mossbergman11

when is the best ime to use rattling antlers and what calls should i use with them?

wahoohunter

not sure the best time is others will have to fill you in on that...buttttt, one thing i do know is that rattling antlers works best when you have a sound buck to doe ratio....on our property we used to have an outrageous number of does compared to the bucks, thus rattling was never successful because the bucks never had to worry about competition as there was always a plethora of does in any given area....soooo, do a little scouting of the area in which you'll be hunting to assure that rattling will be successful

skeeter 7MM

Like mentioned previously competition is the key to rattling success. Assuming it is,rattling can be effective from early pre rut to post rut stage. During the pre stages sparring simulation works really well. Bucks are rubbing, strengthening, feeling themsleves and others out, curiosity call. The chase phase is the time that works best for me in regards to mature bucks, this is a precurser to the "rut" and is prior to bucks being saddled to a doe. During the rut is also effective however you must realize you'll never pull a buck off a doe to your rattling...unless you pose immediate thread. You will however pull cruising bucks of all sizes if your set up is right. Deeper the better IMHO, as close as you dare to bedding areas in transition can produce amazing results. I like to rattle such an area late morning (10-11 am) to 2-3pm. When the bucks are cruising out in the wide open by themsleves during broad daylight you are heading into post rut, this time can be extremely effective, though the negative isbucks are wary and you must pay particular attention to your downwind side. During this time IME it is rare to have them roaring in, they love to circle in the best of times using their nose before anything else but more so after they have had a few licks.

I use buck grunts outside the context of the rut, during the rutting stages I add tending grunts to the mix andmay throwin doe bleats. When rattling to simulate a fightI like to rake tree's, ground, stomp on the groundto add realism.

Nature_Nut

this year i rattled in the buck i killed...i rattled him in the last day 1st time was in the morning and ididn't get a shot and then in the afternoon i called him back in and got him.. i use 160 class and grunt call i start off light and then get in to it...i blow my grunt call as loud as i can i'm been good luck with that...this was during the pre rut but really close to the rut.. and some people say about the buck to doe but where i hunt i have found a doe bedding area and every year there is a good buck in there about breeding time..and it like 5 doe to 1 buck if that ..i killed mine and then looked up and there was abigger one and then i saw another one about the same size i kill 9pt 15in spread...just want i think//////////////