Calling and Ratteling Blacktails

[smitty8202]

I just have a few questions abou said subject. What are some good tactics for calling and rattling blacktails. Also will a whitetail call work for bt? in the area i hunt the ruts starts a little earlier than most and i want to try this out. any tips will help thanks.

[smitty8202]

no one has any advice

[sirmissalot]

Your quesion has been up for an hour and a half.

I would tell you all I know but I've never done it succesfully.

[wormfood]

Love to help ya but I havent learned to speak blacktail yet.

[wormfood]

Have had some luck rattling though, blacktails seem to get pretty aggressive when you mess with heads. Have had a good bit of luck in late October with a rattle bag.

[kglacken]

I want to try it soon too. I have been seeing some signs of rut activity lately and I am going to give it a shot maybe sunday if not then i will next weekend. Im not going to get super aggressive yet  but if im having no luck I might try it out! 

[PolarBear]

Rattle and grunt lightly.  Do not get very agressive like you would with whitieseven during the pek of the rut.  Gonna take a buddy out next weekend to rattle him up a big. elusive blackie buck.  Last year I rattled up a little buck just by clinking an arrow against my bows riser. 

[smitty8202]

i have a rattle bag but do those work or should i try to aquire some shed antlers for a more natural sound. what are some of the rattling sequeneces you use.

[lokidog]

Rattle bags have good sound and are a lot more convenient to carry than a set of antlers....  They are nice because you can use the bag one-handed.  Haven't had any luck yet but will be trying it a bit this weekend.

[smitty8202]

i tried it a little bit last year but no luck. i went to wholesale sports and picked up a primos buck roar. has anyone tried this out on blacktails? will be in the woods tomorrow to try it out. so i will let you guys how it works if it does.

[deerslyr]

TreeKiller has it down to a fine science and kills some absolute monsters with traditional bow year after year. Havnt seen him on year lately but maybe he'll chime in. Also Rasbo has a very effective technique that I had never thought of, rattling while still hunting. Seems to have worked he nailed a good 2 point last year doing it. As for me, Ive never had much success doing it but I havnt tried it a whole lot 

[lokidog]

Last week at about 1:00 a.m. I heard rattling on the property north of me and a buck grunting on the road south of me.  That is only the second grunt I have ever heard in the woods.  I bought a grunt tube but it sounds really loud.  I think I will try rattling without the grunting first.

[smitty8202]

thanks for the advice guys i will put it to use

[big wood]

three years ago on 10/25 i rattled in a monster three point. I heard him in the brush circling trying to get wind of me. he came in real slow and right at dark he showed himself. scored 119 as a three point. I have been messing around with it for about 7 years and only had 4 bucks come in. I would say it works but not very productive.

[AKBowman]

Subject comes up multiple times every year. Bow4elk teaches classes on it. He is the best i have read

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,63061.msg784767.html#msg784767

[bobcat]

I was going to start a thread with a question I have, but I'll just put it on here since it's related to the topic. Has anybody had success using a doe bleat? I have the Primos "can". I just don't know if it's meant for blacktails or not. I assume it was originally made for whitetail deer hunting. But don't blacktails make the same sounds? I wish I would think of it in the summer or early fall, when I'm out scouting and seeing a lot of deer. I should have tried it on some deer while I had them in view, to see their reaction. I mean I don't know- it might make them run the other way if it's a totally foreign sound.

[Hyde]

Bobcat,

I know Boyd Iverson talks about using a doe bleat in his book.  I'm not sure the "can" was around when Boyd did this book, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.  I'm carrying one too.  Seems awfully loud to me, so I'll try it muffled somewhat and go from there.  We'll see. 

[DoubleJ]

everything is made for whitetail.  I have the can and also an estrus bleat/grunt/wheez tube too.  Never got anything with the can, haven't tried the estrus bleat yet, but tonight, the grunt got some movement in the bushes.  Never saw it though

[bobcat]

Well last weekend I was using it kind of like people use cow elk calls while hunting elk. I was still hunting through some timber and ever so often I'd get the can out of my pocket and do a bleat, just so if a buck was nearby and heard me walking, he just might stick around for a little longer, thinking I was a deer and not a person. But I really didn't know if I was hurting my chances more than helping. As it turned out a jumped a buck out of his bed at about 25 yards and he ran out of there at about mach 10 and I never heard or saw him again. But of course I still don't know what effect the doe bleat had, if any.

