Lets the start a whitetail rattling thread....

[Hornseeker]

Tomorrow morn I'll be giving it the first shot of the year. I am not expecting a lot... the temps will be warm, it may be windy... and its a little early. But Im ready to give it a try. Ive got a 12 year old kid, his dad and my girlfriend all in tow... and hope that one of us spies one sneaking in!

Now... Come Monday the weather is going to make a big change here in Central Montana... sposed to be 23 for a high, then 13 for a high on Tuesday with 2-12 inches of snow depending on where you are where the storm hits the hardest... me thinks later next week the whitetail hunting might get real good... and I cant rule out the random mulie where Im hunting!

Whatchya doin for rattling this year??

[tgomez]

Taking up my cousin, and I'm rattling-calling for him sense my tag is already filled on a 4 by 4.  I'll get behind him in my blind about 80 yards, and let her rip! I like to use a blind because it conceals my hand and antler movements while I'm calling. Remember they will always circle downwind before coming in! GOOD LUCK

[jackelope]

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,101693.msg2087100.html#msg2087100

It'll be tough to hang with this one.

[idaho guy]

My son will be rattling for me this weekend. He already filled his Idaho tag so I have a designated caller!-looking forward to it-I have had my best luck from now till about the 15th in north idaho

[PA BEN]

The rut is kicking in.

[KFhunter]

I'm pretty well hooked on rattling, got 3 niceo nes to come in last year for a kid I had with me.  Didn't connect, but one of the bucks he could have poked with his barrel   

[LeviD1]

Im wanting to try rattling this year as I have never done it but in august purchased some land that is yielding quite a bit of deer and bucks. And suggestions on what type rattling antlers to buy?

Thanks

[KFhunter]

a heavy beamed 3point shed pair soaked in water 24 hours prior to rattling 

[KFhunter]

I did some rattling today, it's a bit early yet.





better off working scrapes

[Tonasketstickflinger]

Tomorrow I will be hitting the horns a bit in the 101 try to stick one!

[curlewkiller]

Rattled all weekend in 124, nothing.  I think I actually chased one away....

[Hornseeker]

Nothin this weekend... I wish I was out there right now though... it was 60 degrees and windy all weekend... with full moon.

Right now its 12 degrees with 2 fresh inches in Billings and up where I was this weekend is more like 10 degrees with 10-14 inches of snow on the ground!!! May have to hit it tomorrow!

[TeacherMan]

I always chased them away when I rattled 

[PolarBear]

A lot of guys are far too aggressive when they rattle, especially early on and for blacktails.  They wind up spooking the deer instead of calling them in.

[KFhunter]

sometimes I don't even smack the horns together,  just find a likely bush (not a nice young viable sapling) and do your best to kill it with a horn.  Smack the ground a few times with the horn and scrape the dirt with the horn and keep your eye's open!

Oh I tried the flextone black rack the other day,  I didn't care for the rattling sound (plastic sounds like plastic) but it was great for rubbing brush and thumping the ground and scraping the dirt up.


hard to beat genuine horn for actual rattling.

[PolarBear]

A couple of years ago I rattled up a couple of blacktail bucks simply by "rattling" my arrow against my bow riser. 

[Hornseeker]

is 3 nails still around?? I bet he's about to get busy rattling in MT and Idaho right now...

[ALLTERRAIN]

Curious as to the water soaking? Never done or heard of that before. Just getting into the rattling bit the last 2 year's. Heading to Colville Weds. after work for a week of hunting and will try it.

[KFhunter]

is 3 nails still around?? I bet he's about to get busy rattling in MT and Idaho right now...

3nails is the rattle master 


sheds calcify and pit, they're dry, fibrous and "thud" more than living horn does.   Soaking will help bring them back to a sharp crisp sound.

I didn't really get into rattling until I read everything 3nails had to write on the subject. 

[Jrzbullelk]

What is the best technique to rattle in some whitetails that have worked for any of you, I might just try it this weekend with maybe some still hunting and scent 

[ribka]

I started rattling whitetails in WI in the late 70's. Only while bow hunting. I had better luck in a tree stand rattling while bow hunting. Watch the wind. Start rattling by tickling antlers together. A few times every 15-20 minutes or so. Then after an hour or so try rattling antelrs with more force. Rattling for me based on years of records worked better pre rut or beginning of rut. The more mature bucks came in during mid day. Be prepared for bucks to come charging in. I have used a buck decoy in conjunction with rattling and works well with more open areas like ag fields edges and clear cuts, swamp edges.

