So a buddy gave me a pair of antlers to rattle with this year. I got them ready to go, but I need some help on how/when/why to use them. Might seem simple to many of you but not this guy, never rattled in my life... So my questions: 1. What time of day is this most effective? Morning? Afternoon? 2. What time of year is this most effective? Late October? Early November? 3. Technique? How long to rattle? How often to rattle? How agressive? Any other tips, ideas would be wonderful. Thanks in advance for your help.
the answer to all your questions...... It depends. There are a lot of factors that play into this and it really comes down to knowing your deer and how they react. It's not like tv where they always come to the antlers. I'm in an area that I have a very good Buck to Doe ratio and when I started hunting it, I realized that a lot of bucks had broken racks and not just the little ones but the older ones too. So I decided to try it. I've had very good success over the years. Bucks start to spar as soon as the velvet peels. If you want to try it early season, rattle very lightly, tickling the antlers together for short periods of time. Early season, they are just establishing pecking order and working the neck muscles. As the fall progresses those battles get more intense. I've had really good success from a few days before halloween on. Never prior to that. I can't think of 3 bucks over the last 4 season that ran into me before I put the antlers down. Last years took his time and I could see him tearing up trees and hear him grunting the whole way in. Every buck is different. Some are aggressive and timid. If you grunt at a buck that's just out of range and he leaves, he's scared and probably wont come in to antlers. I typically rattle about 15 seconds or so. I vary the sequence and typically have a grunt or two thrown in before and/or after. You have to experiment and see what works for you. Any kind of call will work at various times of the year. A few years back my son (he was about 6 or 7 at the time) and I were at an event where primos was there and let the kids build a small little grunt tube. He carried it everywhere with him. One night we were sitting out back and he said, I'm gong to call a deer in. He pulled out that grunt tube in late July and started blowing on it and 2 velvet bucks came out of the woods into the back yard. So my point is, anything can work at anytime. Just have to be willing to try it out and not be afraid to mess up. Good luck.
#1 Rattling can work any time of day but I've rattled in most of my shooter bucks in the last hour of daylight . #2 Really depends on what your after . I rattle in more bucks late Sept. - early Oct. than I do the rest of the season but that's when the lite sparring is going on and they haven't gotten to aggressive yet . After the serious battles have started taking place , your rattling to a lot less deer . #3 Always try to match what the deer are doing . Early in the season , keep it lite and short works best but I have seen some sparring that have drug on for 30 minutes or so . As the bucks start getting more aggressive , get more aggressive with your calling . I know you didn't ask for it but the most important ? is where . Always set up in a spot , with the right wind , that a buck would be less likely to want to circle down wind of you . Creeks , cliffs , lakes , and harvested crop fields work great for this . The idea is to make it to where , if they come , they have to come straight in to your setup . If you rattle in a spot where a buck can easily get down wind of you , all you have done is educate another buck . Most are surprised by the harvested crop field being a good place to set up but I have never had a buck so desperate to scent me that he would put himself that out in the open . Good luck !!