[DoubleJ]

I just don't know about these blacktail.  I've not spent as much time around them as many on here but, having 8 fawns born in my backyard on my 1/3 acre in the past 3 years, I've been around them a bit.  I can honestly say, bucks, dows, fawns, I have NEVER heard any of them make a sound, ever.  I just don't know

[Jason]

A few years ago on the last weekend of modern deer a buddy and I were walking down a skid road, when we spot a nice 3x4 blacktail buck feeding around the corner, my buddy takes a shot and misses  , the deer runs into some reprod, so my buddy pulls out his Primos hands free buck and doe call and blows a couple of doe estrus bleats and does it again a few minutes later and it brought the buck back out of the reprod and gives him a second shot and connects. I couldn't believe how easily the buck responded to the call even after being shot at.

[AKBowman]

Check this video out. This guy "Proguide" uses the Primos Can call for calling in pretty much every BT he kills. I think you can kill three a year in BC and he has a couple of amazing spots. This video shows him using the can call.

book class blacktail hunting

[bobcat]

Thanks for the video. Yep, sounds exactly like my call. I will have to try it tomorrow. We're going to try some rattling also.

[vaz,,66]

I did use it 2 years ago on a mule deer worked for me got a nice 4x4.

[big wood]

i dont know about a doe bleat but i did hear a doe on wednesday blow like she smelled me but softer and kept feeding 50 yards from me, then a last years fawn from came to her and they both stayed there for about 1/2 hour and feed off. I dont think they had a clue i was there. gotta go it's raining and light will be here soon.

[MADMAX]

I would stick with just a grunt tube and still hunt or spot and stalk
trust me it works

[BOWHUNTER45]

Always have a grunt tube with ya this time of the year...works well ....awesome deer guys ...Now you have me all excited about this morning ....its raining cats and dogs but I am out the door !!!!!!!!!!!!

[elkspert]

I have called in blacktail both ways. I few years back I spotted a three point right before extended buck,while watching him I had to wipe off my binos, all I had was a white cloth. As i started wiping the lenses he saw it and started coming my way. He would go about 20 feet, stop and rub a tree, look at me and start again. So opening day of extended I go to my spot and nothing. After glassing for a bit I pull out the horns and start rattling, look across the dray and there he is charging out of the reprod, nostrils flaring and ready to fight. He was no match for the 180 grn. As far as the bleat. Well I had located a bomber buck before the extended season. First day of extended, socked in with fog. Right at daylight I see a deer cross the road into the reprod. I'm thinking it was him but it was to dark and to foggy to tell. So I sit and start the doe bleat. Twenty minutes into it theres enough daylight now to see and the deer I saw didn't come back out. As I go to stand up, a doe was trying to peek around the stump I was leaning on. We both looked like I think she about jumped out of here skin.

[patton1]

I called a little fork horn in to me the other night with the Primos "Original" can.  I actually blow throught it instead of flipping it over.  You can make shorter or longer sounds that way.  My 3X4 last year also came in while I was calling but I'm not sure if that was just coincidence or not.  I just try to make it sound a little softer than I would with a WT.  I never really know with these BT's

[Martinhunter]

I was going to start a thread with a question I have, but I'll just put it on here since it's related to the topic. Has anybody had success using a doe bleat? I have the Primos "can". I just don't know if it's meant for blacktails or not. I assume it was originally made for whitetail deer hunting. But don't blacktails make the same sounds? I wish I would think of it in the summer or early fall, when I'm out scouting and seeing a lot of deer. I should have tried it on some deer while I had them in view, to see their reaction. I mean I don't know- it might make them run the other way if it's a totally foreign sound.

I was on the primos website last night and was looking and reading about the "can" and they say that it is for whities, muley's AND blackies. So I would assume it would work. I hope so because I'm going to use mine next week while rattlen and grunten.