Rattling and grunt tubes used to work 20 to 30 years ago. Seems to have lost effectiveness since more and more hunters are employing this method. In fact think more mature bucks are conditioned to be cautious when hearing rattling these days. No w I hunt the  rut looking for and locating does and doe bedding, feeding areas and use rattling as a back-up

[Hornseeker]

Jrz... Up at the beginning of this thread, another thread link is posted... Go read tht one!

This weekend will be good! I can't wait.

[3nails]

is 3 nails still around?? I bet he's about to get busy rattling in MT and Idaho right now...

Packing right now!!! Can't wait. Heading to Montana this weekend. My dad just sent me a pic of a very nice 5x5 he killed today. Snow and COLD! I can barely think straight right now.  I'll post my daily results here.

[HornHoarder]

Tagging this one!

[KFhunter]

GL 3nails

[whacker1]

tag

[Ridgerunner]

3nails is the man, can't wait for the updates!

[TRD1911]

Tagged for updates

[Hornseeker]

Good Luck 3 Nails.... We will be looking forward to your updates!!

[Jrzbullelk]

Jrz... Up at the beginning of this thread, another thread link is posted... Go read tht one!

This weekend will be good! I can't wait.

Just got done reading thru that other thread and it was a good one with really good info I will be trying this when I'm up north this weekend thanks for the help I will post pics and/or updates if we get some luck, I am very excited 

[thatdamguy]

Rattled this buck in Sunday afternoon in NE Washington unit 121. Had a couple more come in Saturday morning but the thick fog made it too difficult for a shot.  Good luck to everyone the rest of the season!

[3nails]

 Well....... kind of late update.    Got to Montana and discovered my ipad didn't work anymore. So much for that! Rattling was REAL slow this year. The rut was drawn out and weak making for tough hunting. We managed a couple of 4x4s and blew it on a real big one but that's hunting! I'll post up a short story in a new thread soon.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Well....... kind of late update.    Got to Montana and discovered my ipad didn't work anymore. So much for that! Rattling was REAL slow this year. The rut was drawn out and weak making for tough hunting. We managed a couple of 4x4s and blew it on a real big one but that's hunting! I'll post up a short story in a new thread soon.

Shoot a Big One Nails 

[kentrek]

We pretty much lost the rattle game this year in idaho...think in total we had two spikes and a doe come in to calling after a week

I even watched two bucks fight for awhile and they didn't even bring in anything lol

Thinking we hit a break in the intensity this year

[TheHunt]

Tree Killer has shown how well he delivers the goods.

[Hornseeker]

I only rattled one morning this year... I need several of myself so I can elk hunt, whitetail hunt and mule deer hunt all at the same time...

ugh!!

[whacker1]

Question for the masses:  How late will bucks respond to rattling?  Bleets? 

Will they respond here at the end of November and first half of December, or is that just giving away my location.  I haven't tried it much this late in the year.

[3nails]

 It will certainly work! Rattling is a unique method of hunting that requires dedication to the success of it. I'm 100% dedicated to it. In 9 days of hunting in Montana and maybe 40-45 set ups I rattled in 3 bucks. Pretty slow this year but it was worth it! Give it a shot. You never know. I don't believe you will give anything away because it is a natural sound. 

[boneaddict]

I rattled only twice this year.  I was fixated on muleys.   Brought a deer in both times.  The first one was huge and didn't see him until it was too late.  2nd was a cutie and I could have shot 5 photo cards on him.   I posted him somewhere on here.

[boneaddict]

[boneaddict]

[whacker1]

It will certainly work! Rattling is a unique method of hunting that requires dedication to the success of it. I'm 100% dedicated to it. In 9 days of hunting in Montana and maybe 40-45 set ups I rattled in 3 bucks. Pretty slow this year but it was worth it! Give it a shot. You never know. I don't believe you will give anything away because it is a natural sound. 

Thank you both.  I wasn't sure how late in the season it started losing its effectiveness.  I will give it a try tomorrow. 

[3nails]

 I might add that I wouldn't "spar". That's long done. Violence still rules the land!

[whacker1]

I might add that I wouldn't "spar". That's long done. Violence still rules the land!

So, by not sparing, does that mean that you are just raking trees or tickling the antlers, or did I miss something completely?

[3nails]

 No. I mean really get after it! Break branches, slam the backside of the antlers on the ground.... Make a ruckus. Any hot doe right now draws a lot of attention and THERE WILL BE BLOOD!!!

[whacker1]

No. I mean really get after it! Break branches, slam the backside of the antlers on the ground.... Make a ruckus. Any hot doe right now draws a lot of attention and THERE WILL BE BLOOD!!!

Thank you

[Dhoey07]

I tried rattling this weekend, no luck for me.  I'll try raking some trees and busting brush next time I try

[whacker1]

no luck for me either.