I've tried grunting at many different aged bucks, but they all just seem to look my way and continue on the course that they were headed.[&o]

Calls for me are used mostly when I have a visual on the animal. Success on drawing them into range varies IME. No doubt it gets their intention if they hear it and thus being used as shot stopping aid especially for the bow hunter is a very practical usage point. Experimenting with blind calling has been not very productive for me, unless I am rattling(which is the main attractant). Rattling is one of my favorite technique but what it has taught me is a deer will at all costs use it's nose first before any other sense, which means they try and get downwind of the noisemaker. As we all know when this happens it can go either way but quiet often a flag waving BYEBYE is the result. Rattling is all about location, setting up where a deer is required come in the wide open or has the ability to travel freely around the distrubance will be counter productive in most cases. I will only rattle in deep transition areas as close to his bedroom as possible with little to no need/way for the buck to circle my ranch before giving me a look. I look for natural funnels and all the other signs that point to a mature deer's hang out. If a deer feels comfortable then you will have better success no matter what technique you employ. When rattling I start off with a contact or tending grunt, in 10-15 minutes I begin by raking trees, pawing the ground and little hook up of the horns which last 30 sec. Wait 20-30 min and begin the process again , this time I bring up the intensity, tone and duration. I keep doing this until I reach my max. level of 60 sec per rattling sequence. I will only rattle in one spot for 2-3 hours and pick the mid day time frame during the rut. Instead of smashing the horns I tickle and grind them, more of a twisting action. Since adopting this approach my rattled in buck success has increased 10 folds. Wind direction should always be factored into play.

I agree each area is different and the buck to doe ratio will or can impact how deer respond to calling. My only hard fast rule to calling is don't over do it, keep them calls spaced out 15-30 mins a part and stick to one tone each time. To me their is one constant a solid set up to begin with, you pick an area that the deer calls home and you'll be much more successful no matter what you may or may not do to entice him.

I have only been able to draw in does with a grunt tube where I hunt on public. The buck to doe is way off there - way to many does.