You get the idea. The same buck that heard the softest brush of clothing against tree bark yesterday can barely hear you crash rattling horns from 100 yards the next.

Adjusting volume is an inexact science, but perhaps the simplest indicator is the deer themselves. In my experience, whitetails will somehow acknowledge they've heard your efforts.

The most dramatic sign is a swivel-headed stare or a dead stop. Others are more subtle--an ear twitch or a change in body posture or demeanor. Until I've seen some signal like that, I'll increase my volume until the buck reacts.

On blind calling setups, I let conditions dictate how loud I "talk," but I usually cheat toward high-volume calling. Over the years, my journal indicates the vast majority of my call-ins have occurred when I really went after it, regardless of season.

Just because a buck hears your call doesn't mean he'll come immediately, of course. But just because he won't come immediately doesn't mean he won't come at all. Sometimes, aggressive, persistent calling will goad a buck into action.

My friend Mitch Hagen, a successful hunter/videographer, taught me this awhile back. Mitch spotted a buck as it entered a Minnesota soybean field and began feeding. The buck lifted his head at Mitch's first grunt but quickly resumed dinner. So Mitch grunted again. The buck snapped his head up.

"As soon as he put his head down the third time, I let him have it again, and when he looked at me that time, he took a single step toward me," Mitch says. "When he made that step I knew I had him. The buck looked away briefly and I grunted once more--and he just came walking in."

Mitch shot the buck only 15 steps from his tree, and he repeated the trick on an even bigger Kansas buck later that fall.

Mitch calls the tactic "getting in a buck's head," and I've used it several times to work in a reluctant deer. The ploy seems to punch a buck's aggressive buttons, as if there's an unseen but irritating intruder in his comfort zone and he'd better get over there to check things out.

While many deer investigate a call out of curiosity or the need for social contact, mature bucks often have a different agenda.

Herd status (pecking order) is in a nearly constant state of flux for bucks, and as the rut approaches they walk around with a chip on their shoulder that grows larger by the day. Make them think their "manhood" is being challenged and they can get pretty testy.

MAXIMIZING CALL SETUPS

One of the classic responses of a whitetail buck to rattling or calling is to hook downwind as he approaches. This makes perfect sense, of course; a buck wants a whiff of what/who he's dealing with before committing. Naturally, if a deer pulls this move beyond the effective range of your gun or bow, you're going to be out of luck. The good news is that you can often foil this maneuver by noting a few simple guidelines. Don't run a call or clash antlers unless you've set up near some obstacle that will block or discourage this downwind circle. The most obvious examples are a rock face, sheer hill or steep river bank that a buck won’t cross. More subtle (but often just as effective) blocks are a field edge, fence, creekbed or line of brush. Fields work well since most bucks don't like exposing themselves, even when they're feeling randy. The others are effective because though a buck could cross them easily, they act as a natural steering mechanism along the buck's path. Remember, a buck coming to a call is usually feeling a sense of urgency and might let down his guard when he encounters a more difficult path. Also remember that whitetail bucks are essentially lazy creatures that like to follow the path of least resistance..

This tactic doesn't work on every buck, of course. If you're calling to a deer you can see, observe his body language carefully to assess his reaction to the call. Raised hackles, laid-back ears, a dull stare all indicate a buck that's getting his dander up and may come any second.

But if he takes a step backward, starts to slink off or seems submissive in any way, forget calling. Even some big-bodied, large-antlered bucks are wimps that do not participate in the breeding and fighting other bucks thrive on. These particular deer are extremely difficult to call and must be taken by other methods. Only careful observation and experience will reveal these "lightweights."

Overall, however, I'm rarely afraid to call loudly and aggressively to deer. As long as I'm careful with my scent, sound and silhouette, I'm not concerned that my calling efforts will alarm deer or reveal my presence. As I've spent more time and effort rattling and calling to whitetails, I've become convinced that mood is everything.

If a buck is feeling aggressive toward another buck or amorous toward a doe, he'll be highly vulnerable to calling; if some factor (weather, rut phase, temperature, personality) dictates otherwise, he may not respond. But I've lured in--and sometimes killed--far too many whitetails with aggressive calling to doubt its effectiveness.