[lokidog]

I just don't know about these blacktail.  I've not spent as much time around them as many on here but, having 8 fawns born in my backyard on my 1/3 acre in the past 3 years, I've been around them a bit.  I can honestly say, bucks, dows, fawns, I have NEVER heard any of them make a sound, ever.  I just don't know

The fawns make a lot of "noise" around here.  We had one out back this summer just  whining away and its mom would just look into the woods at it and just keep eating.  I guess even they get sick of their kids whining too.

I've tried the can in years past but have not ever noticed anything coming in to it.

[lokidog]

After my second rattling sequence this morning, I had one come running out of a neighbor's property, across the road toward me, then disappeared within twenty yards.  I thought I saw it was a spike with a small fork staring on one side but did not get a good look at him through the trees from my stand.  About a half hour later I could hear two deer approaching my position from opposite sides when a spike came by on a mission right toward the trail I could hear the other deer on.  A half hour later, the spike came back looking around the area and offered me a couple of shots but I already had a doe on the ground this morning and am hoping for a bigger buck for my first tag.

[DoubleJ]

The 7 year old and I rattled in a doe and a fawn this morning.  Probably just a coincidence but, fun to imagine I had something to do with it.

[vaz,,66]

Its work for sure maybe not like for a wight tail deer but its work, i did used bleat can and a grant tube as well and i had a respond
for both of them.

[TheHunt]

Here is a few bones that I will throw you.

1. Boyd has lots of knowledge search and you will find.  If you look hard and do not find anything send me a PM.
2. Rattling is kind of a weird science on Blacktails.  Those SOB's will stop coming when you stop rattling. I have seen it.  Your set up will make you or break you.  Having a cliff or a huge rock to your back makes the deer come to you.  Anything else those smart buggers will hook you and smell ya.  Do that too much and they will not come in.   Rattle loud and make a racket and if you do not have a huge object or tons of blow down you are going to be scewed.  So set up is very important... 
3. The grunt tube is used but not too much. 

[FLIZZ]

Rattle for 30 to 45 seconds, try to picture actual sparring match while doing this, it will help the realism of your rattling, wait a half hour or so and repeat if nothing shows up. I rattled in a bunch of hot doe's this season (looking to get railed), and where there are doe's there are bucks.  Primos rattle bag seems to work for me, and keep your movement to a minimum.  also, dont waist your time with a grunt tube or anything like that, never had success with that kind of stuff. happy rattling! you cant beat rattling a deer in,  regardless of if its a doe!

[gonehuntin68]

Rattle for 30 to 45 seconds, try to picture actual sparring match while doing this, it will help the realism of your rattling, wait a half hour or so and repeat if nothing shows up. I rattled in a bunch of hot doe's this season (looking to get railed), and where there are doe's there are bucks.  Primos rattle bag seems to work for me, and keep your movement to a minimum.  also, dont waist your time with a grunt tube or anything like that, never had success with that kind of stuff. happy rattling! you cant beat rattling a deer in,  regardless of if its a doe!

haha get railed       nice

[donimator]

I disagree with the grunt tubes not working.  A few years ago, I was walking an old overgrown road and had a buck grunt, snort, bash trees etc.  I never did see him and could not answer his call.  That night I picked up a primos grunt tube and went back the next day.  I was walking the road SUPER SLOW and blowing the call very lightly every few minutes.  Then my mind started playing tricks on me when I thought I heard a grunt back!  Well, after 5 minutes of mimicing the deer grunting back at me and walking down the road a little farther, he came charging out ready for a fight.  Shot the deer at 10ft with my 30-06.  It was only a forked horn, but to this day one of the most exciting hunts ever.

I fully believe that without the grunt call, he would not have come out of the thick brush.  T

[BOWHUNTER45]

I disagree with the grunt tubes not working.  A few years ago, I was walking an old overgrown road and had a buck grunt, snort, bash trees etc.  I never did see him and could not answer his call.  That night I picked up a primos grunt tube and went back the next day.  I was walking the road SUPER SLOW and blowing the call very lightly every few minutes.  Then my mind started playing tricks on me when I thought I heard a grunt back!  Well, after 5 minutes of mimicing the deer grunting back at me and walking down the road a little farther, he came charging out ready for a fight.  Shot the deer at 10ft with my 30-06.  It was only a forked horn, but to this day one of the most exciting hunts ever.

