I rattled in a nice buck 3rd week into October.


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It's worth a try, never know when curiosity will get the best of a deer.

 

3rd and 4th week of October

 

October is the only time I’ve had success rattling. Mostly end of the month but by November the bucks around me are usually with does and show no interest to rattling anymore. My dad has had some success rattling in mid December as well

 

My brother & I have been rattling since the late 60s. We start last week of Oct with light rattling & have had some pretty good success (we have killed several Holloween day). We seem to have the best responce from that last week thru mid Nov b/4 they hook up with the Does. We have shot & passed lots of Bucks over the years. NW Ill & NE Ia is where our home ground is.

 

Always start week of Halloween. With anything else hunting sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t. Good luck!

 

Around the 20th-25th I have had some action.

 

If you’ve got pictures of good bucks sparring then I say go for it. Not going to hurt anything and curiosity might get the best of the bigger bucks to inspect whose on their turf.

 

Got these guys last week. They didn’t seem to be playin around.

 

I don't rattle ever.
I also don't use a grunt call, doe pee, or a decoy.

My strategy is to climb up in a tree downwind of where the does bed, and pretend to be tree bark.

 

I have to use the proverbial phrase “you’re missing out”. I would at least have a grunt tube. Numerous times I’ve been able to stop a buck and get him to come into a call, especially during the rut. In a matter of fact I can think of 2 bucks I likely wouldn’t have killed if it wasn’t for a grunt tube and an estrous bleat can.


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For me the grunt call is the best tool.

The last 4 deer that I have killed have been grunted in. (3 over 150") A grunt call in late October and into the second week of November is my primary tool except for wind direction. I never troll grunt. Only grunt at a deer I can see. When he hears the grunt I stop, observe. When he moves and it's not in my direction I hit him again. when he moves in my direction...he's dead. He will end up within 25yds of the base of my tree.

Snort Wheeze is a close second especially if a buck is inside 50yds and a grunt might blow him out. But again...you have to see the deer....be able to see his reaction. When he turns in your direction...shut up, hook your release and pick a place to shoot him.

 

Thanks. I’m not a fan of blind calling either. Deer will often circle downwind of the sound of another deer to get a whiff of who is talking. Blind calling might cause an unseen deer to sneak down wind of the hunter and in turn get busted. Once I have eyes on the deer, calling is fine cause I can see how it reacts.


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I always say OCT 15th. But this is based on my experience and everyone’s else’s is based on their experience! Not one response is wrong/right it’s just what they do. I’d say go for it what ever you want to do and then you make a choice to do it in future based on what happened now! Good luck


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I rattled my buck in last year Oct 16, 2016 I rattled my biggest 144 inch 6.5 yr old 10 point on oct 22. I say go for it if it doesn't work you can at least say you tried !

 

i start rattling when i see the scrapes start popping up. that indicate that their testosterone levels are on the rise and they're about ready rumble. it should be in another week or so, at least where i am.

 

I like to really start rattle in late October. I have had really good luck the last week.

For what it is worth I did some light rattling here this weekend for the heck of it. I had my daughter out and she likes it so I did a little. I also did a little on Sunday morning. I was kind of messing with my boys. They were about 75-100 yards away so I hit the horns lightly to see if I would get a text back asking *** was that. Must have hit them to light as they didn't hear it.

 

For you guys that like to rattle, what are you using? Old sheds or some retail product? I’m thinking about getting into rattling and the Black Rack is looking intriguing.


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Black Rack has been the best sound I've found for a retail product.

I rattle/grunt as soon as they go hard horned unless I think I have my target buck on a pattern and I plan to kill him on that pattern....gets lots of responses from small bucks....some responses from bigger bucks...

 

knight & hale pack rack. small, light, locks together so it doesn't make noise in your pack, and sounds great. rattled up several bucks with it.

 

I just bought this last season, agree does have a great sound.

 

I rattle during the season and during October without any problem. I use real antlers as I have a bundle of them. If I see any deer starting to walk away from me, I usually give it a grunt, bleat, or rattle to see if it will come in. Nothing to lose when a deer is walking anyway.

 

Location, location, location....when I rattle in my local areas here in PA, no matter 10/20 or 11/20...pretty much everything in earshot runs the other direction

same exact sequence, same exact antlers, on the place I hunt in KS on the same exact days and I will bet my annual salary I will see an animal...might not be buckzilla, and might not be in range, but something ALWAYS comes to look...for this reason I am very strategic where I rattle more than when I rattle...I don't want to be in a location that can been seen from a great distance...I prefer corners, edges, below knolls, oxbows, etc...anything that forces the them to get into my field of view to investigate with their eyes as I tend to do all that I can to keep the wind in my favor...every buck that I have killed, that has come into the horns, has been killed while attempting to get downwind. I do what I can to use the terrain and habitat to create situations that foster that movement....I have had several coming straight into a can bleat and/or grunt...wind didn't really matter.

Joe

 

I have a set of 120 inch sheds that I've had for about 6 yrs now.. was thinking of going with the black rack but they seem very cheap and plasticky ( not really a word) however I've never heard them and they were locked together in a pack and I didn't want to RIP them open to hear them. If anyone else has used please share!!

 

I have a set...
They sound real enough, and are easier to use and pack than real sheds.

That said, I’m bringing sheds with me to IL. this year mostly because I just prefer real sheds, and real ones do make a ‘deeper’ sound (for lack of a better word).

 

Anyone rattle in a decent buck with a rattle bag? I can attest to Joe's contention about "location" as west MI is also a challenging place to get bucks to respond in the classic video manner. I've rattled in one nice buck with sythetic antlers, but they are large and bulky.....plus I almost put out an eye when the tip of one sheared off on a cold November morning. Since using the rattle bag, I have rattled in humans but not much for deer. Interested in the Black Rack....

 

I have a 10 yr old rattle bag with the wood sticks in them, every yr I rattle in at least 3 bucks with them! If that time of yr it will work, I will not give up my bag until I absolutely have to it’s done very well for me


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