Bleats
Deer bleats are most often associated with fawns, but does regularly bleat too. A bleat is a contact call saying, "Here I am, where are you?" Bleats are often very subtle, as in the opening story, but they can also be urgent, as when a fawn is hurt or in trouble.

By rattling on the ground, you can add realism by pounding the butts of the antlers on the ground to simulate hoof beats.

I clearly remember the first deer I ever called into bow range, a huge North Dakota doe that nearly bowled me over after I'd completed a loud, panicked series on an old Burnham Brothers bleat call. Bleats -- especially the softer variety -- can work throughout the season. But urgent bleats have worked best for me early in the season when fawns are still with their mothers.

Grunts Most people associate grunt calls only with mature bucks, but all deer make grunting noises, including does and fawns. Again, most grunts are contact calls made throughout the year, but as the rut approaches, bucks turn up the grunting and get louder and more aggressive.

When a big buck gets angry or frustrated, his grunts can turn into a virtual growl lasting several seconds, or he can run a series of staccato-like grunts together, ascending in force and volume, usually after he takes off after an unwilling doe. I have grunted-in whitetails every month of the year, both while hunting during the fall and while scouting during the off-season. The grunt call may be the most versatile of all.

My preference is for the aggressive grunting that comes with the approaching rut, because bucks often react quickly and violently. I once grunted in a P&Y deer in Missouri in conjunction with a decoy, and by the time he'd stalked into range, the buck was so angry that he charged the decoy without hesitation and literally blew it to pieces!

Bawls
A bawl is a long, drawn-out doe sound, very nasal and plaintive, and based on my experience, I believe does make this sound when they're actually ready to breed. I witnessed an amazing whitetail encounter on a Nebraska ridge a few years ago as a big buck bred a yearling doe five times within 50 yards of my stand.

The doe's bawling played a key role in the encounter. The initial breeding was short lived, after which the buck began walking away. But the doe had other plans! Squatting down, she dragged her derriere through the dry forest clutter while emitting the most plaintive bawl I have ever heard. Immediately the buck charged over and mounted her again. The pair repeated this scenario three more times before they headed off to parts unknown, but the doe's bawling was like a switch to turn on that particular buck's libido, and it definitely worked. Since then, I have used a similar bawl to call bucks within range. It seems to work when all else fails.

Snort-wheeze
The snort-wheeze must be like one buck insulting another's mother or heritage or manhood because it very often ends up in a nasty fight. Bucks create the snort-wheeze by expelling air, and if you've seen it performed up close, you know it involves a fair amount of saliva. Rarely does a snort-wheeze scare another buck, and most of the time bucks will come all the way in, or at least come closer for a better look.

This past year in Kansas, I was watching a picked cornfield full of does early one morning when a 170-class buck stepped from the dense cover on the other side of the field. My doe bleats, grunts, and even a seductive bawl brought no response from the buck. So I shot him an in-your-face snort-wheeze.