Calling In Bucks
Rattling Antlers, Bags and Boxes
 Editor’s
Note: One time when I hunted in Mexico, because of the
grunt call, I held a buck within shooting range for
over an hour. I also bought myself time to see a bigger
deer. When no other trophy showed up, I used the grunt
call to position the buck to allow me to take an effective
shot. On that day, in that place, the grunt call made
the difference in whether or not I bagged a buck. And,
often calling deer will make that difference in your
hunt, as we’ll learn this week.
Most hunters have their own philosophy concerning rattling
devices. Some hunters swear they know of nothing more
productive than using real antlers for rattling bucks.
However, I’ve seen
other hunters and bagged bucks myself while utilizing
synthetic antlers, rattling bags, rattling boxes and
other devices that produce the sounds of antlers clashing.
You must answer in your mind how discriminating you
think a buck’s hearing is. Can he distinguish
between real antlers and the sounds made by artificial
products? I don’t think a buck can. I believe
the success of the rattling strategy depends more on
the buck’s mood than on the sounds he hears. For
instance, conventional wisdom says you’ll experience
the best response to rattling in regions with a 1:1
buck/doe ratio rather than in a herd with more does
than bucks. But I’ve seen rattling produce trophy
bucks in both Alabama and Mississippi in herds that
have five or six does or more for every buck. Also until
recently, I’ve always believed the best times
to rattle included just prior to, during and immediately
after the rut. However, I’ve seen monster bucks
come to the horns in October and November with the rut
still 2-months away. 
The mood of the buck on the day you use rattling antlers
will determine the results you get more so than the
time of year and/or day you rattle, the tools you select
for rattling and/or the buck/doe ratio in the herd.
I’ve  rattled
bucks in from the first of deer season through the rut
to the end of the rut and from 9:00 am until 2:00 pm
in thick cover areas where bucks bed. A two-man rattling
tactic seems to yield the most bucks in deep woods and
thick cover in the East. The person who plans to rattle
sits in a tree stand facing the wind and the thick cover
where he expects the buck to come from, usually 50 to
75 yards behind the first hunter and downwind of him.
Seven times out of 10, if a buck lives in the area,
hears the rattling and comes out of thick cover, he’ll
circle the sound of the clashing antlers. He’ll
move in downwind of the hunter doing the rattling. Most
of the time, the hunter set up downwind of the first
hunter will see and bag the buck as the buck makes his
circle.
Tomorrow: Overlooked Keys to Rattling Success
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