I hunt in a quite desolate area and will never use scent until the first week of Nov (rut just getting going). Doe bleats early in the year...very discretly will occasionaly work, and what I have seen will not spook deer out of an area. Come the rut though, they can be very vocal and will respond.

Last bow season (Nov 9) I shot a nice, somewhat nontypical 10 point. I had a canister of tinks 69 in front of me hanging in a tree and a doe came in from my right. She milled around under me when she quickly looked behind me and I slowly peered over my right shoulder and I saw the top of a rack and a big body. She finally walked straight away in front of me. I tipped my " can" one long bleat and two short ones, then instantly gave a long low grunt. I didn' t even finish the grunt and I heard a few twigs snap over my left shoulder. Slowly turned and there he was about 15 years peering back and forth then made a scrape then quickly rubbed a tree. A few more steps after stopping under my tree and he was mine. Granted, there was a doe that he was parreleling, but I truely beleive the look in his eyes (beleive me I saw it) told me that he was pi$$ed looking for a buck taking his little hottie away from him.

During the rifle season, late November last year, I had a medium size 8 milling around a doe in a clear cut and I wasn' t sure if he was a shooter, but thought not, but what the heck....I grunted once and he never looked. Gave another LOUD grunt (he was a good 150 yards away) and snapped his head right up. One more medium sound grunt and he took off on a rope. He jumped a big fallen tree, started trotting right towards me after breaking through some ice and tripping once or twice. When he got to about 40 yards he stopped and just started looking back and forth. He started walking right towards me and ducked under a fallen tree and locked in on me at about 12-15 yards...his eyes opened like two big pieces of coal and he knew he was busted....he crashed back a few bounds then wandered back to follow the doe out of sight.

So do grunts work....I think so. But only use discretely. Peak of the rut, or if you need to get his attention or stop a potential brute getting out of sight.