rattling

[blarkey]

is rattling still effective this late in the post rut

[MUSKY18]

Thats a good question......with the does who weren't bred during the first rut coming back into heat, it might be? Dunno......I know that I read an article yesterday that said using a grunt tube will always work, and I thought it was only for pre-rut to rut period.

[buckhunter21]

Yes it can still work this time of the year, maybe not as good a chance as in the pre rut but definitely worth bringing the horns with just in case you see a buck cruising out of range.

[tunrevir]

I have read in various outdoor mags that post rut is the best time to rattle in a mature animal. I have read this on more then a couple occassions. Myself, I haven't had much success post rut but am still trying.

Tunrevir~

[Scoot]

I have read in various outdoor mags that post rut is the best time to rattle in a mature animal. I have read this on more then a couple occassions. Myself, I haven't had much success post rut but am still trying.

Tunrevir~

I've read the same thing many times. However, for me the prerut window has always been more productive than post rut as far as rattling is concerned. If you can time it right, there's usually a couple days where the does are starting to come into heat, but aren't ready to be bred. The bucks will start to get pretty goofy, but can't breed yet. That's been my best time period for rattling by far. One day a number of years ago and buddy and I rattled in 23 bucks. We started 1/2 hour before sunrise and made set after set until 1/2 hour after sunset. That day is one of the highlights of my bowhunting career. We didn't shoot a buck and I don't believe either of us even drew on one, but it was one amazing day.

One caveat to the above info is that I'm not totally convinced that the few days when the does are coming into heat but aren't really ready to be bred yet is a time when the really big, mature bucks are too goofy/stupid. I've rattled in some big ones then, but my impression is that they don't really get too worked up until the does are actually ready to be bred. I could be totally wrong, but that's what it seems like to me. Also, even given what I said above, the biggest buck I've taken was rattled in on Oct 28th and shot from 3 yards from the ground, so it's not that it can't be effective on a really good buck. But I do think small and medium sized bucks are much more likely to respond to rattling at any time of year than really big guys. That might be a numbers game as much as anything (there are a lot more small and medium sized bucks) and like I said, I've rattled in some biggies, but I just think they are smarter and less likely to respond...

Sorry for the rambling. Hopefully there's something useful in the above info.

[Meat-Run]

Scoot,

your information just helped me decide to toss in the antlers for my evening hunt today.

thanks,

mr

[BLACKJACK]

Scoot, do you think it makes any difference on the size of your rattling antlers and the size of the deer you rattle in? As in big rattling antlers rattle in big bucks? Just curious. The last couple of years I've just used one of the rattling bags since they're easier to carry but I've never rattled in a big buck with them either.

23 bucks in one day!!! That would be fun!!! I've always had it in my mind to goto a few public areas and try that, never got around to it.

[Scoot]

Honestly, I don't think the size of the antlers means anything at all. The only thing that I can see being relevant to that is that it's pretty tough to make the sound of a big and heated fight with really small antlers. But... medium and bigger antlers can sound plenty big if you're not afraid to smash 'em together (with an occasional finger smashed along the way ). I'll admit that I use a pretty big set to rattle with though- easier to tone down big horns than it is to make small ones sound bigger, I think.

Rattle bags work well, the new Primos rattlin contraption looks like it'd work well too- sure sounds realistic and would be awefully convient to carry around. I know a guy who had a buck 150 yards away and couldn't bleat or grunt him over his way, so he rattled him in... with two sticks from a nearby tree! I'd have never thought to even try it, but he said he'd just watched a hunting show the night before where a buck didn't respond to a bleat can or a grunt call, but came running when they rattled to him. He didn't have a set of horns along, so he improvised!!! Point is, I don't think you need to get too hung up on the actual set of antlers you use as long as they're not really tiny.