I am sure this has been covered but I am relatively new and haven't read posts for the past several years. Anyway just wondering in the wealth of knowledge opinions on this. I have been rattling because last year bucks were fighting out in the hayfield opening weekend of bow season (Sept. 15th) My assumption is that they are fighting now even though I haven't seen any. I have been rattling sporatically with no results but I don't want it to make things go away. Should I wait or keep trying it.

I think I would wait until the last week in October, or early November.

Once is a while, I will just tickle them together real lightly to simulate sparring.

Not to often.

I am just starting to get into calling deer in, but most people I have talked to say all of it (grunting, bleating, rattling) should wait until at least mid-october.

I may do some tickling action as well if I spot a big buck out in a field early but isn't moving my direction, but I won't force the issue. Light tickling of the antlers, sometimes, is enough to spark their interest early, but I wouldn't make any sort of a habit of it. Late october and early november is when you can get aggressive! Good luck!

Rattling has never worked for me personally. Buck to doe ratios are pretty wild out of whack in a lot of places I hunt. However, speaking with biologists, and being around lots of deer over the years, I have found that a lot of sparring takes place in September... and has horns get harder and harder, and testosterone starts building up.... it doesn't take much for a friendly wrestle in the yard to turn into a knock down, drag out full blow back alley brawl. I found two bucks, locked together in combat, dead in the pond behind my hunt club last year. They had been dead for at least a week, if not two weeks... I found them Oct 26th, which means that they were at each other's throats around the first or second week of October... and that fight was brutal enough to kill both of them.

If rattling works in your area, then I would certainly think that it would work now... I'd hinge that raking some heavy horns on some limbs to immitate a buck making a rub and showing dominence would probably work well too. Good luck.

They were sparing most likely, not fighting.

I'd say right around October 1st Is when rattling starts showing It's perks.

Last year I was sitting in my stand opening weeked (9/15thish) There was a knock down drag out fight going on about 80 yards out. There was a lot of deer going to see what was up.

Wow, that don't happen just too often that time of year.

Yeah it was pretty cool to see.