SINCE I'M NOT A HUNTER I BEEN BLESSED WITH A FRIEND MARC (PITCHFORK PREDATOR) THAT HAS ALLOWED ME TO TAG ALONG TO JUST ABOUT EVERY LEASE HE'S BEEN ON. THIS ONE LEASE ON THE THROCKMORTON,YOUNG COUNTY LINE WAS A NICE LEASE. BUT ONE YEAR IT SNOW THE WHOLE TIME I WAS THERE AND IT WAS SUNDAY AND ABOUT TO LEAVE .SO WE DECIDED TO DRIVE AROUND ONE MORE TIME. AND UP ON THIS HILL WE FOUND SO FRESH TRACKS IN THE SNOW. SO WE GOT OUT AND FOLLOWED. JUST SO HAPPENS WE HAD A MAKESHIFT IN THIS TREE. SO MARC BROK OUT HIS HORNS AND WHACKED THEM TOGETHER AND THEN AGAIN. I SAW SOME MOVEMENT TO MY RIGHT. SO MARC WHACKED THE HORNS AGAIN AND OUT JUMP THIS 8 POINT JUST A PAWING AND A SNORT'N AND READY TO FIGHT. MAN IT WAS THE COOLEST THING I'VE EVERY SEEN. JUCT WANTED TO SHARE THAT BECAUSE I'VE NEVER SEE IT DONE BEFORE AND IT WAS WELL WORTH FREEZING MY*** OFF FOR.

Thanks Kil, the only buck I've been successful at rattling in for a fight was in 2010 on my small ranch in Young county. He was a running and gunning towards me. Here is a live pic about a week before I hammered him and a post harvest one..

NICE BUCK GOOD PIC.

Last year I watched from a distance from my spotter as my best bud started a rattling sequence at his ranch in Glasscock. HUGE old 6-point pops out and heads directly at him. I saw him raise his lil win-70 featherweight 7x57 and I waited... 100 yards out I anticipated the shot... 50 yards out I was like ????, 25 yards and I thought he was going to blow it. The he I watched him very slowly lower the 7x57... I sent a text "WTF??? Take him!". Saw him slowly grab his phone... he texts back... "just watch!"... out comes his 10mm glock. Dropped him under at under 10 yards. I'm EXTREMELY jealous! But I sure do love to watch my friends hunt. Really gets me going, more so than when I'm the hunter.

This was with a PACK-RACK btw.

Nothing better than rattling in a mature old buck. The look in a first time rattler/hunters eyes when they have a buck coming into the horns is priceless. Even an average young buck will look huge when coming in.

I've never had any success in it myself. I really don't know much about it to be honest. As far as how long to rattle, how aggressive, etc. I've read and read and watched and watched and done my best to copy the techniques, but the only thing I've had respond is a coyote oddly enough.

YEA IT WAS THE COOLEST THING I'M SURE MY EYES WERE AS BIG AS SILVER DOLLARS. THAT 8PT. CAME OUT NOT 20 25 YARDS FROM ME.WHAT A SIGHT.

WHY ALL THE CAPS???

He was excited and yellin! lol

I rattled in 5 bucks one afternoon in Kansas in a 45 min span. One buck, came CRASHING in 5 yds below me while in mid stream of my rattling. What a rush!!!

Long story short (well as short as i can), last year was my first attempt at deer. I was hunting a farm in Illinois. My knowlege was very limited on deer. Was hunting a friend's farm in Illiois. Got up to do my first ever sit in a tree stand for deer early opening morning. Watched several bucks and does milling about and cruising a grass/tree line, all morning at about 400 yards. Watched another buck step out and i figured, well...i aint ever gonna get them to close the 400 yards unless i do SOMETHING. I had bought a pair of rattle racks the night before beacuse i had seen em on tv and thought, 'what the hell...i gotta have some'. I took the rack out and started whaling on it. I watched that buck raise his head and commence to sprint towards me. He got to about 80 yards and then disappearded into the stand of trees i was in. I have it one more rattle to give him a better idea of where his "competitor" was and then set it down and waited. 5 minutes later he walks out into the open at 25 yards. One slug later, i had my first deer ever. He was a 160 lb, 7 pt. Not a trophy to others but one hell of a trophy to me. I knew nothing about rattling in deer and here this thing worked. I thought i was a pro until the next day i rattled in buck number 2, who was twice the size and had AT LEAST 10 pts that i could count. He came running in to me as well, but this time i rattled once too many and learned that i wasnt as awesome as i thought i was and that older bucks sure are older for a reason. But i am hooked, and a few months from now will find me in that stand with my rack again. Coolest hunting, upclose encounter i have ever had.

He's typing in his beer-thirty voice! LOL!

Didn't realize the caps was on. i do good just to be able to type

This is one of my best hunting memories. The rattling in of the mature buck is an adrenaline rush that's hard to beat. Having snow on the ground in Texas made it a special one.

Rattling is my favorite way to hunt. At times it works like magic, othertimes not so much. I think sometimes people try it for a few seconds and then give up, thinking that they're scaring the deer. This may be true, especially if the herd is skewed toward more Doe than Bucks. When the Buck to doe ratio is close, say 1 Buck to 2-3 Doe, that's when it's most effective. Some areas of Texas have a higher Buck Doe ratio. In those areas deer don't respond well to rattling.

Rattling is my favorite way to hunt. At times it works like magic, othertimes not so much. I think sometimes people try it for a few seconds and then give up, thinking that they're scaring the deer. This may be true, especially if the herd is skewed toward more Doe than Bucks. When the Buck to doe ratio is close, say 1 Buck to 2-3 Doe, that's when it's most effective. Some areas of Texas have a higher Buck Doe ratio. In those areas deer don't respond well to rattling.

I used to think it was for emphasis then my grandpa told me it was so he could read the letters easier. Now I don't think all his emails are yelling at me

To me it is one heck of a rush when you are able to rattle one in. I generally can rattle in 4-5 bucks a season. About two years ago I was sitting on the ground out our lease and rattled up a small young six point. That thing came to within 5-10 yards of me and he was looking for a fight. He was stomping the ground and hooking bushes. LOL there were a few seconds there that I thought I might have to shoot him just to keep him off of me.

We were looking for 1 particular buck once in the heavy brush and rattled a young 9 pointer out to within a couple of yards of the top drive. He was puffin' snot and so damned mad he was blinded by the fact that we were in a top-drive suburban. Just stood their deciding whether or not to charge the truck.

It was crazy. Another youngster buck came out of the brush about 50 yards away to see what the noise was, and he took off after him like a bat outta hell. I like to think that little fellow got away, but if he didn't, he probably got killed. That buck was furious.