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Rattle Bag or Real Antlers?

BAMA BOW MERKER

BAMA BOW MERKER

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2009
Messages
1,249
Location
Dyer County, TN
Anybody have luck with the rattle bag or " pack and rack"? Thinking about maybe swapping in my huge bulky rattling antlers for something easier to carry. Or should I just keep my real antlers? What do you guys use?
 
I use a pack rack simply because they are easier to deal with. I do have a box blind that I have a set of real antlers in. Seem to get alot more volume with real ones.
 
Real antlers for me, and I have had good success using them. Last year I did a little experiment with a buddy of mine who uses a rattle bag. From 100 yards away in the woods he could tell a distinct difference in the two, as could I. The rattle bag was a much higher pitch. I have tried both in the same areas, and never had deer come to the rattle bag, but have had them come to the real antlers.
 
I use the bag early in bow season and right up until I start hearing aggresive contact. Then I switch to real antlers. If you have a good bag and really know how to use it, you can get by just fine during all seasons. I just like to be able to bring some racket when I want to.

For most hunters, loud, aggressive rattling may be counter productive. You really need to know what your deer population is composed of in terms of both buck age and sex ratio. That and what you see is what should guide your rattling. If the oldest buck you have is 1.5, you don't need to get loud and agg. Too much will scare off anything you have except coyotes. In the midwest and Canada, I could not get too aggressive. Here I almost never use the real things anymore.
 
You rattle that early? I just read an article that said the best time to rattle at all is opening of the season, any truth to that?
 
I have rattled in several bucks and does with rattling bag.
The only rattling bag I like is the great big one from Hunter's specialities. I can't remember the name of it. It sounds more realistic than any other bag I have tried. You can tickle them or crash them really loud.

As far as early rattling, I killed a doe a few years back on opening day of bow season. I "tickled" the rattling bag lightly. A doe came right in looking everywhere where the rattling came from.

I have rattled several bucks over the years. Like all other kinds of calling, sometimes they come right in, sometimes...they don't.
 
I would prefer to carry antlers but a rattle bag would be much more portable and you can use it with one hand. However I don't intend to do any rattling any time soon.... I will just carry a grunt call in case I need to get a deer's attention.
 
I've had success with real antlers, but there are two pack-racks: a small one and a larger one. In my opinion the larger one sounds pretty good.
 
switchbacker said:
You rattle that early? I just read an article that said the best time to rattle at all is opening of the season, any truth to that?
Click to expand...

That is why I rattle early. My favorite time to rattle is while the bucks atr still in bachelor groups.
 
I've never really had much luck with either, but the past 2 years I've gone to a rattle bag, just due how easy it is to move with.

This past season was the first year I ever had a buck come into a call for me, a little spike came in to me snort weezing, it was pretty exciting for me.
 

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