White-tail-deer

While I was hunting this year I heard a buck snort wheez twice. I have heard this before on hunting videos and such but never first hand.

But my question is why do deer snort wheez? Do only older/dominant buck do this?

jrbsr

One thing it means you just got busted.
Does do it to.
Then they waive the famous white flag saying Good Bye.
I know from experance LoL.

I think it is to let you know they know you are there
and they are gone out of there asap.

Or to let the other deer know I am the big banana in the
woods and you better listion to me.
It might mean something else but that is what I think.

Theres my 2 cents worth.

kansasdeerhunter

usually does do it when they spook, its another alarm they send off to other deer in the area that danger is near. My experience has been the bucks only snort & stomp when they see something they're not sure about, but when they spook they simply take off running with their tail flaggin, no snort/wheeze.

skeeter 7MM

A buck will wheeze or sniff to show dominance or prevent a fight with a rival buck - very agressive call that drives a dominant buck mad and scares the b geez out of inferior bucks.

The snort(or what hunters refer to as a "Blow" is the sound you often hear when a buck or doe comes across something they are unsure of be it movement, smell, noise, etc. It is a warning or alarm call.

treehunter

iv'e only heard it being used after they were spooked

White-tail-deer

I'm very familiar with the snort that a deer will use when they get a good whiff of you or bust you. This sound was made by a large buck that had a few doe with him. He made the snort wheez sound twice over a 15-20 minute period. Then all of a sudden he took off after another buck and I never saw him again. I got to see his antlers from the side, he had very long g-2 & g-3's but I never got a look at the width, I was hunting very heavy cover. I was just wondering if only dominant buck make this noise or if younger deer will do it also??

skeeter 7MM

Generally the sniff/wheeze is associated as a mature buck sound, wether he is dominant really depends on the area and his own brain!

White-tail-deer

Gotcha!! Thanks for your help!!

Split-Hoof

I heard it for the first time this year. Many people get the "blow" or "snort" confused with the snort/wheeze. They are two very different vocalizations.

As skeeter said, it is usually made by a mature buck. If you hear it, you can bet he's a bit po'd, and there's probably more than one buck around. It is a challenge to other bucks in the area.

When I heard it, I was watching a 4 pointer running around in circles in front of me and acting funny. This made me think a hot doe was around (which there was). Then I heard grunting from another, bigger buck followed by the snort/wheeze. I called back and he repeated it a few times. I never did get him to reveal his head, although I had a clear shot at the vitals. He was in some thick brush and wouldn't step out. Sure was an exciting experience!

MOTOWNHONKEY

I had a big 10 point come in behind a muture doe during the rut. He was inhaleing air then blowing it out as he followed her. I heard him comming before I saw him. He would grunt then do the snort wheeze. I got a lung heart lung shot at about 10 yds, he never knew what hit him. He slowly walked into the woods about 30 yds and fell over. Sometimes bucks make this noise for mating too!