Rattling?

At our property the bucks necks are starting to swell. The first one we saw swollen was on October 27th. Now more of them are swollen. I'm going hunting tomorrow morning and want to know if it would be a great idea to rattle now. I was thinking of sitting in the blind until 7:45 and them getting out and walking, stopping, and rattling some. Do deer respond a lot at this time or is there not much chance? Is my place in pre rut? What stage are my deer in?

If I know there is a good chance I will hunt and rattle longer. It's a mind game for me.

Thanks.

I'd rattle from the blind too. Just know the deer will usually approach from downwind.

Do I just rattle outside the window or do I rattle inside?

I usually stick my arms out the window or just open the door and climb out

Ok. Thanks. Is it a good time to rattle now? Or is it ok time to rattle?

I have read lots of reports of people getting bucks to respond to rattling. I think pre rut is the best and I rattled up a good 10 last weekend and killed it on Ft Hood.

I was rattling for 1 minute every 10 min. I rattled very aggressively.

Be at the ready, it can go down very fast. I have had bucks come in so fast, they ran right past me! Then you have that "one" that will sneak in hiding behind anything he can to try and "see", before committing.. As Sapper said, almost always will come in from downwind, unless the terrain (like large pond, cliff) wont allow it.

I rattle aggressively for 1.5-2 minutes at a time then rest for the amount. I keep it up for 30 minutes if I have been seeing deer. I rake the ground, brush and make as much noise as I can. Your area should be more around the first week of Dec to mid Dec for the rut.

Thanks.

The rut at our place is always the first or second week of December. When is pre rut? Is it now? I have heard that pre rut is awesome for rattling. What are the characteristics of deer bodies in pre rut?

What are the characteristics and stages of the rut and time spans in length?

Pre-rut usually was Thanksgiving weekend on when I hunted there. I would rather rattle the week prior to the peak of the rut or the week after the peak of the rut. Bucks really start to muscle up and slim down a bit. Hocks become more stained also since they are making more scrapes. They start to travel so the slim down a bit. They loose a lot of weight during the rut and some drop it very fast. They can look skinny in just 2 weeks sometimes. Time spans vary a bit year to year to but week to 10 days pre/post peak of the rut and about week or so more or less during the peak. So you have 3 weeks of good movement. I always time the pre-rut with bucks starting to roam or you see them traveling during the daylight hours instead of feeding.

Thanks. I'm in the blind now. coyotes in the distance. Saw 3 deer on the way. May have just nicked one. Hope my truck is ok. Slammed on the brakes and it looked like I missed him. Didn't look at the truck yet.

If I see anything I'll post pics.

Hope you don't mind I posted this last year, but this is a buck I rattled in close....really close. It was a year ago this week. When I rattle I go aggressive for a minute or two then wait 10. I bang the brush, stomp my feet, and hit the horns. About five or six years ago I spent all of Thanksgiving week at the lease and rattled up 17 different bucks. Most were dumb young'ens but it was a blast.

No Deer, Just Javalina!

I saw about 5 or 6 doe, a 5 pointer, big buck on the neighbors, 2 javalinas, hundreds of cottontails, 4 roadrunners, 2 fishbirds,

The Javalina I shot I first saw when I was checking my deer feeder and camera. It was 10 yards from me and I didn't have my gun. Then I went to my other feeder and was about to get out of my truck and they came out there. Opened my door, safety off, aimed, boom! Dead.

It was a fun hunt. Had a blast. I'll be back in December in the rut:).

How many javalinas can you get in one day?

Depends on what the TPWD annual says for your county. Not sure but I believe it's 4 a year, total.

Thanks for posting it again. I saw it last year and will show it to my son tomorrow.

We've rattled some in the last week...your video is killer!

Got my rattle bag with me today. I'll be hitting it a few times