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Have you ever rattled in a buck? (Poll)

Have you ever rattled in a buck?

  • Yes, but it almost never works

  • Yes, and it works occasionally

  • Yes, and it works fairly often

  • No, I've tried and tried with ZERO success

  • I've never tried

Results are only viewable after voting.
Many years ago, mainly on public land, I carried rattlin' bags and rattlin' antlers, and used them. Never did I have a deer come by that I thought was due to rattling. So I quit carrying them.

Four years ago bow hunting on private land in South Dakota, the landowner told me to hunt from the ground, and rattling was effective. Having never bow-hunted from the ground, I thought he was crazy. But I tried it, and it worked! Sometimes I would rattle and multiple deer would come in looking within a few minutes.

A big difference in that SD ranch and TN is on average, in TN, a good day would be seeing 3-4 deer. On that SD ranch, I saw 25+ deer a day that were close enough to warrant caution. What I mean by that is they may not have been within bow range, but they were close enough I would worry about spooking them, say 75 yards. Many within 30 yards. And that's not counting the 50 deer I would see in the alfalfa field from 400 yards away.

On public land in Iowa, I've heard rattling while I had deer in sight and the best thing to happen is deer pay no attention it. Most of the time, they run or just drop down to hide.
 
I've commented on this before but to be clear on the subject. Rattling will bring bucks and does in for that matter. My biggest issue with it has been the bucks have always been able to pinpoint my exact location therefore spooking long before I got a chance at them. I don't want to alert them to my location which is why I rarely use calls unless I can see an animal and never blind call anymore
 
Have rattled in several but only in states with better deer herds. Iowa and Missouri. I rattled in three bucks bowhunting in MO this season. Two I saw in the distance and rattling brought them in closer. Brought one stud to 35 yards but he stayed behind thick stuff and didn't offer a shot. One buck i had no clue was around. I finished a sequence and heard some limbs popping and here he comes in a beeline to me through the thicket. All three bucks ended up downwind of me and smelling me.

My very first morning ever in Iowa I saw a nice buck about 120 yards off. Hit the antlers and he beelined it to me and I was so shook up I missed. Lol.

Ive tried countless times around home along the TN/MS line and never had any luck.
 
Selected never tried on the poll..closet description to match my experience. The few times I tried I just felt like I was drawing attention to my location and I would stop. So...I hadnt done it enough to really comment much....as for calling, the big can call....I have witnessed as being effective...if I can see the buck out of range and Im able to watch his body language....Im comfortable using the can and/or grunt call....but blind calling hasnt brought them in on a string for me.
 
Antler Daddy said:
I have two old Knight and Hale rattle bags, a black rack, and multiple cans that I probably just need to put away.
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I did call in a decent buck with a can once. It was a unique situation. I was going to my stand for an afternoon hunt. I jumped a buck that was with a doe and they managed to get separated. As soon as I got in my stand I hit the can and the buck came back looking for the doe.
 
BigAl said:
I did call in a decent buck with a can once.
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I called in a lot of bucks in the late 90s/early 2000s with a TruTalker doe bleat, but I lost it and they quit making them. Never found another one that worked. Then they started making them again a couple years ago so I bought two. I'm assuming they are cheap Chinese crap now because the reeds will not stay in them.
 
I tried the grunt/bleat calls and rattling. No success at all.. I hunt the wind and do not worry about scents either.. Just get out there and enjoy the creation. We will eventually go on our last hunt.
 
Some of my best bucks (3 of the top 4) were rattled in. Everything depends on multiple factors for success and even then, success is less than 25%.

Factors for success include:

Wind is right ( visibility down wind)
Near buck bedding helps
Light to aggressive depending on time of the year and hearing conditions.
Don't over rattle or under rattle ( requires experience)
Rattle with confidence and don't be surprised when a buck shows ( ie expect him to show)
I use natural heavy horns, not plastic crap.
There's no wrong way to rattle but I try to visualize the fight as I'm rattling.
Don't be surprised if it takes 30-45 minutes for a mature buck to come in.
Practice by rattling while watching a buck. See how he reacts to the horns.

It's fun to be an active hunter vs passive but I only rattle if I'm feeling it. Probably less than half my hunts but I take the horns anyway.
 
Maybe it's because I remain as quite as possible and only rattle when it seems nothing is moving, but I have never had one come in to a rattle, at least not noticeably like you see in the youtubes. I have a small rattle bag that I have tried it with and I also have a great set of antlers from a roadkill that ended up next to my fence, but I have yet to master them, I mainly beat the heck out of my fingers trying to rattle with them. I have called a few in but mostly staying quiet and letting them come in on their own has worked for me.
 

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