Rattling For Big Bucks

Bone-hard antlers crash, clatter and grind together. Hooves pound the dirt. Bushes thrash in a frenzy. It's an all-out buck fight. Only in this case, you created the battle sounds.

Get your bow or gun ready. Within minutes, a buck may come sneaking in or racing at an all-out gallop to check out the commotion.

Of all the ways to harvest a whitetail, none gets the adrenaline pumping like rattling! And few tactics are more effective in the right situationmeaning when a testosterone-charged buck is nearby itching for a fight!

Just ask James McMurray of Louisiana. The first time he rattled he shot a 281-6/8 net non-typical Boone & Crockett buck--on public land.

Rattling draws in some bucks bristling for a fight and others more interested in the hot doe that they believe caused the battle. Others may come simply from curiosity. Some slip in warily. Other bucks rush in at a full gallop.

Deer will approach the sound of rattling most often from downwind. Set up where you have a good viewing area for 50- to 100 yards in that direction, but also some cover.

Prime areas to rattle include oak flats or broken fields with cedar, plum, honeysuckle, or scrub brush scattered about. Find these near semi-open doe bedding and feeding areas, where bucks will be concentrated during the rut.

Setting up with a partner is often best. Position the shooter 5- to 50 yards downwind of the rattler, depending on thickness of the cover.

This solves one of the main problems found with the tactic in a study conducted in Texas by biologist Mickey Hellickson. Hunters couldn't see 57 percent of the bucks that came in to the sound of the horns. The bucks approached the rattling sound, but remained hidden back in cover.

Use real antlers if you have them, but synthetic versions also work. Rattling boxes and bags perform reasonably well, but can't offer the diversity of sounds you get with a pair of synthetic or real horns.

If you suspect a buck might be very close, try a light, low-key sequence initially. Otherwise, I like to start loud and hard. (The same Texas study found loud rattling produced best of all.)

Clack the two halves of the rack together hard once to begin the sequence, like two bucks initially making contact. After that, twist them to create a realistic grinding sound. Follow that with lots of short wrist-turning and clattering to make that distinctive rattling sound.

Pause to pound the ground with the antlers occasionally. Also thrash and rake the bushes around you for added realism.

When to Use Them

Mornings are best for rattling, evenings second best. You can rattle a buck in at any time of day, though, if you are near an animal that's in the right frame of mind.

Cold, cloudy weather also helps. If possible, choose days with low wind so the sound travels well.

Rattling is hot during the seek-and-chase phase of the rut, but only slightly less effective during peak breeding. It often draws in the biggest bucks of all during the post-rut, according to Hellickson's study. I've rattled bucks in well into December, and even in January in the Deep South and Texas.

Always use caution when rattling if other hunters might be on the property, and wear plenty of blaze orange. The technique performs best when you have a large chunk of property with little pressure and a good buck-to-doe ratio.

That's the setup I enjoyed during my first ever experience rattling many years ago on a south Texas ranch called the Junco, where Lyndon Johnson once hunted. The guide rattled in seven bucks the first afternoon we went out.

Before the hunt was finished we'd enticed 23 bucks with clattering horns. The largest, a 5-year-old, 10-pointer, now graces my office wall.

Interestingly, that same year I used both rattling and grunting during a Michigan hunt on a well-managed property to lure in my biggest 8-point evera gnarly-racked old buck with a 22-inch spread.

Those hunts at the northern and southern extremes of the country proved to me that rattling is definitely a tactic worth having in your bag of tricks no matter where you hunt.

Rattle for one- to three minutes and then pause for 10- to 15 minutes. Rattle again. If nothing comes after the second sequence, move to a fresh area. If you're on stand, wait a half-hour and then try again.