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Just curious, how early in the season have you rattled in a buck.
I have my best luck during November. Last year was the best year so far. It was unbelievable how well they responded.
soon as it works, I have seen sparring , don't do it hard yet , but a few light tickles and put them up. Just put my ratting bag in my pack this evening .
I watched two bucks sparring on Sunday night. Within five minutes two more bucks arrived.
Start to finish!.....You have to "have a feel" for it!
Back in '96 I decided to really give rattling a try for the first time. I had read an article when the bucks start scraping, that's a good time to rattle. This was October 19th, I believe, and the week before I had seen some scrapes open up on a field edge.
Without going into a long story, I rattled in a nice 2 1/2 year old buck that scored in the low 120s. He was my first non yearling buck and that was the very first time I rattled.
The following year I rattled from the same stand around that time and didn't have anything come in, but the following weekend I rattled in 130"-140" ten pointer. That buck I didn't recover. It was my 3rd time rattling and the second buck, which was also mature, that came in. And the property I was hunting was public, not some lease in Buffalo Co. either.
Since then I have also rattled in a very heavy 8 pointer the weekend prior to gun season, but I generally have more success the last 10 days of October when it comes to getting mature bucks to come in.
I think rattling can work anytime once velvet is shed. But for the mature bucks, their curiosity doesn't get peaked until the rut approaches. I have also called in bucks by breaking or sawing branches and one time I had a buck come in shortly after I climbed down from a loose bark tree with my climber. I was still standing on my platform at the base of a tree when I heard this deer walking up to me. I was in the woods and it was too dark to tell how big he was and he was only 10 yards away. I waited a minute or so and I finally I just stepped off the stand and he took off.
When I rattle in October, I do it very loud. Besides the November buck I rattled in, the other bucks were evening hunts. I like rattling in the evening as I want the buck to come in before dark. They tend to rely on their site when they approach and I think the waning sunlight gets them out of their bed early. Also location is critical when it comes to rattling, which is why I don't do it more often. I like to rattle from stands next to cornfield edges with good bedding areas nearby where I think a buck may be bedded. Rattling in open areas, including relatively sparse woods, requires a decoy. Bucks like to use the cornfield edge as their approach, so they generally won't try and circle downwind.
With the success I've had, I generally don't rattle as often as I should, only because the area I hunt doesn't have a good setup and I'm also hunting stands near doe feeding areas where I'm expecting a doe to have a trailing buck. Also, the area I currently hunt doesn't have many mature bucks bedding nearby.
Bucks have to be within hearing distance, so just because nothing comes in, or you're only rattling in yearlings, you may not have a mature buck within hearing distance. This is why you can never rattle too loud.
A great tactic that I have done the past few years, but have only been successful bringing in small bucks, is rattling from a ground blind on a field edge in a blind. I've even brought in does. This is a great run and hunt method, there's no need to setup a stand, but the amount of gear can be overwhelming. I use a golf cart for my blind and chair, then I carry my decoy in a decoy bag on my back while carrying my bow. For field edges the golf cart works great, and a game cart would work too.
If you understand the difference between rattling and sparring, you start as soon as they have hard antlers. I have had great luck opening day in 90-degree temperatures.
I have tried the rattle bag on public with no success. Have any of you guys have success on public land? If so, when do you find it best to use this technique?
Done well on public land. Two things you have to do. (1) Find areas that are super thick and have some deer sign-doesn't have to be buck sign. (2) Do not get real aggresive or overdo it.
Understand this, the two most important aspects of either rattling or sparring is to understand what both mean and how and when to use them. Second, and this probably should be first, you have to know how to setup. A good setup for bowhunting means you probably won't have more than 20-yard shot and probably less than ten seconds to grab the bow, decide if you are going to shoot and draw and shoot. Seldom is like you see on TV.
Where I spar, it is a mixture of dense thicket-I mean extra thick-and mixed open hardwoods. Where I rattle, it is a thicket bordering open fields. In both cases, I am in the thicket and well concealed, whether with gun or bow.
I have been using antler contact for over 30-years. In that entire time, I have brought in two bucks that go over 160", had a shot at neither. I have killed two that are about 150-one with a bow, one with muzzleloader and by far, I have done better sparring early in the season than I have agressively rattling during pre-rut and rut. BUT-no matter when you do it, if you are not setup in such a way that buck coming in can't see you from a downwind area, you are not likely to bring one in that is over 3.5. For sure, bucks you never see will outnumber the ones you do.
If you care to PM me your email addy, providing I find it, I'll send you my extensive article on rattling and sparring. Might help.
I have found that real large horns work best especially when combined with kicking brush and the ground with my feet. Bucks make a lot of noise besides their horns when fighting. I get bigger bucks just before breeding starts,in this way.I dont rattle to long. 15-25 seconds. I have been doing it for 45 years and had the chance to develop my skills in an area that was not open for hunting, and had many big bucks.. watch videos and listen, and replicate. not a lot of banging together but a lot of loud twisting works best.I have never had one come to a rattle bag thou I have used it a few times. Got a few to come in to the plastic disc with lumps however in recent years.I will be using 140 type sheds in KS this year.A friend I taught to rattle took a 180plus two years ago in this manner.
I've had all my luck with the Primos antlers. I do not agree that you can be too loud. I once read an article by D&DH a long time ago about the effects of rattling, loud vs light, duration and frequency. They claimed being loud had little to no effect on buck encounters, big or small bucks, and that the louder you are the further the sound carries. To me, its also about putting emotion and intensity into your sequence. I do not shift the antlers much, but I crack the antlers together as loud as possible, then I'll shift the antlers and I incorporate pauses. My sequence lasts a minute or two, then I'll wait 20-30 min for my next sequence. I like to do 3-4 sequences with my last one ending about 20-30 min before sunset.
Bucks will shove each other around any time they're in hard horn, pre-rut, rut, post rut even in late winter if they are still packing... Have even seen button bucks spar...
I think it helps to rattle on some sort of schedule as opposed to "whenever you feel like it." I decided to rattle every 45 minutes one morning and for the first 3 sessions didn't see a single thing, then on the last session had 5 different bucks come in - go figure.
I tried a little rattling last weekend, no luck. It was a little warm just trying to get them on there feet before before it gets to dark.
Haven't ever called a giant in but some decent bucks. My tactics revolve around ambush and some sort of funnel.
APauls, I've come to the same conclusion, which is why I like to do it more than once as well, with about 30 minute gaps. Of the bucks I've rattled in, they've never come in the first sequence. I think the bucks either think there may be multiple bucks, or it's a pretty good fight. I've even had does come in. Sparring matches happen all the time I'm sure, but actual battles do not, and that's what I try to reproduce when I rattle.
Earliest I've rattled one in was first week of October. They like to approach from downwind and usually seem to appear out of nowhere. Put the antlers down and pick up your bow - you might not have long to decide to shoot or not.
--Mitch
Rattled in an owl tonight.
had turkeys come in a few times , and a grouse and a few hunters.
