Atlasman , I guess you haven' t had good luck rattling huh?
I really don' t see the point.........It isn' t a natural sound in the woods. You may as well sit in your stand and blow a kazoo all morning
Like I said I have been in the woods for 16 years and NEVER saw a buck fight loud enough to be heard 100 yards away..........so why sit and rattle like it' s happening every 15 minutes?? Very unatural.
Do bucks scrap every now and then?? Sure. Like I said........I have video of bucks going at it right off my back deck in my yard and I could barely hear the clicks of their antlers........and they were a 10 and a high 8.
I know all of you guys want to think that real life is like all those hunting videos we watch but the sad truth is it is not. Rattle away if you like..........you are probably scaring off more then you are bringing in.........and those would have come in to a different call anyways. Deer are so curious that a few natural sounds is all they need to want a visual match and when they don' t get it they come in for a closer look. I really get a kick out the guys who think not only do they need to rattle but they have to do it with real antlers too or it won' t work
You could rustle a bag of potato chips and get the same sound and results..........if you run into that overly curious buck.
This reminds me of guys that put out all kinds of scents soaked on rags and tampons and hanging from their boots LOL. How in the world does anyone know how much scent is natural to a deer' s nose?? People pour it on like crazy thinking it will travel farther and bring in more deer...........really all they are doing is creating such a strong scent that it is recognized as abnormal.......When it smells like a doe is sitting on their face yet one isn' t even in sight it' s pretty obvious something isn' t right.
If people were not so damn lazy and got their ass out in the woods for some serious scouting and proper stand placement they wouldn' t need to spend all their money on quick fixes and gimmicks from the Cabela' s catalog. Being a good woodsman gets you bigger and better deer...........not playing with toys and smelly rags you bought the night before at the store.