It seems you see people on tv doing it all of the time, and a buck comes running. I tried it last year for the first time ever during the rut and I will admit it worked on a few of the hunts I went on during that time period. It also seemed to call a few doe in that came out looking around like they were curious.

What are your experiences in rattling? Do you think it's more effective than other calls?

It is all about the right place, the right time and the right ratios for rattling. But it is without a doubt one of, if not the most fun way to hunt. I have rattled in a lot of bucks in the past years for myself and other hunters. Some years it seems to work better than others.

Yes timing is everything. Rattling has produced the biggest bucks on our place. The hard part is being patient and still when the younger bucks and does come in. Seems they love a good scrap.

I love rattling, but to be honest I have had more luck with a grunt tube. I have had some great hunts with rattling and other times haven't seen a deer. I have had deer that I could see never even look up when I hit em together and seen them run full speed from 500 yards away. Guess that is one of the reason I like to use em...you just never know.

Love em if time is right it is an awesome thing!

One of the best hunts I ever had was rattlin. Rattled in 5 bucks in 45 min. Two of'em came "bustin in"!!! Too bad none were shooters.
But the best technique I ever seen first hand is the snort & wheeze call. Then rattlin second.

I've always rattled in young bucks but the grunt tube seems to bring in bigger, mature deer.

rattling is awesome, it helps to hunt property that has proper buck/doe ratios.

I've rattled in some nice bucks, but its a thrill in and of itself.

As everyone has said, if they're in the mood, nothing is better than rattling in my opinion.

I've rattled a 3.5 year old so furious that he charged and dang near rammed a top-drive Suburban. Shortly thereafter, a spike poked his head out of the brush and the buck took after him. We very well may have gotten that spike killed. I've never seen a more angry deer.

Did some rattling in the fog one day. You tell me if it worked:



The buck in front was less than 10 yards from me. I was scared he was going to gore me. Never even saw the buck in the background, but my buddy did and said he was in a full sprint straight at us until I stood up to take the pic.

And I know I over post that picture of the 2 bucks. I'm very proud of it.

That is awesome. Thanks for sharing.

This tends to be my experience as well, The younger bucks seem to be more attracted to it. Dunno why, maybe they are looking to prove their self in a fight? hehe

pigs love rattling. but the snakes that do it, end up dinner...

I think success depends mainly on the buck/doe ratio and,of course, timing !!!

I probably get a decent buck charging in 75% of the time. I not only rattle, but I grunt some and thrash the brush nearby. Seems to work well for me

Rattlin' is hands down the best hunting exp. in my book. Its the only type of huntin' that REALLY pumps me up anymore.

extremely effective,as has been stated timing is everything,and buck doe ratio has to be just right.Out west the bucks come running,down at my FIL's lease in New Braunfels its a waste of time.At our families place in eastern Erath sometimes it works and sometimes not,we dont have many doe and that makes a big difference.Opening weekend two years ago it was cool and foggy and I rattled up 4 bucks in 2 days at the family place,last year opening weekend-nothing.

is there a high percentage of mature (4+ year old) bucks on your property?

this could be a factor

Do you use a set of horns, fake horns, or rattlin' bag? I have a set of horns that I could use for rattlin', but I don't want to break them apart.

I use a set of old rattling horns that are 20 yrs old now. I keep them indoors most of the year and oil them with linseed oil once a year to keep them from getting brittle. The are both the right side from 2 different bucks. One 4 pt side and one 5 pt side. The bucks would have scored 130's. They have decent mass but what works it they sound excellent. I have rattle in as many as 11 bucks in one spot in less than 30 minutes in the Hill Country and 11 in South Texas at one spot in less than 40 minutes. I use a grunt tube along with raking the ground and thrashing brush with the horns while rattling. Closest I have has a buck is 4 steps from me in the fog. Biggest buck I can remember rattling up was a mid 180's 5x5 with 5 kickers. Depending on the time of season I have had them run in or walkin or only come when I rattled and they stopped when I stopped. My experience has shown me that if they are coming in really fast and on the run they will be there in less than 2 minutes and if not then they will come in over 10 minutes but usually cautious over 10 minutes. Not to say they won't come in at 5 minutes or so. I will rattle from 20-30 minutes in a spot and then move if nothing is coming. The longest I sat till the first buck was 28 minutes once rattling off and on every minute or so. He came in down wind and we shot him. Shortest was 10 seconds but let him go and the next shortest with killing the buck was 30 seconds. From what I have seen thru the years the best time to rattle is when you see deer/bucks up and moving or travelling. Success rates are the highest at those times. I have rattle in one spot and got in a buck and moved 1/4 mile and rattled in the same buck again.

I think rattling is very effective, but to effectively get off a shot, you really need to have one person rattling, and I person set up to shoot, as your window of opportunity to get a shot in can be very small.

rattled this one in , came at a dead run into a open pocket we were sitting in. shot at about 20 yards.

it was about 40 degrees, with overcast/slight drizzle. rattled in about 5 more bucks that day, one being significantly bigger, but could't get him to come into the open

x2 but it is not the best way to field judge a deer unless the guide or person rattling knows the deer on the ranch well or can judge and age in seconds. I have rattled in and shot cull bucks and have only made one mistake..so far.

Great looking buck. x2 on the mid 40's misty, foggy, drizzly weather. You can rattle all day long on those days. Nothing better than to watch a hunters reactions to seeing a bick buck flying in on him. Most everyone I was with was ready to shoot the first buck that they saw no matter how big it was.

Definitely agree. I don't rattle too much, but when I do, it is with my dad on our lease, and we both know the deer very well. We are usually within whispering range, so in case one of us misses something, the other can whisper "SHOOT IT!!" in their loudest whisper, LOL. Probably better to have hand signals too.

I've only shot one buck when rattling, this guy was 8.5 plus, missing multiple teeth. We rattled him up the previous day, and he literally ran right over me. Next day he came charging in within a couple minutes. Not the biggest buck I've shot, it was probably 105 inch 8 pt, but he was certainly a trophy to get him while rattling.

when this deer came in, he looked to be a MONSTER! me and this hunter had seen him previously, passed on him, and thought he was a different deer that close up. he was bigger than we thought he was preveoulsly