Rattling

[Miss em]

Had some success that last two nights rattling with the smaller Knight and Hale pack rack. Had a 4 pt and spike come in last night and a set of sixes tonight. Manage to take one of the six points with my new Mission Endeavor. Really like that bow and I know seriuos shooters can see the benefit in the really expensive bows but I think the Endeavor shoots very well for hunting purposes. Also got a new Summit Viper stand for this year. Works well and man is that thing comfortable. Looks like I'll be able to target some walleyes and perch for a little while now. Surf and Turf.

[ryanrobb52]

Congrats man. Ive tried rattling a bunch of times over the years in NY with no success at all. How aggressively were you rattling?

[ray koziatek]

tinking NOT agressive rattlin..first thing in am,,,,listen listen listen..most will approach down wind ,,,,other than that if ya see one in the distance ya should be able to pull one off course to you ...some will act like they ignore you but sneek in for a peek ,few will turn and make the "B" line ....i had one the other morn stop4 times on his way in do a agressive rub on tree,sounded cool then stomped (posture walk) to 4 yds dead on the oppsite side of a mega bush stood looking for sourse of rattle (tinking) till the wind swirriled...then he said see ya.....It was a buck of a lifetime..at least i know he is there but i wont rattle or return for a good week...If i dont fill my tag before then maybe he will slip up again with some prerut activity.... I rattle (tink) in several bucks a season,ya can get a tad more aggresive when the rut begins..now if ya really wanna have some fun get a good grunt call...ive gruntted in 6 already this year nuttin over a decent 8 tho,,,

[skipper19]

In the past few years the QDM practice around my area has lessened the doe population. Thus the bucks have grown 3 to 4 years and are in a better buck doe ratio than 6 years ago. In this area back before QDM, like Ray said .."tinkling" WAS the way to get the curiosity up of smaller bucks that were less aggressive and they would sneak around to find you.

Now with the bucks larger and more plentiful in the area, there is more competition even before the peak of the rut than before. The norm now is to be near the feeding bedding trails early mornings, and like Ray said clattering, and grunting are very productive, especially with the bucks looking to increase their "local" harem. The rattling has become more aggressive with the matching aggression that the bucks have become for does. Deep ...long..grunts followed by a few shorter ..quieter burps has proven to stir a buck in hearing range into a frenzy these past few years. They have come on a trot disregarding all caution at the right times on a quiet cold morning. Almost scary, when the woods come alive with rustling and cracking sticks as they iblunder along looking for a fight.

So if the woods are full of does ...non aggravating "tinkleing" is best for bucks with less than enthusiastic wanderings for love. You can turn it up a bit for bucks in a low doe population. I still like the grunted bucks for the "hurry up and beat him to a pulp attitude" that brings them in with thier guard down. Knowing the buck doe population ratio of your area is a big help in determining the amount of enticement.

Mark

[ Post made via Android ]

[ray koziatek]

ok many of these are the old way of stalking......but many heard a grunt or a rattle(tink) before my ageing eyes picked em out .....most have a story connected to them that could rival any hunting mag. story...maybe we need a story page for some of us old farts to share some history..

yea ive got some small ones too and many are missing that ive cut for tinking horns,and to the neighborhood kids

[ray koziatek]

i ant got o idea what happened to above pics....

my friend woonded this one yesterday bad gut shot he called me to track it after jumping it twice....after i located it I belly crawled for 2 hours to get close enuf to grab its horns and pinned it to a tree till he arrived to finish it off it was still very very strong and i dont recomend this to any novice hunter they can and will tear you up if ya make one mistake ....DONT TRY THIS AT HOME:::::

[Miss em]

FWIW, I was doing some aggresive rattling, probably a 60-90 second series, followed up with some grunts. Maybe 30 minutes between series.

[T_barb]

I have had good success the past few years with doing some fairly aggressive rattling.. I usually hold off until later in the morning. I do a sequence of rattling (20 to 30 seconds) and then wait 15 minutes. and repeat 2 or 3 additional times (an hour of total elapsed time)... I find that the immature bucks will come after the first sequence and the more mature bucks will come in during/after the later sequences...

Wondering what kind of grunt calls people are using.. I am stuggling to find one that I really like..

[fisherman21]

ray is that a true story hahaha

[skipper19]

"**Wondering what kind of grunt calls people are using.. I am stuggling to find one that I really like.."**

Not sure of the brand that I have, but I like one that has an "accordian" style of plastic tube that can be flexed or shrunk and extended to give direction and pitch changes. Sometimes flexed down into your chest for more quiet burps, and sometimes cupping my hand over the end of the tube for more volume or a pitch change, by collapsing the accordian down and then extending it as I'm blowing a long grunt. A sound many bucks make around my area is what I imitate with my hand cupped on the tube end. It starts with my blow and my hand open, as I get towards the end of my blow I close my hand around the end of the tube in a progressive manner. Kind of a sound you could make with your mouth when you imitate a buck grunting by having your mouth wider open at the beginning of the grunt and closing your mouth down to forming an "ooh" sound towards the end.

This kind of call has worked well for me cause it causes little movement, and it can hang around my neck. The tube can be pulled off if debris gets on the reeds.

Mark

[ Post made via Android ]

[Miss em]

I have the same style as Skipper19 and I too like the variability of the calls it can produce. Mine can also be adjusted down to a doe bleat. I have called plenty in with the bleat as well.

[skipper19]

Ray, you better stick to wrestling lobsters, that deer is foaming at the mouth....yikes!

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[Gill-T]

October is THE best time to rattle. As soon as the November chasing begins......the rattlin' antlers stay at home...don't want to spook the does. Rattling works better for me in DEEP woods areas where there are less competing noises to leave no doubt it is two bucks fighting.

[ray koziatek]

yup dumb but true..

[ryanrobb52]

Great info guys. Thanks for sharing and i look forward to trying it this weekend.

[FF Jim]

I use one of those small black Primos 5 in one grunts that i think has worked twice in the last 10 years. Once was an opening day that was cold and very snowy, wayches a deer moving through a swamp and hit it. that buck spun around and ran full bore straight at me so fast i didnt have time to gut the gun to my shoulder. after a face off for what seemed to be an eternity he moved enough broadside to me for a quick shot to knock him down. the other time was again on opening day with a nice 8 pt that was cruzing through a cornfield on opening day 6 years ago. i had more time to get ready as he popped up out of the cornfield onto the trail i was watching. so I'm not sure if thats a decent call since it has only worked twice. And zero sucess with rattling. may go out this afternoon around lunch to try some rattling.