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A little bit of intel by Paul Bambara

I've always been told all knowledge is good. As hunters we must continuously filter, store, and decipher information to make the best choices for our hunts. This season has been one of frustration for me due to personal matters that have limited my scouting and hunting time to near zero. On opening weekend, unable to hunt myself, I was able to steal an hour to share in the success of my fellow bow hunters at our local deer butchering station. One thing I heard really stuck in mind. Joe was saying how he had rattled a 140 class under his stand last evening. Unfortunately the buck never presented anything but a frontal shot, and Joe was ethical enough to pass, always a hard decision on a buck of that caliber. What struck me as strange was I have never seen much success with the horns prior to pre rut time in early November. A little bit of intel to store in my brain.

I was finally able to find a few hours on Thursday morning for a little bow hunting. Not having the scouting I usually have under my belt by now, I choose a stand I have much success in years gone by. I never carry my horns this early in the season, but had thrown my Primos rattle bag in my carry bag based on Joe's tale of the giant buck. A still and warm dawn gradually unfolded around me. As perfect as it seemed, deer movement was non-existent. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I beat and rolled the rattle bag around in my hands for a good 30 seconds or so. I had barely switched the bag for my bow, when I saw a set of deer legs headed in my direction at a very quick pace. A nice 8 point buck was headed toward my tree with his head down like a bird dog on a running pheasant. At less than ten yards my Matthews Drenalin sent an arrow though both his lungs and he went down on the spot. Had I not picked up that little piece of information from Joe, I would never have even though of rattling that early in the season. Thanks Joe!

Rattling has accounted for the two biggest bucks of my life and certainly is hands down my favorite way to hunt whitetails. There is no bigger adrenalin rush then to have a big buck charge into the horns. For every hard charging buck though, there are two that sneak in quietly, and size of the buck seems to have little to with the aggression of their response. This was the first buck I have ever called in with any sort of artificial horns (bag), always believing nothing could match the sound of the real things.
Another little bit of intel. Here are a few of the lessons I have learned calling over the past 20 years of rattling success. Wind is everything. How hard it's blowing and which direction will determine your success or failure more than any other factor. Still mornings tend to have the highest attraction rate, followed by mid day. I have had very little success with evening stands and the studies from Texas bear this out. Blind rattling has produced far more bucks for me than rattling at cruising bucks off in the distance. When I see a buck out of range I grunt and sometimes use a doe bleat can with great success. Always expect the responding buck to try to get downwind of your position so try to pick a stand that can exploit this. I don't believe you can rattle too loud, and I always bang the horns for all I'm worth. Again the studies from Texas bear this out. Lastly, the Texas study showed that you will only see about a third of the bucks that respond, and that number plummets if you rattle from the ground instead of a tree.

I urge you all to try this exciting method of deer calling. Many are skeptical, but it works everywhere bucks are found, just not every time. Keep at it and you will experience the thrill of an aggressive buck coming to pick a fight with you. Good hunting!!

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