Tried Rattling

I'd think rattling would spook the smaller bucks. Never tried it so what do I know though.

I have only had rattling knowingly work once. Two years ago the buck I killed came on a string to a rattle bag. No luck before or since.

Tried the horns years ago and never done it since. The deer around here have the same reaction. Same happens if I use the grunt tube. Although, last year I did grunt in a yearling doe twice lol. Shot her the second time I grunted her in. Must have been a not so bucky grunt and she thought it was her momma lmao.

kind of strange given we have a bunch of bucks to our few does. You would think they would want to spar a little and get the right to the doe but I guess they are just lovers and not fighters up here lol.

Like most things pertaining to whitetails. When you think it will work it won't. When you least expect it to work it does. LOL my hunting results to a tee.

I have killed and called in several others for others to kill with horns. I love it, but you have to choose your set ups carefully. I rarely ever rattle where deer can see any distance. There was one exception, and that was the buck I killed Nov 6, 2006. It was windy as heck, so I took the horns with me in case I saw one at a distance. When I first saw him, he was 250+ yards, I killed him at 13 steps. It took 45 minutes of coaxing, but it was one of the more memorable hunts of my life. I only rattle a few times each year these days as I hunt from a stand mostly, it is MUCH more effective from the ground IMO. The deer I killed year before last was rattled in, and I rattled in two coyotes the day before that...killed one, cut the other. I started rattling along with my childhood hunting buddy back in the 80's after seeing Noel Feather's "November Madness". It has never disappointed me...I've even had does come to it! I NEVER tickled tines, I beat the horns together as hard as I can when I do rattle. All or nothing as I've never had any luck with the tickling thing. Make it sound like a fight, break brush, kick leaves, raise heck, and it may surprise you more often than you've historically seen. I LOVE rattling, but am pretty selective on when and where I do it, a little of the right medicine goes a long way.

Its hit or miss for me. Mostly miss, but it only takes one time for it to work, and if u stick with it, it will.

Two years back the horns where magical. On one property, just about every single morning at 9am i would rattle in different bucks like clock work. Last year i cant remember it working once

This was the first buck I rattled in and killed. November 4, 1986, shot at ten steps from the ground with a borrowed 50lb Darton...my Cougar Mag had a bad habit of blowing up at the worst possible time and it had blown to pieces three or four days before this hunt.

November 6th, 2009. My first 'nice' buck. Would have never hapened without hitting the horns together. It was around 7:15am, first sequence of the day. He popped up from a bedding area and came in on a string lookin for a fight. I'll never forget seeing his head pop up from the thick shit. Unbelievable.

Dont give up on the horns guys! Its invaluable

I have rattled and grunted, etc, and never seen a buck come in because of it.

IMO Timing is everything with rattling or grunting.

Horns do work once in a while. In most cases, nothing shows up, I get ignored, or they bolt.
I've rattled in 3-4 over 20 years. I think we need a stronger buck to doe ratio to be more effective here in Ohio.

I have never killed one rattling him in. Have had some bolt and a handful of young bucks come in curious. I have seen them spar from the stand. I try to imitate this sound early season but do so sparingly. No luck. Otherwise I save it for the rut.

The only thing I have confidence in is the can call. Funny thing is others swear it is a gimmick. I have had many deer come into it...mostly does. Fine with me.

xbowguy said:

IMO Timing is everything with rattling or grunting.

Click to expand...

Yep, I'll second that.

I've tried it a few times and have had some results. The only time I had a big-unn come in was right after daylight and since the spot was open on the edge of an overgrown field he wouldn't come in since he didn't see anything making the commotion. Wanted to try it with a decoy but the time I intended to do it I forgot my rattle bag and only had the decoy LOL. Was the same day my neighbor walked up on it and couldn't figure out why the 'deer' wouldn't run off........ :smiley_blackeye: