Does Rattling work in NY?

[NYBuckHunter27]

Anyone have an positive experiences with rattling?

[Cabin Fever]

Personally, I've never had a bit of luck with rattling. Still try it every year though.

[ATbuckhunter]

Im in the same boat as cabin fever. The best thing to do is get close to the bedding area and do a realistic rattling sequence. Its also best to be in an are with a balanced heard ratio and in NY those places are hard to find. Im sure if you catch the right deer in the right time he'll come in. 

[Lawdwaz]

Years ago I rattled in and killed a 6pt.  I've had others come in that I didn't kill but not too many..............

[WesternNY]

I have had it work and have had it backfire!

[sits in trees]

Scares em off around here...works great on hunting shows but that's Hollywood you know..

[sampotter]

I'd have to agree with most of the previous statements. I can't really remember a classic charging buck response. I did kill nice buck in 2007 that came sneaking into a decoy setup after a rattling calling sequence. I think most NY hunters overdo the calling including myself.

I've read enough articles that cite studies showing most of the bucks that respond are never seen. I've always wanted to hunt with a partner where the rattler/caller is 75 yards upwind of the shooter, who is located in heavy cover. I probably could accomplish the same thing using a remote predator type caller with prerecorded sounds.

[apoallo]

works fine for me.. However the rattling IMO gets their attention. you have to follow it up with a grunt call and switch back. I believe its the same concept as for turkey hunting. They say for turkey you should have a few different  calls. Example. locator cal (usually an owl or crow) then you have you gobbler call that you shake and it makes a toms gobble. the mouth piece and a scratch box or scratch thing with the stick....lol sorry for not having the right terminology having a bit of a brain fart right now. but you get the idea. I usually start with a bleet can for a few minutes. wait then rattle bag followed by a grunt then rattle some more.

[ny hunter]

I think I have scared off more deer then anything,Well keep giving it a try but no deer yet to the horns.

[G-Man]

I have had great success using a tickling technique, with average size horns. i do not use a full blown rattling sequence as big buck are not all that common and it scares more deer than it brings in. a light sparing battle seems to work best.

[PREDATE]

I have brought bucks in using a rattle/grunt sequence. They will come in looking though. They might circle to catch your scent. It's good to have a "blocking" feature in the terrain on your downwind side such as a steep gully or a stream so they will be less likely to circle down wind.

I don't think it's all about whether it's a big buck, but rather a dominant buck hearing another buck in his core area, that's what draws them in. They wan't to show dominance so that when the does go into estrus, he won't have little bucks to contend with.

 Using audible lures is effective in NY when used in moderation IMO. They just need to hear it. Calling/rattling in empty woods is obviously not going to get you results and that's when hunters become discouraged. Try it, you might just pull in a buck that otherwise would have passed by for good , only to get killed 2 miles away by the kid who was wailing away on some rattling antlers.

Edited August 20, 2013 by PREDATE

[Pav2704]

Never rattled in a buck but used a doe bleat ONCE to get a buck to change directions.

[BizCT]

Never rattled, never will in NY. Doe bleat works best around me.

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[Pygmy]

Heck YES, it works....

 

I have friends who are very successful and use rattling/grunting as a primary hunting method..Personally, I have had better luck just tickling the antlers rather than doing an aggressive sequence, but one of my buddies rattles in bucks every season with aggressive rattling..

 

I have GRUNTED more bucks in than I have rattled, however..

 

One of my buddies who has killed several BIG bucks with his bow won't even hunt unless conditions are favorable for rattling/grunting.

[wdswtr]

It absolutely works, have had great success rattling, not only can it draw in bucks but it has also drawn in many curious does as well over the years.  Do not go ape crazy, do not go get the biggest set of antlers, throw the plastic crap ones in the garbage, take a few of the dowels out of the rattle bags and make it realistic not television unrealistic, incorporate ground noise like leaf shuffling,branches etc and you will have success You wont rattle in deer every time and do not burn out an area doing it every hunt. If you have spooked a particular buck your hunting after a rattling sequence you can forget using that technique on him again. It works throughout the whole season as well.  Pay strong attention to your downwind location, be very scent cautious,dont expect a buck to come running in although it does happen on occasion and for the best advice I can give dont expect to fool a bucks ears 20 feet up a tree rattling away cause I do believe most all bucks know deer do not hang out in the tree branches to spar lol.  Done right it works without doubt.

[First-light]

I had a small 6 pt come into rattling. Kind of gave it up through the years. If you have ever witnesses a buck fight or just heard the sound from your stand you would think it would catch the interest of any buck in the area or maybe not................

 

PS back in the day......I was one of the first to purchase Peter Feduchia (spelling) and Len Larue's video on rattling, even bought the fake horns in orange!!

Edited August 21, 2013 by First-light

[Doc]

On three different occasions, I have had bucks come in while I was clearing out leaves from my ground stand. I suppose they were thinking that it was a buck making a scrape. In both cases my bow was leaning up against a tree and I didn't even have my arm-guard on. They got me. The first I saw of them, they were already staring at me trying to figure out what the heck I was. But these experiences kind of proved to me that bucks can be called, and maybe rattling deserves more of a try than I have ever given it.

[phade]

I've pulled in some bucks, a couple mature ones, but the rate of success for me is pretty low with it. I'm not much a blind caller any longer unless the conditions and timing are right or I feel like I'm on my last straw. I agree that we probably pull in more bucks than we see and they pick up on the danger somehow with us never to find out.

 

I am amazed however, at how effective it can be in the right enviornment. In Ohio, I've rattled/grunted in several bucks, and witnessed a few be killed via a rattle/grunt sequence over decoys. Lower hunter density there, but wow, does it ever work in the areas I hunt there.

[t_barb]

My experience is that it is like any other type of calling, some days it works and some days it doesn't...  I have had days when I have grunted at a buck that was passing thru way out of range and it is like they have never heard it.  I have had other times when they have come to me on a string.

 

I am a bit more careful with rattling.  I have called in both mature and immature bucks.  MY approach has always been not to call at all during the first 2 to 2 and a half hours in the morning.   Then I will start with a "lite" sequence of rattling.  I will then follow up with more agressive rattling ever 15 minutes for the course of an hour.  At that point I stop.  I never rattle during the afternoon/evening hunt.

 

My other observation is that the mature bucks always tend to come in down wind, unless there is another buck that has come to the call as well...  That seems to be the key is to get multiple bucks to respond.

 

I also believe that in order for it to work you have to have a healthy buck population (both numbers and various year classes).

 

Now, if you told me I could only use one call..  I think I would choose the "can"...  Just seems to work most consistently for me..

 

 

[NYBuckHunter27]

How about decoys?

[First-light]

How about decoys?

Decoys work great especially if a strip of toilet paper is hanging down your backside. Had Doe and Steve bring in a huge buck when they walked past my stand with the toilet paper hanging down the back of their pants! lol

[NYbuck50]

i rattled one in last year that came right to my tree from 3-400 yards. i mean on a string right to the base of my tree. It can definitley work during bow season, but leave them at home once gun season opens. 

[Danny]

I haven't personally had rattling work, My neighbor has had minimal success

 

I have see grunting work without question

 

in order for rattling to work i think you need:

 

Low hunting pressure (if they hear every hunter rattling forget it)

good buck to doe ratios

good size mature bucks

 

[Five Seasons]

similar to grunts and bleets i've had it work and had it backfire.

[Arrow Flinger]

I've rattled a thousand times and never had it work. A friend of mine has had success with it and he told me I had to really bang the horns together. So the next time I went out I hit the horn together so hard they snapped in half. That was the last time I ever tried rattling!