treehunter

I know this topic has been covered alot and probably beat to death but I can't seem to get a clear answer. When, where, and how often should you rattle? I live in north alabama and as far as i can tell the deer are in rut (could be wrong. if not let me know). I have heard that ralling down here is pointless because deer in this part of the country don't respond to it. Is this true? I guess I am just looking for some general info on what I should be doing. Thanks in advance.

Champlain Islander

Funny but we boys in the north hear that only the southern deer respond to rattling. I have tried it off and on and can only say for sure that I called in 2 deer. I have read that far more deer respond but you never see them because they will cut down wind and bust you. I guess the set up is important to guarantee that you can see for a ways down wind. The buck doe ratio needs to be in check for it to work really well. Up north we have way too many does and not enough bucks. There needs to be competition between the dominant bucks to get the best condition going. I have read to rattle hard and often and on other articles they say to go soft and sparingly. Not much help but try it a bunch of times and sooner or later it will work. Pretty exciting when you hear them coming and finally see them.

treehunter

I try to set up near where I have seen rubs so that maybe i can catch them coming off of their bed to see whats going on. I also try to keep an open field down wind so i can see a good distance away. I hunt in the mountain but their are plenty of cotton fields i can use to my advantage.

Icedragon

Check out this website HERE it talks alot about that and much more.

AlabamaDan

Hey treehunter I'm interested in this too. I hunt bama and ms. I hunted a few years ago with a guy who rattled, but we didn't see anything. I've been thinking about taking some antlers and making me some rattling horns. But now I've gotta learn how.

zrexpilot

I rattled in 14 bucks last year on three different ranches. This year I only rattled in two. Dont know why but they just didnt respond like they did last year.
To answer your question of when to rattle I would say it depends on your area but you have about 6 weeks to do it Pre rut- the rut, and post rut. thats 2 weeks before, 2 weeks during the rut and 2 weeks after the rut.
Where to do it also depends where you are. I like to rattle at mid day near the thickest stuff because thats where they are bedded down or hiding and you can draw them out other than that do it anywhere you feel looks like a good place, do it for an hour or so and move to another spot, keep doing this.
How often, well I ;like tyo start of slow and low because there might be one very near you and this will bring him out. then I start getting more aggressive and louder and pause, d for a minute or so then again for like 4 sessions of this then I will give it a rest for a littl longer, when I start up again I start low and slow again because you might have one very near you, When you get agressive I mean beat on the ground, smack tree branches with you horns, smack the ground like hooves trampling, really try and make it sound like two bucks are pushing each other around. If nothing happens within and hour, move . Try again , same thing .

Hunter_59

A few years ago, I played around with rattling here in Illinois. Most times I got no response but one day about the 1st of November I rattled in 3 bucks within 2 hours. I saw them about 150 yards away and had no other opportunity because they were heading the other way. I picked up the antlers and started rattling and could see the response. They immediately stopped and looked my direction. They slowly turned and cautiously started my way. They all three circled down wind and came to the exact same spot about 30 yards away. Some brush in the way and offered no shot. It does work but it has to be at the right time. Other times I tried it, there was no response at all from the buck.