Too early to rattle?

[VirginiaxBoi]

What are everyones thoughts on rattling before the rut?

[boneaddict]

for what.....whitetails?

[Coasthunterjay]

I hunt an area that is rich with both WT and Mulies and i will tell you trying it is better than not. I hunt modern firearm for deer so mid October every year and i can recall a couple times glassing or scouting a couple smaller bucks here and there that were going at it. And the last two years i have used a little rattling and grunts and a few bleets to get deer to come in closer. hasnt worked for me in the past but it seems to be working lately. I like using the grunt the most though. I had two bucks last year stand up on there hind legs sniffing the air trying to figure out where the grunting was comming from ( way cool ). were i hunt it usually just excits the bucks and gets em comming in all ralled up and angry but by the time i actually get to use them i usually have already shot my buck opening morning. But anyways Deer are curious and you guys know this, so even if it isnt the rutting time, they will come and atleast take a look to see whos doing what. My personal favorite though and this works for deer and elk, is using the antlers on a stiff bush or some larger saplings and for elk, scrape it on a bigger tree. Really hard as if to tear the bark or branches off. Man i love to see a running deer or charging elk come into an area your hunting and have no idea what hes comming into, Usually piss'n all over himself, snot slinging off his nose, hair up on his neck with his horns up in the air just screaming to find out whos meesing in there territory. Just makes a hunter get really excited talking about it. Well for an answer............

YES. I would use them, And i do.......................

[jackelope]

i'm an ex-avid grunter,rattler, rut whitetail rifle hunter from the east coast and can tell you the only thing i've succesfully used my grunt tube for in washington is to get a deer to stop for a standing shot or to get one to stand up from his bed for a shot. i have not used the horns here ever, nor have i hunted the rut here yet either. that said...i think the time of year we are rifle hunting general season, you might get a curious young whitetail buck to come and have a look, but i think the older smarter bucks know the only deer sparring are the young bucks playing around. it couldn't hurt to try it, but i think your success would be limited at best. i couldn't begin to tell you how it'd work for mule deer, and i think there is moderate success using grunt tubes and rattling for blacktails in the late season.

[boneaddict]

I don't use them in the early season, but quite successful with it in the late season.  I rattled in over 20 bucks in one day last year, but the rut was going full bore.

[VirginiaxBoi]

Yea, I still havent been able to get my eyes on this buck I am hunting, if I had to judge by this rub line "size of the trees, and length of the line", I would say he is a mature buck. But I have yet to see him. From experience, Blacktail definately are harder to hunt than whitetail...

Was considering trying to rattle him in, see if I could not spark his interest. I dont know, Trail cam so far has turned up nothing.

[Coasthunterjay]

ok, i did some research on this. Answer me a couple questions. what season are you hunting and when is it? From what i have read from some biologist findings, they report rattling being effective in early October.....................And it works just as well as mules and WT. i am not sure about BT. i have not hunted them so i have no expieriance on that...............................AJ

[boneaddict]

Very effective on whitetail, less so on blacktail, but still works, and the least effective on Mule deer.  Mostly smaller muley bucks in the I'm old enough to breed but too small to compete category.  Mostly starting November 1st, and hardly EVER in October.   Just what this good ole boy has to say or my 0.02. 

[Machias]

This time of the year I would only do antler ticking.  Most of what you see this time of the year is sparring and mild at that.  Aggressive antler rattling right now will more likely scare bucks, not attract them.  I have had excellent results with rattling and grunting in this state, not as much as the midwest but I never leave home without a grunt tube and rattle bag.  Best time to rattle and grunt IMO is around the 5th of Nov till the 20thish, and then again 28 days later.

[VirginiaxBoi]

Bow season Black tail

[Skycruiser]

I rattled in over 20 bucks in one day last year, but the rut was going full bore.

Do you recall the date? I'm assuming it was after the closure of the late buck season (November 19th).

[chaseace21]

This time of the year I would only do antler ticking.  Most of what you see this time of the year is sparring and mild at that.

I would have to agree with Machias. When I was hunting Mule Deer this year during opener I saw several bucks "antler tickling".But I don't know about blacktails...he may be curiouse and come to investigate.