Rattling whitetails

[WVT]

Anywhere near Noxon, the toughest hunting country. Should train the military there...I have tried rattling a touch the past few years but never really gave it a legitimate chance. Always felt I was alerting every deer in the area I was there.

Good luck man, really enjoyed this thread.

[grundy53]

My Grandma lives in Thompson falls. There are definitely some dandy bucks in NW Montana.

[Hornseeker]

Couldn't go today... kids and sports!

But, I did go yesterday... and.... it kicked ass!

I had to traverse a nasty patch of thick lodgepole to get into some aspen/willow thicket stuff I knew the whitetail would like. It was about 45 minutes in the dark, and just as it started to get light enough to see around me I noticed I was in an area of sparser timber and there was a fresh scrape at my feet. I moved to a spot I had a decent view from, got all set up, then gave two grunts... waited a few minutes and gave a doe bleat, using "the can"...which honestly I know NOTHING about...

I waited about 5 minutes, picked up the horns and started making a serious racket... about 30 seconds in and I see a flash of movement 90 yards down in the timber. I tossed the horns and got on the scope and it was a 120 4 point... maybe a hair smaller. Nice looking buck, but I had high hopes for the day. Anyhow, he ended up going out of site so I touched the horns together a bit and he came dashing back in to 47 yards! He never saw me..and slowly walked off.

Well, that was cool as hell. That was it though. I ended up jumping a bigger buck and taking a foolish running/brush shot at him. There was snow on the ground and I tracked him for a long time to ensure I didn't draw blood. I tried rattling about 3 other times for about 1/2 hour each and didn't get any reaction...

Fun stuff though...maybe tomorrow.

[3nails]

Keep at it HS. I'm o for my last ten or so setups but will be right back at it tomorrow. All in the Lords timing.

[Bearhunter]

Let's see your daughters buck Jeff!  I'm having withdrawals already and havent even made it to the happiest place on earth yet....

[3nails]

Let's see your daughters buck Jeff!  I'm having withdrawals already and havent even made it to the happiest place on earth yet....

I'll text you a pic. Hard to post pics from the cabin using an iPad.

[ShaneTyTrey]

Just an awesome thread!!!

[Arteman]

Great looking Bucks Jeff, man you've had some great success over the years! 

[deaner]

well this thread has me thinking about going out with my camera and rattling in deer tomorrow just for fun and to get pics.  only thing stopping me is that i always carry a sidearm in the woods due to all the cougar around here, and im afraid that a game warden might decide i was rattling deer to poach them. 

[Hornseeker]

Whats the word 3Nails??

I did not hunt whitetail the rest of the weekend...but may try again Friday....

[3nails]

Shot a mediocre 4x4 with my kids yesterday. Was an awesome day but it's killing me burning brush at the cabin right now with bigger bucks chasing does all around us. It's actually making my wife nervous. The bucks are going ballistic right now!

[SHADE]

The horns dried up a bit before I got to use em. layed them in a stream to soak up more water and they were frozen in it in the morning. No deer came in to let me shoot them. Did learn that the little short alarm the whitetail does give out as alarm is now my least fav sound in the world though...

[3nails]

My least fav sound comes from the squirrels designated to rat me out at almost every rattle site.

[TommyH]

My least fav sound comes from the squirrels designated to rat me out at almost every rattle site.

  Every time I touched the horns togather! Tried it a few times but didnt have any luck.

[jess]

You ever seen a real buck fight? squirels go nuts!  I think it helps!