Ive never had much luck with rattling bags filled with slabs of wood. By gently clicking and grinding i have attracted consistently early season bucks. Rattling in bucks is one of the most productive calls for deer you can have in your arsenal during the rut. Ive owned the primos rattling antlers for 3 deer seasons now and i have called in a lot of nice bucks. During the early season, dont include many, if any, vocalizations. If i would use a call in the early season it would. Most elk rub their velvet antlers beginning midaugust and throughout the third week.
Perhaps nothing is more exciting than rattling in a big buck into range with a set of antlers. I attached one end of the tote line to the tree, leaving it easily reachable at my side while facilitating minimum movement. Its important to remember not to get overly aggressive with the rattling. By othmar vohringer yesterday i received an email from a hunter in illinois. If you like the feel of real antlers but dont have an adequate set for convincing rattling, plastic rattling antlers can sound just as good. Most early season situations lend themselves better to evening hunts. Remember, aggressive rattling and grunting will call in deer as soon as the bucks are in hard antler, primos explains. I continue to rattle when i bow hunt and i hunt in archery only areas now on lightly hunted private property. While there is a chance for rattling to work all day long, it works best when bucks are already up. Repeat your antler rattling about every 1015 minutes. I have had a lot of experience rattling deer before a hunting season ever opened in the early 80s east of dallas. Regardless of the time of year, i rattle for 5 to 15 minutes straight every time. Many deer hunters love to rattle early in the season, but often the late season rattling can be the most effective when there is a surplus of bucks fighting for the few does left to come into. Early in the season, bucks are just trying to figure out what their chances will be later in the season, when they must fight for the right to breed does.
It can be cumbersome, but strapping one or two smaller elk antlers to your pack could be one of the best things an early season hunter can do. Antler rattling tips based on deer research youtube. Rattling is not a technique reserved just for deer hunters. This is an underutilized hunting method, especially early on. In my opinion, rattling in the early season is a low odds game. Early season antler rattling whitetail deer passion. Utilizing a rattling call to simulate the sounds of a light sparring match can be very productive during the earlyseason. Continue your antler rattling for 23 minutes then put the antlers down and pick up your rifle or bow and be ready for action. While a balance is always best for a herd regardless of the time of year, it is not necessary for rattling to work well during early season since they. Rattle and grunt in the early season to attract big bucks.
I typically dont rattle much during the late season. It can be effective, but i like using a grunt call more during this time of year. Rattling and grunting often will call deer the first morning of deer season you go up a tree or take a stand in a ground blind. If you are going to try deer rattling in the early season yes, some hunters do, try using smaller antlers and tap the antlers together lightly, imagining younger bucks ticking and tapping. If hes got an attitude, hes now got hard antlers to go with it. You want to sound like a couple buddies goofing around in the backyard having fun. Two things come to mind with the early part of the season upon us. Essentially, any time period when antlers are hard defines the breeding season and can be an effective time to use a good set of rattling antlers be it with natural whitetail deer horns or our rattling forks.
The deer population was healthy and the buck doe ratio was near 1. The two point design resonates sound like a tuning fork, giving you the advantage of reaching the ears of deer that might be over a mile away. Real antlers work great for rattling whitetails, but heavier ones from an older buck are best. Rattling antlers maximizes fun and success in deer hunting.
Deer calling with a set of antlers or a rattle bag to mimic the sound of two bucks in conflict can work throughout the course of a hunting season. Will primos on the effectiveness of rattling in the early season will primos, founder, and creator of primos hunting, studies each season how to best call in deer and says, ive always believed that light grunting and gently tickling antlers together is the best way to lure bucks in the early season. Say goodbye to accidental rattling and unwanted noise. Many bowhunters love real antlers for their authentic sounds, but they take up space in a pack. When two bucks square off, they do much more than just mesh antlers. Mature bucks will be seeking the fawns that become receptive this time of year. This article was published 5112016 1270 days ago, so information in it may no longer. A cold front moved through midweek and deer activity increased dramatically. I tell my hunters to blind call and rattle on every earlyseason hunt.
Rob olson and youth hunter jason fossay rattling for deer in early rifle season. Rattling during the late season hunting advice and tips. How to rattle in a buck in the south great days outdoors. Instead of an aggressive fight, imitate two brothers in a friendly arm wrestling match. Once the bucks velvet is gone, his testosterone levels are up, and the antlers are hard you can start to rattle. It has been my experience that the pre rut is far and away the best time to rattle. Rattling your way to late whitetail rut hunting success. I successfully called in several bucks the first time i used the ground rattling technique. Last season i had my best rattling success ever while using. So early season rattling can work even if the buck to doe ratio is skewed badly in favor of the does. Rattle and grunt in the early season to attract big. Once again, youre attacking a bucks natural sense of curiosity with this calling technique. Dont try to sound like two bucks fighting to the death. Ergonomic design makes rattling forks easy to use, carry, and store.
