Rattling/Blind calling

Just curious how those of you that have success, how long do you let the morning play out naturally before trying to make something happen?

 

Thats a good question. I'm courious also

 

I hate blind calling. It has never worked out for me. I've tried and tried for years. I'm at the point now that I won't call unless I know there is a deer near by. Visual or audio confirmation. I normally wait until at least 9am in the past before I would call.

 

havent had much luck with rattling ever, i dont know why, maybe im doing somthing wrong

 

I've just started. I always thought the rattle bag was just a gimmick. I tried it last week and called in a six. I've tried it twice since and had no luck. I wait until I'm just about ready to leave and give it a half hour. Don't know if this is good or bad like I said I just started so I'm still learning.

 

i have only ever called in a few deer by blind calling but my percentage this year of calling in bucks i have seen first is 4/6 which is pretty good but only one shooter responded but stayed out of range. the big boys didnt even look and the little guys are the easiest to call in. therefore my advice is just to stay quiet and wait til you see the buck first then if you notice he is going away from shooting range try to call him in.

 

This thread seems to be focused on rattling but I have to mention my recent success with the bleat can. I blind call frequently, every 1/2 hr to 45 min. I know this may seem heavy to some but I do it very conservatively and it works well. Last week in WV I arrowed a respectable 7 pt and the next morn. from the same stand a @135" 180lb 8 pt. Both bucks came in minutes after 2-3 turns of the can. I know this isn't fool proof, like all other calling methods. Just wanted to let you know what's been working for me this year and several others. Good Hunting.

 

I blind call if i havent had any sightings. If it works for Olympic gold medal-ers and pro hunters, then it will work for me.

 

Every now and then, near a bedding area before the rut kicks in ( my rut is later out here) ... when I am pretty sure there is a buck or two bedding in ear shot, I will rattle and have had some decent success in getting bucks to come in.. I actually rattled for the first time sat...and had one come in Sat morning.. he came in real slow...careful about 30 minutes after I rattled...He hung up 50-60 yards in the thick brush for a long time downwind.. He never would commit. A decoy might have sealed the deal, but I dont like packing decoys out into the forest during rifle season while I am bowhunting... he was being extra careful I could make him out with my binocs as one of my target bucks..skittish dude.. I've seen 3 times this season since Aug...For the most part though....I usually dont call unless I see a deer on the hoof.

 

Not sure if the blind calling brought them in, or if it was just a random traveling deer. However, I have had deer come into the area while blind calling before. Problem is, it seems like so much time has passed after calling, that I don't know if it's the call or not. I usually wait about 1/2 hour between calls. I picked up a snort-wheeze this year and will try a little calling sequence of snort-wheeze, grunt, rattle, grunt to see if that helps bring anything one. One other thing I'd like to try and add is some type of ground movement such as raking a branch through the leaves if in the woods, as if two deer are really in the woods fighthing it out. Not sure if that will matter or not, and unsure how I'll pull it off from a treestand.

I fully understand this. However, have you considered getting some cheap orange material to drape over the decoy while carrying it and setting it up?

 

The past weekend I had 3 bucks come in after rattling. 2 came in to fight. 1 came to check things out slowly. I could also hear some bucks fighting this past weekend. Nothing real loud or didn't seem real aggressive. I did see a buck head their direction too.