“Do you have rattling horns?” asked the stranger as I climbed down from my all-day sit in an Alberta tree stand. “It really works during the first week of November.” I hadn’t brought rattling antlers with me, but my outfitter found a pair that I took back toward the stand the next morning. Also, instead of driving me to the tree stand, I asked him to drop me off by the highway, and I’d walk the half mile across a huge alfalfa field. I had rattled hundreds of times back home in Maryland, and it had never worked, but I was willing to take the local’s advice. As the first hint of dawn broke, I paused in an island of trees in the enormous hay field and banged bone against bone. In the distance, I saw what I thought was a coyote, jogging toward me. As the animal crested a small hill, my heart stopped. This was a big Alberta buck and headed right for me. Thanks to the rattling trick, the mature buck came on a frozen rope.
My Second Biggest, Almost
That buck fell in the late 1990s, but it gave me confidence enough to carry rattling antlers or at least a rattling bag on every whitetail hunt, especially during the rut. I was invited to hunt in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., a few years ago, and climbed into a tree stand in early afternoon. My host asked me to shoot a doe, and it wasn’t long until a mature nanny came by. Using an Excalibur crossbow, I shot it at 32 yards and created a swift demise with a massive blood trail. In the cold November temperature, I pulled the doe near a tree and climbed back in the stand for the last hour of daylight. I began using my grunt tube and soon heard a steady crunch of leaves approaching the stand. At 50 yards, I caught the first glimpse of large antlers when the buck stopped suddenly, sniffed the blood trail, and turned directly away. I grunted aggressively, yet the buck continued to shy away. Grabbing my rattling bag, I banged it loudly, which stopped the buck. I began grunting, and the deer came a few steps closer, but stopped. Back to the “horns,” the deer approached another few yards. For the next five minutes, I inched the big deer closer until it stopped in a small opening 42 yards away. I ranged the deer, aimed carefully (I thought), and shot. The arrow cut white hair under its chest. In the excitement, I had shot the 30-yard reticle for the 40. This was a monster buck, and I can’t discount the effects of buck fever.
Jim Schell’s Favorite Time
“Here’s your buck,” said Jim Schell, owner of Rough Country Outfitters of Wyoming, at the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show. I had booked a whitetail hunt with Schell the previous year and had to cancel at the last minute. The picture was of a great buck my “replacement” had taken after Schell rattled it into range. “We have great success rattling in big bucks from November 7-11. It can work at other times, but in my experience, that time period works best.”
Keep the Faith
Few tricks in the whitetail woods work every time, but that doesn’t mean they are ineffective. When I bowhunt in rifle seasons in South Dakota, I seek out the thickest cover I can find and have had success replicating a fight between dominant deer. Younger bucks seem to respond best, but just as in the two cases above, rattling could lure in the biggest buck of your life. I once had a young 6-point buck walk within 10 yards of my spot on three occasions, responding to antler crashing. Eventually, he got bored because the noise stopped. I’d wait 10 minutes before starting another session, and he came back two more times.
Tricks of the Trade
I recall attending seminars where experts advised on how often to rattle, where, and when. In my experience, it tends to work best in the early morning, especially when the air is still and a buck can hear the comotion for half a mile. Grunts and bleats don’t travel well, but the “tink” of bone-on-bone can lure a buck from a neighboring property or sanctuary. I engage a rattle bag or antlers for about 30 seconds in short bursts and then lay the horns down. Bucks can come crashing in to investigate, and you want your bow in your hands. Sometimes, sharing personal experiences —such as the one I have done in this post —is more meaningful than presenting statistics. As the rut heats up, I believe your chances of a big deer will improve if you use this trick. It doesn’t work often, BUT IT ONLY HAS TO WORK ONCE!