Yes, occasionally bucks will spar early in the season, but its. The meshing of antlers is, at times, almost delicate. Exclusive bonecore technology rattling system with extremely realistic, loud, antlerlike sounds. Save the more aggressive rattling for peak rut when bucks are more serious about their rivalries. Late season rattling after the post rut is over and january sets in deer, especially bucks begin to become less territorial. Early season antler rattling tips many whitetail hunters neglect to bring their antlers or rattle bag into the woods until just before the rut. There are periods, however, when rattling works best. Calls and scent for early deer hunting season blogger. This early sparring is 2 bucks tapping their antlers to impress each other. Rattling forks proprietary formula mimics the hardness of antlers, one of the hardest elements in the animal kingdom.
Many whitetail hunters neglect to bring their antlers or rattlebag into the woods until just before the rut. However, the first competition among bucks to establish a pecking order occurs shortly after they shed velvet from their antlers in september. Will primos on early season rattling for deer john in. Try bull grunts as well as rattling a big set of antlers. Early season antler rattling tips gamekeepers club. Earlyseason rattling many hunters dont bother to rattle until the rut. If you have a set of deer antlers lying around, try using them. Todd informed me these convenient straps were the answer to silently carrying rattling antlers to and from a stand. Accordingly, early season rattling should be soft and sparse, tickling antlers together. Hellickson and crew saw greater than one buck per attempt 108 percent during the breeding season, though this included bucks of all age groups. Next time your stumped in your late hunting season, get one of your buddies to go out with you and place him or.
Eddie salter, twotime world champion turkey caller and sportsman channel tv personality, lives in the woods during deer season. After all there may be unattended cow moose waiting to be mated with. Patterning fawns and remaining totally undetected is a good late season strategy for hunting mature bucks. Post rut rattling by now most does have been bred, but some of them didnt take and will be coming back into season. I have found it works best just before or after peak breeding in late or early nov. Simply put, to see the most bucks from your rattling efforts, do it during the peak of the rut. There are a lot of different types of calls that will simulate 2 fighting bucks, but i have been more than happy with these primos antlers. In the early part of deer season, the youngbuck sparring sound and light grunting will lure in deer as will aggressive antler rattling, grunting and blowing, since bucks fight even at the beginning of deer season. Deer rattling tips early season the rod white bow school and show.
These small rubber straps can be adjusted to fit most any size set of rattling antlers and will literally silence them. Location is very important and so is the antler clicking sequence. Early in the season, bucks are less aggressive and more curious. Puppet fight four antlers tied together to aid in ground rattling from a tree stand. This means rattling antlers and other buck calls that can attract bucks during any other time of the season are out of question. Later in the year as the rut kicks in, start off your sequence by throwing in some grunts and maybe a snort wheeze. Try to make as much natural noise as possible during the rattling. Id arrived at our iowa hunting camp a couple of days early and had decided to head across the river to the omaha indian reservation, where i also had an archery license. The sound of antlers crashing deep in the forest will bring the curious bulls around to see what the fuss is about. But some nationallyknown hunters use a combination of rattling and grunting to bring deer to them in the early season. Early season rattling the bucks have just shed their velvet and are starting to establish dominance amongst the local buck population. However, in the early season bucks do engage in sparring to test each others strength.
Tips for taking early season whitetails guide outdoors. January 8, 2020 early season deer hunting report opening week of the 2019 archery season started off very hot with temperatures into the 90s. But there is a whole lot more to it then just sit down and click antlers together in hopes of attracting a buck. Bring the intensity down for late season rattling, almost like it is for early season rattling. Rattling, of course, mimics the sound of two bucks locking antlers. Both can take place on properties looking to ultimately improve antler quality in bucks, and these two tasks are not necessarily exclusive of. Tickling tines tempts trophies rattling throughout the. Two full rack design resembles two fullyracked bucks to replicate a breeding rights battle. Simply rubbing and scraping antlers up and down a tree trunk, or through the brush something you cant accomplish with a rattling bag, is effective at piquing an early season bucks curiosity. You can also add a fawn and doe bleat in the early october season. However, you want to use the rattles lightly as two bucks sparing, this is typically from the first of october to the third week of october. Great link to othmar vohringers article on early season rattling at his whitetail deer passion blog. Rather than smacking your antlers to imitate a knockdown, dragout battle, you simply tickle them together.
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