I fully believe that without the grunt call, he would not have come out of the thick brush.  T

  if you go in the woods without a grunt tube this time of year then you are seriously missing out  I have grunted many blacktail in and not just bucks but does too!!!

[FLIZZ]

I stand corrected!

[bow4elk]

Thanks for the props, AK!  I have two seminars this weekend at Cabela's in Lacey.  I posted about it in the Events forum: http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,86703.0.html

I will tell anyone attempting to rattle or call blacktails that it takes patience and above all else, the correct timing of the sounds you make with the rut phase you happen to be hunting in.  I will break this down in detail this weekend and will be doing demos to help illustrate my approach. And for the record, I don't consider myself an expert by any stretch; I'm just a dedicated student of these deer and am continually learning.  Like many people, I'm still trying to get to the level where I can tag a mature buck on a regular basis.  I've known Boyd Iverson for nearly 20 years and in all our discussions on the topic, it's clear that there is no magic bullet that will "flip the switch".  It requires effort and constant focus year-round, which is what I'm striving to do.  I hope to see you there!

[bow4elk]

as for vocalizations, they are still deer and they make the same deer sounds as whitetails.  But, as some have suggested, much quieter than whitetails.  I would agree.  I had forkies snort-wheezing within several feet of my ground blind last year and if I was 30-40 yards away, I'd not have heard it. Bucks tend to grunt very softly and doe bleats are muted as well.  A fawn bawl can work magic.  The primos can is pretty good for this even though it says it's an estrous bleat.  It's all about timing and the mood of deer within earshot.  Just like a bull elk that will run at the sound of a cow call, so will bucks at the sound of a bleat, rattling, fawn bawls, etc....or they might pile into your lap!

[bow4elk]

And don't forget that does want to be bred by dominant bucks, and will often come into rattling or soft grunts. Between the last week in October and through DECEMBER (yes, December) they will often have a buck in tow.  I've killed a few this way, both does and bucks.

[bow4elk]

And for what it's worth, a telemetry study in Texas (on whitetails of coarse) showed that a very high percentage of bucks responded favorably and closed the distance toward the sound of the rattling, but only 33% of those bucks were visibly seen during the study.

Now think about what we contend with here west of the Cascades with all the thick understory.  I've busted a number of bucks while getting up to move to another location.

[longstevo]

So, now throwing more scenarios into the mix...

What works best during the post rut in early December? 

[bow4elk]

I've had my best rattling/calling success in December...killed 3 in a row on 12/31!

[kglacken]

So you think it will be worth a shot to try and rattle in a buck during late buck or even Late archery?

[AKBowman]

Bow4Elk-   I'd love to go to one of your seminars this weekend and I definitely would if I wasnt going to be out scouting/checking cams/picking out treestand locations for late archery 

I was lucky enough to meet a member on this site who has been rifle hunting the same area as I have been archery hunting the past four years and he has shot some whoppers in there in Oct. If not for that I dont think I would know the caliber of buck that are in that area b/c I just have not been seeing them in Nov/Dec. This year I am going all out on the scouting, running 6 trail cams and have 3 tree stands to hunt different wind.

I know now that persistence and to just BELIEVE that that big BT buck IS THERE will keep me in my stand until I kill my buck.

I can speak for many of us on here when I say THANK YOU for sharing the info you have gathered over the years about killing these grey ghosts.

[longstevo]

Alright, just to recap here. 

I hunted whitetails in Idaho one year and we couldn't buy a buck, so we went to rattling because 'Why the hell not?"
By the time the hunt was over, we'd rattled in nearly ten bucks of various sizes (no monsters) and I shot a nice three point. 
Our method:  No less than twenty minutes in one place.  Rattle viciously and loud for three to five minutes and pause.  Grunt on the standard grunt tube two or three times in a three to five minute break from rattling, then start right back up with the hard and heavy rattling again (3-5 mins) with a short break with some grunts. 

Of course, the next year this wouldn't work. 

Am I on the right track here for blacktails, or is there another preferred method?