The 1st time I ever tried rattling was in NH .. and I actually rattled in a nice high racked buck .. but he didn' t stick around long as a large bull moose came in (end of September) and kicked the crap out of 2 different pine trees .. that was about 4 years ago .. and was the last deer to come in to rattling that I have seen in NH, but not for lack of trying. I have rattled in 2 different Bull Moose since then, just no deer until this last fall in NY.

I agree w/ Catskill Hunter .. I don' t think it works very well .. but it will work sometimes in the right conditions. I' ll keep mine with me as a last ditch effort to try and turn a buck that would have walked by.

I think it depends alot on the buck to doe ratio of an area. I have rattled in only one buck here in florida. This was on the back edge of the peak rut on a Primitive weapons only area. This area has few deer but the buck to doe ratio is pretty close during the rut. I saw the buck step out onto a 30 yard wide logged out strip about 200 yards from me. He proceeded straight across but stopped when I clashed my antlers together. He stood there looking for about 15 seconds. I lightly clanked them again and he started heading my way. I shot him with my muzzleloader when he was about 20 yards from me.
I have tried it again on other occassions with no success. Grunting has worked pretty well though.

3step, I use real horns. I prefer either fresh cutoffs from a harvested deer or fresh sheds.

TM, makes a good point and I forgot to mention it previously about how hard you rattle. I tinkle, grind and twist when rattling rather than smash the crap out of them. I due tone/intensity vary but still don' t smash them together.

Rattling doesn' t work...............at least not as well as a sound more common to the woods.

Understanding why rattling would draw a buck in will make you instantly realize that your woods most likely is not the place to rattle. For bucks to be fighting over does to breed with the ratio of buck to doe has to be very low. Most any woods today not vigorously managed will have a very high doe to buck ratio and therefore enough chicks for every buck in the woods to get some........no matter how sad their genetics or racks are.

Rattling in the woods where bucks don' t have to compete for breeding is nothing more then a foreign noise..........they never hear it and even if they did why would they care enough to go fight when they can just go the other way and bone the 5 does in the next pine row??

I have been in the woods for 16 years and NEVER seen 2 bucks locked up in battle over breeding rights.........I do have footage of 2 bucks locked up in my back yard less then 40 yards off my deck and the clicks and cracks of their antlers could barely even be heard. Rattling loud enough for a deer up to 100 yards to hear is so unrealistic it is laughable.

Having said all that...........deer are VERY curious animals and will come and inspect noises that they can' t see the cause of.......bleat cans and grunts are great for this as they offer a well known noise to the deer but no visual confirmation. They figure if a deer is making the noise how dangerous can it be over there?? They come to check things out and you take aim. Why use a sound that deer are not used to hearing??

Deer hear loud banging rattling every 15 minutes about as often as they hear Polka music and I' m not about to blast that from my stand either

I am not saying people haven' t gotten reponses from deer with a rattle.......IMO the response is purely curiousity 99% of the time and you would have gotten the same response from any lure that day on that deer.

Over the past 10 years, rattling has been so successful for me I no longer use the " tube" because I have had bucks spook on the tube. I do throw in a throat grunt or two if a buck has taken the bait and is curious but not yet over the edge.

However, I do not rattle by hand, and the horns are not in my stand. They are on the ground but can be lifted to the height I want to lift them.

As for distance that a buck can hear the ticking and rattling.

One morning I observed a buck on a high spot across a very wide and harvested cornfield. He was approx. 1500 yards away with a river between him and me. I lifted the horns, jerked the cord to slam the horns loudly 4 -5 times, danced the horns so they ticked loudly, and then dropped them in the brush a few times and bange the brush and a small sapling nearby. That buck covered the distance so fast, I almost was not able to get on the string fast enough. He pulled up just on the other side of the river at about 40 yards out and would not cross. He is a 12-point big boy and I am not going to take anything but a sure shot.

Later in the year, in the early AM, I saw him in the same field, about 200 -300 to yards out, heading for where he beds. I gave him the horns again. He spun around, and again came on a dead run. This time he hit the river and stood in the water looking around at about 25 yards out. However, he hit the river behind me. I fingered the cord and lightly ticked the horns. He came out of the water, came up the bank, was slowly moving my way, and was going to come to my left

As I slowly turned to position myself for the shot, a " pull-flap" on one of my rubber boots went underneath one of the cables on my stand and " twanged" the cable. The sound was not high-pitched nor was it loud, but it was a quiet morning and he and I were tense. He then demonstrated why he is big. I swear he walked on the water when he crossed back over the river and disappeared into the timber.

Therefore, I would have to disagree that a deer must be close, or that rattling is a waste of time. I have downed a few bucks over horn rattling that did not obey the rules. And I have rattled several in that I did not shoot at, or they missed my arrow.

On two occasions, I have also had does come in.

Atlasman , I guess you haven' t had good luck rattling huh?

I would say rattling has proven it' s worth in the hunting woods! I' ve had bucks come from their bedding areas 75 yards away to check out the ruckus.

Atlasman your theory about the buck to doe ratio dictating wether a buck will fight for another doe doesn' t hold water from what I' ve seen. You forget one thing. If theres 20 does in the area and 5 bucks , the dominant buck will fight for all 20 instead of settling for 10!

I am assuming you are kidding, right?

Even in my home area where buck/doe ratio is far from desirable, buck fights are common. Some get pretty serious.

Some of the midwest areas I bowhunt...buckfights are downright scary.

Rattling loud enough to hear from 100yds is laughable?

I am pretty sure you are joking. Yep, no doubt.


I forgot the original question...Yep 3 step, I have had some excellant results from rattling.

Like catching big bass on a topwater...does not work every time, but when it does, it sure is exciting!

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.

Nope




Yes it is.

Ask every member here how many buck fights they have seen in the woods that were so vicious that they could be heard from 100 yards away............then compare that with how long each and every member here has spent in the woods and you will find that percentage to be under 1%. Yet guys go out and rattle like these fiere battles are taking place every 15 minutes all day long......it' s rediculous to think a deer would believe that is normal. Now imagine every guy up in his tree rattling like a maniac and you have cracking and rattling coming from every direction all day long.............yea, that usually happens in the woods

In the proper setting rattling is a good tool.............99% of us will never see that setting unless we buy a video.

We do all like to pretend we are in that world though

I like C903' s idea of dangleing the horns. Deer may not fight often but when they do its dang sure not 20 ft. up in a tree.

I' ll just set the first few hours, then give rattleing a try before I get down.
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3 step