should i rattle this weeknd for muzzleloader?

[Dahitman44]

I have had two VERY successful rattles in my life. One was VERY wide and tall but no shots. Is it a good idea to rattle this weekend? Why and why not?

Thanks

Hit

[jay83196]

How about grunts or beats? Too late?

[Dahitman44]

what do u guys thinK

I would think both are still very effective?

[jigginjim]

Do it all,Not all does will be breed the first go around sseveral maybe just coming in.

[BuckKiller]

I disagree... wouldn't the fighting be over by now? I know there is still breading being done but by now the bucks should have their territory... could be wrong I've never tried rattling but just a thought.

[Dahitman44]

well i guess the big bucks nmight think another big fella is in his territory so he may come running out. At least that is the thought ...

[CrewJones]

rattle, grunt do anything but sit on the internet waiting for the answer.

[BuckKiller]

well i guess the big bucks nmight think another big fella is in his territory so he may come running out. At least that is the thought ...

True but im thinking grunting would be more effective. But like I said I could be wrong, im no where near an expert at calling in deer. Maybe try rattling one day and grunting the next and see what happens. Just gotta experiement

[Wolfpaak]

Hitman, That is the tactic I am gonna be using too (rattling). A buck in the area wether its be a big one or a medium one, will "think" that 2 bucks are fighting over a ready doe. A smaller buck may be intimidated and run off. The "if a big buck is in hearing distance" thing is the big part. Throw a grunt in here and there to make it sound like they are hard at work. Sounds good in theory huh? There will be less ready does during this period but my thinking is that the pheromones of a ready doe will travel around on a breeze and the bucks will still be cruising to find em.

Good luck!

Later,

Kenny

[zepman]

This past Sunday I was almost run over by a buck while still hunting in an area by a dried up river bed. I was grunting every 20 minutes or so as I was making my way down the (dried up) river. He came in looking for a fight. Tore up all kinds of brush...snort-weezed...and generally made it known that he was THE buck in the area.

Never laid my eyes on him...he wouldn't commit but my knees were shaking after that for about 15 minutes. Great experience and yes, rattle and grunt all week long...you never know what will follow!!

It's not too late...

[slimngrizzly]

I let the dog out to pee at 9:30 last night and there was a heck of a buck fight going on about 200 yards out my back door in the CRP! It didnt last long but they were NOT sparring!

Ive had lots of success rattling in some good deer over the years. The biggest was on Dec. 18 in the snow in a slough bottom. So it can work! Id suggest rattling hard and for a very short period!

[Musky Buck]

I'd skip it on Saturday, see what you see and hear, I'd also try to rattle in that just right weather, I wouldn't be afraid to do it right at legal shooting light, don't wait till mid-morning, do it when the buck may feel secure enough to basically just take a look, I wish I knew what cover you're hunting by, but give it a shot, it can't hurt anything really but if you have that 1 good escape trail, that 1 where you glimpse deer rarely getting a view, check the wind, be down wind, and just find a nice tree and make sure you can get on him before he gets on you, I had to forgo my stand as they wanted 0 part of walking through my shooting lanes, they skirted the spot so I did that and had a nice 15 yard muzzy shot, it was almost like this buck expected me to be at my stand as I'd never have seen him, try a bunch of little ideas and if it works hey.

[96trigger]

It could pay off huge, but if you are in an area where there is a lot hunter pressure, I don't see it being successful. Most deer have heard every call out there. I might give a rattle right at first light, and then only call if I hear or see something. Hard to say if you are scaring anything away or not. The little guys came into calls all fall. Not sure what they will do now.

[NWBuck]

One of the biggest bucks I've ever shot was during Iowa's 1st shotgun season (1st weekend in December) and he was locked in a ferocious battle with another buck just before I shot him. Yes, rattling can work even into December, but just like rattling during the traditional times of the year, don't expect them to come charging in every time you do it. The result I see most often when rattling is a buck sneaking in down wind about 5 minutes after the sequence ends.

[GFNER]

Zepman, I can relate. Ran into one one night on my way out of the woods. I was downwind so I thought it would be cool to grunt at him, holy %#@! he came charging right at me snort wheezing stopped about 15yds short. Almost peed my pants,had me fumbling for my knife.VERY COOL!

[Beast26]

I will be doing it this weekend but I won't go overboard. I may also try a decoy with a little tinks on the tail.

[Dave S]

I let the dog out to pee at 9:30 last night and there was a heck of a buck fight going on about 200 yards out my back door in the CRP! It didnt last long but they were NOT sparring!

I had a similar incident behind my house a few nights ago. I let the dogs out after I got home from work and there were 2 bucks literally slammin' antlers. The amount of noise they were making was unreal. It went on for a couple minutes until they picked up on my scent and split up.

[hugonian1]

Saturday morning I looked out the widow to find my Glen Del Buck destroyed by what had to be a not so happy buck.

It was knocked into pieces.

Glen did not look too tough laying there.

[slimngrizzly]

Saturday morning I looked out the widow to find my Glen Del Buck destroyed by what had to be a not so happy buck.

It was knocked into pieces.

Glen did not look too tough laying there.

HA! Its funny how often ya hear this from people in the country come about Oct. 25 and on! I put a decoy out in front of a camera with the video this year and many of the deer that came in ended up hitting it. Even the does beat it up with their hooves after it was lying on the ground! My decoy is busted all to pieces now. Fun to watch how they react to it though!

[Wolfpaak]

Another thing to think about when rattling or calling is, YOU become the hunted after the rattling or calling sequence. Deer will be LOOKING for whatever made the sound. They will wind/scent check the area that they heard the sound come from and will be on alert. They might do this from well down wind or in thick cover.

Even so, I will be trying it also!

Later,

Kenny

[Crow Hunter]

+1 on what wolfpaak said. The buck will know exactly where that sound came from, right down to the tree you are in. When I have rattled successfully I have set up on a steep ridge, upwind edge of a field etc. to make it hard for the buck to get downwind of me before coming in. I have only had luck bringing them in when rattling in areas that are ripped up with scrapes and rubs. It is very exciting when it works, I will be trying it about the third day of muzzy season, depending on the wind, if the one I want is'nt hanging on the meat pole yet.

[MUSKY18]

One other thing to remember about rattling is that it is much effective in an area where the buck to doe ratio is close to equal. If you have an extremely high doe population, bucks are more apt to not respond to rattling because why fight for a doe when there are many many others in the area. Not saying that it won't work as I have rattled in a couple of smaller bucks where I hunt and it has a pretty high doe population. Equal ratio of bucks to does just increases the odds a bit more.

[Beast26]

Agree and if you can get away with it use a buck decoy. Just make sure you place the decoy where they will see it and expect the deer to try and get the wind of the decoy so make sure you leave no human scent on it. I also like to put a little buck urine on the tail of the decoy and put a piece of TP or a paper towel on it so the tail "moves" (unscented of course).

[Dahitman44]

wow what a great thread guys. ... THANKS!!!!!!

[Wolfpaak]

One more thing to think about. Everytime you try something, it may not produce your intended result. BUT you are teaching the deer in your area. And bucks don't get big by being dumb....

Yes this is a great thread! Thanks for bringing it up Hitman!

Later,

Kenny