Rattling!

[EatSleepFish]

the pre-rut is nearly here and i have been ancy about rattling for awhile now, but i have a few questions to ensure a successful hunt.

Question #1- what time of day is best for rattling?

#2- should i throw in some grunts while rattling?

#3- in your experiences how long should i rattle and how long of a interval between sessions.

Thanks!

[Deitz Dittrich]

#1- obviously low light is when the deer are moving the most and you have the best chance of catching a deer moving through...but I dont think there is ever a bad time to rattle... maybe if there is a deer in sight or right under your stand.. that would be a bad time.

#2 Sure, I'm not sure how much grunting I would do while rattling.. but a few right when you are done might not be bad.

#3 usually not very long... the battle dont usually last too long.. I have had the chance to see a few, VERY COOL!!! and none of them lasted much longer than about 15-20 secconds.. then the smaller of the deer got run off...

Anyone else?.. what has worked for you?

[96trigger]

Soft contact grunts initially,

Then 20 to 30 seconds of rattling,

Then a pretty definitive grunt after that,

Repeat approx every 20 min, I've had deer come in on the run, but never anything big enough to shoot. But I've only rattled the last couple of years. This doesn't work well if you see deer in a field. Deer get spooky when they hear deer noises and don't see deer.

[roosterslayer]

also dont rattle too hard, this time of year the bucks are not fighting hard core. So in my opinion the best time that i have found was cold, crisp, and still mornings. i rattle softly for maybe 20 seconds and then some soft grunts. the reason i like the still morning with little breeze is if a buck shows up you can really hear him good in the leaves and sometimes you can hear the grunts that he puts off before you see him.

[Scoot]

I generally rattle for 30 seconds to one minute, wait a couple minutes and repeat. I like to start soft, work up to a fairly aggressive clashing of antlers, then cool back down to a little softer tickling of antlers. I usually have my first sequence of rattles be softer than my second. I've had great luck rattling- shot several deer doing it. I've had little success with it until about mid October, though.

My biggest buck I've ever shot came while rattling. I shot him from 2-3 yards while on the ground. He came in hot and was really mad and looking for a fight- hair up on his neck, foot stompin', and aggressively looking for the dudes who were scrappin' in his territory. It was really cool.

[slimngrizzly]

I ALWAYS rattle after Oct. 25. I use 70" mule deer antlers and I beat them so hard they smoke. I usually only go for about 30 seconds or so, otherwise you cant hear one coming in. Ive rattleed in 2 150"+ bucks and many others mostly from Halloween to Nov.8. Sometimes they charge in wrecking everything, sometimes they run the other way, you take a risk that the deer is in the mood. I always grunt hard and snort wheez before the fight. Decoy is good to have too, takes thier eyes off you.

Try it, it can work awsome! Just dont expect results All time. A good response does not happen often, but its worth it when it does.