Long, aggressive blow (snort)?

[BorealBushMN]

Earlier in October, I was still-hunting/scouting slowly through an old clear-cut. OnX says it was cut in 09. It was thick in spots, but had a good amount of open area. Found a ton of moose sign, but found a bit of deer sign and one pile of fresher poop that was definitely larger, not moose large, but big bodied deer large.

Anyway, as I worked my way through, I occasionally threw out a grunt or 2 to maybe sound like a deer moving through. I got into a really thick spot, so came to the conclusion I would hustle threw it, rip off the band-aid and then sit quiet once I got through the low area and back on the higher, more open ground. As I hustled threw, I threw out a few grunts and raked a tree aggressively, then went quiet. After a small bit of time, on my back trail, I heard the loudest, longest and most aggressive snort (blow) I have ever heard. It wasn’t your average 1-2 second snort, it was 4-5 seconds, from the depths of a very large animal. And it wasn’t just once, that thing stood there, right on the other side of the thick I just plowed through for a good minute giving me the business. I grunted a few times and mimicked thrashing a tree. It went quiet and I got ready just in case, then I grunted again and moved a few steps away. Then it started up again. I knew this time the gig was up but couldn’t get over how mad and aggravated this thing was. I assume it was a big buck, but I suppose it could have been a mature doe. Either way, I knew it came from a mature whitetail. I thought maybe it was a moose, but I honestly don’t think a moose even blows like a deer does, and then when I eventually heard it bound off, it definitely bounded away like a deer does, snorting the whole way back to the swamp.

While I was bummed it didn’t work out, I sure was pumped to experience that and had my hopes set on getting another crack at that beast later in the season. (Hasn’t happened yet).

Has anyone else had a deer repeatedly blow long, aggressive snorts like that before? Am I right to believe it was a big, undisturbed buck telling me to GET out of his bedroom? I was back deep! If moose are present, you know you’re a long way from where humans normally roam.

I’ve been back there a few times since, but haven’t encountered much of anything back there. But like all over up here, with the low deer densities, they just don’t lay down sign like they normally do when there’s a lot of competition. I haven’t been back since the snow to look for tracks yet. That should tell me if there’s a big one frequenting the area or not.

[brewster_239]

Is it possible you're describing the "snort wheeze" sound, rather than the typical "alarm blow" we all hear when we bump a group of does? If so, that's definitely a pissed off buck noise.

[BorealBushMN]

Is it possible you're describing the "snort wheeze" sound, rather than the typical "alarm blow" we all hear when we bump a group of does? If so, that's definitely a pissed off buck noise.

No, it was definitely an alarm blow. It probably was a big, old momma doe. But I want to believe it was a monster buck!