Rattling with Small Antlers

[hoyt]

Has anyone had success rattling with small antlers such a yearling size 8's or 6's. I'm getting on up in yrs. and have bad health and try to carry as little weight as possible when I walk way back in the hills where I go. Big heavy antlers add a lot of weight in my pack, especially when it's real cold and have to carry a lot of heavy duty clothes.

[dan]

I have heard and seen real bucks fight... It would be pretty hard to mimic that with any antlers, but with tiny ones I don't think you could mimic anything but sparring. In a real buck fight branches are breaking and antlers are smashing together hard enough to break... They don't make clicking noises.

[DropTyne]

I'm with Dan on this one, When you really hear a big buck fight it is a violent noisy occurance. I have never really heard anyone create that kind of intensity with a bag or real antlers in a treestand. I have created a sequence like that of a real buck fight on the ground however, moving leaves and breaking branches, the whole nine yards. The only problem with this is there is alot of movement involved and it would be near impossible to do the sequence, have a buck run up, quick switch to your bow, take aim, and pull the trigger. I have always thought a guy could maybe get lucky if he had a buddy rattle for him on the ground and they set up using the wind and everything to intercept a buck.

Now back to your original question, although I very seldom use them, I keep a set of nice 2.5 year old buck antlers with me for about two weeks during the rut, I ONLY use them when I see a buck a long ways off that I can tell is not coming my direction, I have found this is the best way to atleast get a glance in your direction as antlers are the loudest call that carries the farthest. I also have yet to have any success with them..........

I would avoid very small rattling antlers, I can't forsee them doing much good.

[muddy]

I use a couple mid 60 inch horns and if I could find bigger I would. Bigger horns sound better. Even a couple 2 year old dinks sound like a war going off, can't mimic that with small horns.

[RaisedByWolves]

X4, last year i heard 2 different fights and it made me never want to rattle aggressively again I can see 1.5 yo antlers working okay just for a sparring mimic but nothing is like a real fight.

[Schultzy]

I don't recommend using small antlers but If that's all you got It can work. 120 Inch matched set to me are the best to use.

Here's a 4.5 year old 143 Inch 8 point I rattled In during the 2007 season using small sheds (70 Inches the sheds were). He beat the crap out of a bush after I did a rattle sequence and came looking for me under my tree. At 1st I passed on him. Had him under my tree for 20 minutes but finally decided he was big enough. I always underestimate 8 points for some reason.

[UPbowhunter]

A good rattling bag would be good for you sounds like, try them out first some are good sounding some arent. I have alot of sheds around but use my Bowtech brand rattle bag instead.

[hoyt]

Thanks for all the good info.
I have a bunch of antlers around..just that there's a lot of difference in weight between the bigger ones and small ones .

I tried big and small last season with no results. I did rattle in two bucks one morning a couple yrs ago using about 6 antler points I sawed off a rack and put in a sock. Used like a rattling back.

I've been clashing the rattling antlers together with a lot of force, but see on most of the shows on tv people not doing that. Just more or less a little above tickling.

I've got a couple big sets soaking in water in a cooler for this season hoping that may help out.

I'll probably leave some in the woods hid real good in areas I hunt and will pick them up when I go in. That's what I did with my extra cold weather clothes last season. Put them in a big garbage bag and hid real good. Lot of uphill walking around a mile to get back in there.

[JRM6868]

Thanks for all the good info.
I have a bunch of antlers around..just that there's a lot of difference in weight between the bigger ones and small ones .

I tried big and small last season with no results. I did rattle in two bucks one morning a couple yrs ago using about 6 antler points I sawed off a rack and put in a sock. Used like a rattling back.

I've been clashing the rattling antlers together with a lot of force, but see on most of the shows on tv people not doing that. Just more or less a little above tickling.

I've got a couple big sets soaking in water in a cooler for this season hoping that may help out.I'll probably leave some in the woods hid real good in areas I hunt and will pick them up when I go in. That's what I did with my extra cold weather clothes last season. Put them in a big garbage bag and hid real good. Lot of uphill walking around a mile to get back in there.

Couple of things...why are they soaking in water?

