/quote

I can believe that. My experiences are mostly with does and not mature bucks which is why i said what I did.

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[Bowhunter4life]

Very few bucks i have witnessed blow or snort. Does on the other hand will do it for minutes on end.

[ Post made via Android ]

[bigwoodsmn]

Fiduccia's "Tactics for Talking to Deer" covers all vocalizations - That's not a direct answer but it is a home run of a DVD.

[ Post made via Android ]

[LogicallyCompromised]

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this has been my experience also. there are no bucks in connecticut on public land. i just hope one got lost from pennsylvania, new york or maybe new jersey.

.

thank you for sharing your experience. i still have some hope.

.

the couple times i have watched does blow at me they do seem to have this panicked, almost petrified with some strong emotion state(maybe fear) and do it several times before they actually leave the area. as mentioned in the story on both these instances the deer blew only one time. the first one left the area within 10 seconds of its blow. the one from earlier today i could not tell if it left the area as the ground was soft and may have suppressed its movement.

fingers crossed i may be lucky enough to see a couple inches of antlers this season.

.

makes sense, i did not note the wind. also, it was warm and the ground was wet -> the thermals may have carried my scent up to the deers ridge. i was in the possible staging area for close to 5 minutes. bottom line i was busted by this deer at more notable range and without a solid line of sight.

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i will use your experience with the glass half full interpretation; yes you have scene few bucks blow but typically when you have scene a doe blow there were several.

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thank you. i will continue to learn what i can about their vocalization and maybe one day i will purchase the recommended dvd.

thank you all for the feedback! i will try to remain objective even though we often see what we want to see.

[wiytwt]

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[Stanley]

I have noticed this; Does do blow more than bucks. Older bucks blow less than younger bucks. All deer in high pressured areas blow less than deer in low pressured areas. If you have a doe blowing at you, your chances of seeing a good buck diminish especially early season. During the rut it is not as damaging to your hunt. Just some observations over the years.

[Terry]

Fiduccia's "Tactics for Talking to Deer" covers all vocalizations - That's not a direct answer but it is a home run of a DVD.

[ Post made via Android ]

I have the DVD and a couple of his books that cover it as well, I recommend all of them.

One of his books also covers how he uses a snort call to his advantage. I have tried his techniques with pretty good success. A lot higher success rate luck than using conventional calls.

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[Terry]

This book:

http://www.woodsnwater.tv/product.cfm?page=164

[ Post made via Android ]

[bigwoodsmn]

The last 5 bucks my crew shot in MN in the last 2 years were called using an adult doe blat (not young bleat). It's a long whiny call that sounds like a lamb. You can do hands free with your mouth by tucking your chin and saying baaaaaaah long and whiney. No joke. I shot a 10 and an 8, my daughter shot a 10 my nephew called in, and my brother in law shot two smaller bucks at point blank with his bow. Our 3 bucks were mid November. His was opener last year in a Sept and the other early Nov. I called in two other bucks last year but got busted. They know right where you are at. Learned the call from Fiduccia. The bucks come in on a string when things are right. You have about 5 seconds where they're confused when they get close. Of course this only works when deer can hear you. Silent mornings, silent evenings...

Hal Blood always "snorts" loud once or twice at every buck he jumps when tracking. He said it keeps them closer and calmer. They don't always know what jumped them.

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[Terry]

I have had very minimal luck with any kind of call except the snort. To the point where I usually don't even carry a call at all 95% of the time I hunt. But when I am tracking I carry the snort to either freeze deer or bring them back. I have also used it to bust them from thick cover. Works like a charm when used properly!