I've heard that early season rattling like just tinking the tines together a little works pretty well.. What are you guys opinions? Thanks

Man, I'm surprised to see no comments yet. I was hoping to learn a bit myself. I have also heard that some light rattling to imitate sparring can bring bucks in early season. Never had success rattling at all myself, but know a lot of others have.

For this weekend, my initial plan is to just blend in as much as possible, stay quiet & still, and hope the deer continue their movements like I'm not even there. I might try some light rattling or grunting on Sunday if I'm feeling desperate and trying to spark something.

Try it!
Rattling horns is a natural sound to the deer, and unless you are seen it should not scare the deer away. If anything I've found that they ignore it, or maybe just look up and then go about their business.
I'll usually rattle as the weather cools and it gets closer to the rut but that's just from my experience.
Deer are curious animals and will come to check out what the noise is, but when the time is right it can work like a charm.
I rattled in several bucks last year and had one small forkhorn stand 30 yards from me while I was in the open and rattling the horns and the buck was trying to look around me to find the deer that where surely fighting. It's a true story and it still makes me laugh when I tell it.

Success will depend a lot on the age structure and ratio in your area. If you have watched bucks sparring during this time of the year try to imitate that sound. Also rub or rake the antlers in the brush or on the ground to imitate a buck(s) raking brush or pushing each other around while tickling the antlers. Use a grunt call along with the rattling or by itself when you can. Deer are vocal so it will help.

STX, what age structure distribution makes for favorable rattling conditions -- balanced vs young > mature vs mature > young?

Thanks guys Ill try to put yalls advice to use this weekend.

Early season or early rut will get you more younger bucks to respond in very close IME. But it can vary from ranch to ranch also. Some ranches the mature bucks will stay back and let the younger bucks fight it out then sneak in to steal the doe. Other ranches the mature bucks will be fighting letting the younger bucks sneak off with the doe. The tighter the ratio the better the results but I have seen bucks respond when the ratio was not that close. Herds with a mix of all age classes is when rattling is fun.

The first couple of mornings I probably won't do any rattling, just lay low and see what happens but after that I rattle all year long. Most of the bucks I've seen the last couple of years have been from rattling them up. Early season I'm not real aggressive with my rattling you still have some bachelor groups together so there is small sparing going on and it mimics this. As the year progresses I get more and more violent with my approach. Like stated above don't hesitate to take the branches of the tree your in and scrape them with the horns and give an occasional grunt call.

I like this thread. I might try some light rattling early this year. I know we have a group of 3 bucks sticking together pretty consistently. Since they are generally walking past my stand, I will wait till Sunday. I'm curious to see if this works tho.

Typically this time of year you can get some curiosity from younger bucks. If they haven't already done so they should be breaking away from their bachelor groups. Once this takes place you'll see more movement to rattling

I think buck ratio has something to do with it as well. If there are a number of bucks in the area vying for that first doe you might see more aggressive behavior.

Also keep watch on the horizon many time the mature buck will not come running but will stand at the wood line watching. That is where a decoy can make a difference. If he can't identify where the rattling is coming from he'll stay put. He didn't make it this long just hauling arse after the first set of horns he heard. Be patient and mix it up. Don't get in the habit of using the same sequence of rattling. Make some exchanges longer than others.

Good Luck.

Usually by rifle season a lot of our bucks have some broke tines already. I've found light rattling works great during oct here. 2 yrs ago on opening morning of bow season I rattled in a huge 9 pt . I no sooner put the rattle bag down and looked up and he was 30 yards and walking fast! I shot him at 10 yards. You just gotta be at the right place and hope to have a mature buck curious enough to come investigate..

Go for it!!!

last night I had a dream I was rattling and honestly...... rattled in all these bucks and then BROWN BEARS????? killed all of the bears, then woke up. I always rattle, I rattle from bow season through the last day. I have seen the deer sparring or fighting all through the years

All that buck to doe ratio and age structure makes a difference in how successful rattling will be, but I think most hunters are like me, and are stuck with what they have on their particular lease, and many don't hunt where those numbers are going to be optimal.
Don't let that deter you, and cause you not to try! Give it a try no matter where you hunt, and if you don't get a response the first few times you try don't give up on it.
Horn rattling, and sounds that go along with it, as I said before is something that is natural to deer community, whether it be a buck polishing his antlers and sparring for pecking order early in the season, to full a blown fight to the finish prior to, or during the rut.
Once you get the hang of it, even rattling in a little four point will give you a real sense of accomplishment, as well as boost your confidence.

Rattling and calling all the time could educate deer to the sound and your location. They get educated to sounds around them all the time and ignore them after a while. That flopping tin roof, tree limb rubbing on your blind, oilfield traffic, dogs barking in the distance, etc all are sounds they get used to. Be selective when you rattle or grunt. If you do not plan on shooting a buck then don't try to rattle or call him back to you if you have seen him. Next time he doesn't come to the call is the time you want him to so you can kill him.

Our deer are still in the bachelor groups and still seem to like each other ok. During this time, I concentrate more on not being seen or heard and rely on the feeding pattern to bring them in. Once they start separating, I will try the light rattling, but on average, it draws in the younger bucks. Pre-rut I will start using the antlers more and get more aggressive. This has always been my most productive for mature deer, but I will try it off and on through the rest of the season. Most my rattling is done between stands and my favorite is on the edge of bedding areas in early afternoon.

Good luck

I have had better luck with just a grunt call in early to mid Oct. Just a short series of grunts every 20 min or so

Actually the best early season rattling you can do is with the sound of the tailgate feeder!....The deer will come running to the dinner bell unless you've got a lot of acorns as is the case for me this year!

Thanks guys for the info... I put out a Black Magic Deer Cane block and some apple flavored corn this morning... Hopefully I'm ready for the morning.

doe bleats can produce as well

Good luck to everyone!

I say try it too.
It is usually hit or miss for me.

With a big cold front coming this weekend should I try it a little more?

Nobody?

Seems like the only thing i rattle up is turkey when i rattle i kid you not year before last i rattled up a flock in all three times i rattled , it was funny though .