Rattling blacktails???

[Wiley]

I'm interested in trying a little rattling next week has anyone had and success with blacktails. I'm not real experience in rattling but i think it may be a great tool to add to the mix.

[bobcat]

I've only had success once, not success in killing a buck, but rattling one in. My brother was doing the rattling and the buck came running in to about 50 yards away, and within only about 1 minute after he began rattling. Unfortunately, he was waiting for me to shoot, and from where I was, I couldn't see the buck. He could have shot it, but he waited too long and it disappeared. That was on October 29th a couple years ago, in Thurston county.

[Wiley]

Right on. Sounds like a cool experience. Well see what happens next week.

[SeaRun1]

I rattled in a nice buck last year.  It was the first time I ever tried rattling.  I waited through a deluge then rattled for about five minutes.  The forest seemed to come alive as I saw maybe six or seven deer start moving.

A spike came in and then a few minutes later I saw a nice 3x3 slinking along.  I grunted at him not caring about the spike and the big one came in on a string.

One for one!

This year I rattled maybe seven or eight times and can't say I had a reaction to it. 

SR1

[BABackcountryBwhntr]

works quite well, taught my lady how to do it and she rattled in this guy( trail cam buck)  and killed this guy yesterday. You need a bleat and grunt as well to really make it work.  3 bleats.... 2 grunts.... horns for 20 sec to a min ( stop the ground, kick stuff) give it 5 min.... repeat a bit more aggressive this time, wait 5 min..  repeat one last time even more amped up..... wait 30 min and do a few grunts/ bleats and start over... I wait a min 60 min in each spot, but 90% of the time it happens fast.

[kodiak 907]

Rattle bag and can call got this guy. I've called in quite a few during the last week of the season. It can happen fast, have your gun at the ready

[fishnfur]

I don't like the long winded sessions of rattling similar to that suggested above.  Perhaps I should try that sequence again - It obviously works!  I think it's very similar to that recommended by Scott Haugen.  If you know where the bucks are, as they did above, an hour is not a waste of time in an already short day of hunting.  It is time well spent.   If you're just working your way through an area that you don't know intimately, I'd move a bit faster to cover more ground.

 I normally rattle for about 20 seconds, stop and listen for about 5 minutes, then still hunt my way for another hundred yards or so, then repeat.  You can often hear the deer moving close by, even if you can't see them.  They always seem to try to circle downwind, so before you rattle, I'd try to find a spot where the brush is thin enough to see through on your downwind side.  If you're hunting with someone else, even better.  Have the shooter post downwind of the rattler about 20 -30 yards.  First one to see a buck wins.

[BABackcountryBwhntr]

Bucks are just like bulls, when you silent call bulls i wait for an hr at least before moving on. Assuming you are hunting quality ground ( fresh sign, rubs etc) then it's good to wait imo.. sometimes it takes awhile for them to come in from a distance,  they also sneak in at times. Even at a hour a set up that gives you 8 plus hours of covering ground.

[Wiley]

Thanks for the pointers. And good bucks All around

[deadyote]

Sorry to bring this topic back up, but i have a question for you seasoned blacktail rattlers.  I rattled my first blacktail in today and he kept a small tree between me and him so i couldn't get a shot.  If i try again another day, could i call in the same buck?  Or do they get exucated like a coyote?

[fishnfur]

I think that if he winded you, the jig is up for this year, and maybe forever.  Even if he did respond this year, he'd likely be a lot more sneaky when coming in.

 

[Matth]

My 8 year old boy called his first buck in this year. it came in on a string to 25 yds for me to shoot with the bow it was a nice little 100 inch 4x4.