When you rattle if I can try to explain it...take the antlers about shoulder width apart and clash them together,then grind them together forward and back and side to side simulating two bucks pushing against each other and twisting their heads. Bucks don't back off each other and keep banging their heads together. There is the initial clash and then it's pushing and grinding. I don't know if this makes sense in explaining.

Thos smaller horns will be good for sparring in mid October. Towards the rut I use 130" horns to rattle with because they sound deeper and sound travels better out of them. The bigger the horns the better if your going to rattle

[hoyt]

Thanks for all the good info.
I have a bunch of antlers around..just that there's a lot of difference in weight between the bigger ones and small ones .

I tried big and small last season with no results. I did rattle in two bucks one morning a couple yrs ago using about 6 antler points I sawed off a rack and put in a sock. Used like a rattling back.

I've been clashing the rattling antlers together with a lot of force, but see on most of the shows on tv people not doing that. Just more or less a little above tickling.

I've got a couple big sets soaking in water in a cooler for this season hoping that may help out.I'll probably leave some in the woods hid real good in areas I hunt and will pick them up when I go in. That's what I did with my extra cold weather clothes last season. Put them in a big garbage bag and hid real good. Lot of uphill walking around a mile to get back in there.

Couple of things...why are they soaking in water?

When you rattle if I can try to explain it...take the antlers about shoulder width apart and clash them together,then grind them together forward and back and side to side simulating two bucks pushing against each other and twisting their heads. Bucks don't back off each other and keep banging their heads together. There is the initial clash and then it's pushing and grinding. I don't know if this makes sense in explaining.

Thos smaller horns will be good for sparring in mid October. Towards the rut I use 130" horns to rattle with because they sound deeper and sound travels better out of them. The bigger the horns the better if your going to rattle

Those in the picture are sheds and I read somewhere online that sheds are dry so` soaking sheds in water for a month or so would make them sound more real. Since I didn't have any luck rattling last yr. (didn't use the little one's but once and never the bigger ones, used mid sized) I figured I'd give them a soak. I rattle the way you describe. Most people I see on TV don't do the clashing thing for some reason.

[BackWoodsHunter]

I don't rattle big or small antlers...does anyone have a review on those rattling bags you can buy with the wood dowels in them?

I've grunted in a few bucks but hands down best call I've ever used is the primos bleat can...messing with it on the ground almost got me run over by two different bucks on two seperate occaisions. All that being said I really hate calling and don't like to use the calls much.

[Spysar]

I have heard and seen real bucks fight... It would be pretty hard to mimic that with any antlers, but with tiny ones I don't think you could mimic anything but sparring. In a real buck fight branches are breaking and antlers are smashing together hard enough to break... They don't make clicking noises.

What Dan said.

Try taking two full skull plates or whole skulls with both antlers, with 130" racks and smack them together. Sounds a lot different than two single loose antlers. I don't do this hunting of coarse, but you can hear how much different the sounds and tones are of how a real buck fight would sound.

I use a couple of 3 1/2 y/o's sheds, about 130".

Too small and it's no good, but too big is not really practical to carry around...

[dan]

In my opinion, a buck has to be in the right mood and you have to catch him at the right time and get a little lucky to get him to believe he is hearing two bucks actually fighting... However, if they are wound up enough I have seen and heard from reliable sources of bucks running in at the sound of a hunter walking thru the woods or clicking a couple arrows together... But for realisim and maximum response, I would try and use a large set uf antlers. Large beams and tines make a certain tone that you can't get out of small antlers.

[Spysar]

And I will add, that the antlers are less important than the structure of your deer herd.

If bucks are competing for mates, rattling will work.

If you have lots of does or poor buck age structure, rattling won't work...

[JRM6868]

In my opinion, a buck has to be in the right mood and you have to catch him at the right time and get a little lucky to get him to believe he is hearing two bucks actually fighting... However, if they are wound up enough I have seen and heard from reliable sources of bucks running in at the sound of a hunter walking thru the woods or clicking a couple arrows together... But for realisim and maximum response, I would try and use a large set uf antlers. Large beams and tines make a certain tone that you can't get out of small antlers.

I agree.