Atlasman, first off I didn' t mean to sound like I was anything special, so please don' t take it that way nor was it meant that way. I simply related some numbers to show that in my area I have experienced success when rattling a certain way and not just a fluke. I also would never try and tell someone that their way was the wrong way. As long as it is legal, safe and works, who am I to say " Nope your doing it all wrong!!!!" .

I use grunt calls with all my rattling sessions. I tone vary, run soft toned mature buck grunts, courting grunts, tending grunts and even aggressive grunt calling during peak rut and the right area. I don' t use a can at all and I will bleat on occasion by mouth but am not for blind calling(besides rattling). I am with BC on this one I could careless to see smaller, immature deer, if they head for the hills no skin off my back. My technique is no where near completed, I seem to adapt or change something every year. However the basis stay the same and it has worked well in attracting bucks. I am sure some would have or may have come by without the horns due to my location choices. I have experienced very little success when blind calling, I know rattling is the same thing, but I thing it gets those bad boys goat and they forget their heads for a period of time. The last thing I want is a buck to pin point me, circle me and then bust me. Yes, It happens when I rattle, I pay particular attention to my backdoor and try to set up in a way to funnel the deer away from my downwind side. I do know that the 2 bucks I shot in the past two years came looking for fight, both deer where mature animals, ears pinned back, hair on end, musky smelly, grunting and had a loud approach. The buck this fall snapped trees as he made his way to my spot, I was ready for him long before he even appeared.

You' ll notice in my posts I mentioned " Location is the key" . So obviously scouting, area are the main reason. I have never found rattling success by just smackin horns anywhere, I do my homework and as mentioned rattle near the bedding areas under deep cover. Ear shot is the best with any calling technique, if they can' t hear you than they won' t respond. Instead of smashing horns and my finger tips, I prefer to sneak into their domain while they are away, than around 10 am I will start rattling until about 3. I only rattle a certain area for a maximum of 3 hours and have found dog days of nov.(our rut here) ie cloudy, snow mixed days, seems to work better for rattling, all 3 bucks killed last fall were on similar style days and within a 5 day period, just prior to full blazed rut.

Obviously my area is good. I hunt 2 areas of the province in each I adapt my techniques accordingly. Up north where I have a cabin, I spend most of my time in Nov. hunting & I rattle lots. This area is forest fringe, so includes choice farmlands, but provides endless miles of bush and rolling terrain that big deer love. Down south and closer to my home I spend more time just sitting in good transition areas and keeping quiet. Southern area is more agricultural, so lots of good food, but not as much great cover. I hunt an area that is similar to my northern spots but on smaller scale. Rolling terrain with decent lots of bush, butted up to argicultural lands. Both areas have their fair share of good deer and any time I head to the field it may just all come together. I by far don' t rely on one technique and scouting is the key to either area to maximize my odds on a mature buck. Also both areas see a fair share of hunters, but I hunt areas that require you to work to get into them, no easy access is my clue to go and do some hunting/scouting. I hunt on mostly public land, but do have a number of spots that are permission only. To tell you the truth most of my good bucks have come from public land, I attribute that to hunting areas that most don' t go..it becomes the deers safe haven when the pressure is on and I am around to capitalize. As long as the ladies are pushed back, the bucks will follow.

EH only works when your drinking a Canadian (Beer) and I don' t drink while I hunt