12 days until bow season opener in Arkansas and texas. I'm still on my lease in Arkansas which has a lot of deer but due to heavy hunting the buck to doe ratio is pretty low. We see a lot of young bucks but only a few mature ones every year. My question is this: would rattling during the rut be a bad idea as these bucks probably don't spend much time sparring over females? I've had some success rattling in south tx but haven't tried it in the years I've been hunting south eastern arkansas.

It's not going to hurt trying. The only deer you might scare off are young bucks.

I would try to rattle before the rut or after the rut since the ratio is low. That many does will keep them busy during the rut. If you can see bucks cruising then they might respond to rattling. I would not expect them to run you over though, but each buck will react differently . Even in areas with a good ratio rattling for me during the peak of the rut has been iffy.

Thanks gentlemen, Im going to give it a shot i think probably on a day when I dont see anything moving. That way I dont scare off the ones that might be brave enough to come into the food plot on their own. This year the acorns are thick and abundant. So it may be a tough early season until the rain sours the acorns. I got a rack off a nice 8 that I killed 2 years ago im going to use. I'll let you know how it goes.

I agree with stxranchman and start rattling 10 days to two weeks in advance of when you think the rut will begin. The bucks will have much more vigor at this time and therefore will be more responsive to rattling. If the buck to doe ratio is very low, you will most likely have a rut that runs over several weeks and is pretty hard on the buck herd as they attempt to breed the does. You will also see many immature bucks breeding does that would not happen if the buck to doe ratio was closer.
If you get a chance, pick up a copy of the July-August edition of the JOURNAL OF THE TEXAS TROPHY HUNTERS magazine. I wrote an article about common sense rattling in the Hill Country but the same principals will apply across the country.
Adios,
Gary

Thanks gary! I'll pick one up.