mbiewer Report post Posted November 5, 2015 Heading out to 20 c next weekend for the any antlered tag in my pocket, and in one of the scouting trips one of the things to keep us awake (hit the road about 3 am after all)... Was do deer and cattle (or wildlife and cattle for that matter) frequent the same water holes? I have seen cattle come in and absolutely destroy a tank. Not that wildlife are house trained, but they don't seem to Sh!t where they drink... like cows do. Most of the tanks we found in the past, if there's heavy cattle sign there's very little wildlife sign - two in particular, I found this past trip. Lots of cattle on the tank/area sign... with only a few deer tracks. But there was also plenty of coyote track at the tank too. So maybe they pushed them out? ----------- Also, I came across an article about "rattling" for deer, pre rut (so, basically late November, early December...) The article contained a link to "rattling forks", which of course wants you to buy their brand. Does this technique work? anyone ever tried rattling? The theory is bucks are beginning to collect up does, and stake out territories, and that when bucks hear other deer fighting, they will naturally be curious? Just wondering what the "seasoned" hunters think of this/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
QhunterAZ Report post Posted November 5, 2015 i can say deer will enter a cattle tank and drink, even while the cattle are there. i sat water during the first archery hunt, had the deer on one side and cattle on the other every day. tracks at a hole get messed up fast with all the traffic. though with all the rain we have had lately sitting water will be rough. no clue about the rattles though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigGameHunter Report post Posted November 5, 2015 My experience is that deer and cows will frequent the same water holes ... after all there are few sources of water so they will get pushed to the same spot for water. I suspect the difference is the times at which they will frequent the water hole. In regards to rattling, never had much luck with that. I just use a grunt call. It's seems to be more effective. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
muleybowhunter Report post Posted November 5, 2015 they will hit the same tanks as cattle, was out there this past weekend and they where rounding up the cattle in the area we where hunting, that didn't make a difference as we tagged out. so there might not be cattle in the area. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted November 5, 2015 I have tried rattling before. Never had much success. Most of the big bucks that already have their harem won't go looking for a fight from what I have witnessed, and will push the does off. They want to keep the does from other bucks, and fight when another buck comes to them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sneaker Report post Posted November 5, 2015 From what I have seen, both deer and elk will tend to go to waters that are not hammered by cattle if they have prevalent options. One good example: I had a game camera up in Yavapai county on a game and fish water this summer. Averaged at least three game species a day hitting it in the hot days of summer, mostly deer, elk, javelina, and lions. Somebody left the gate down or the cattle busted through and almost lived on the water for about 5 days and during that time only 1 doe came in, at night. The next person that came along got the cattle out and shut the gate, wouldn't you know it, immediately all the game started coming back to "their" water... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Str8Shot Report post Posted November 5, 2015 For the most part it seems that big herds staying on a tank will shy away some deer as sneaker pointed out. But, Down in 36b on more than a few occasions, I Have seen a couple Big bucks hanging with herds of cattle actually moving, feeding and watering with the herd... seen bucks bedded in 23 with cattle bedded in trees all around them ... I would not shy away from an area if I am seeing cattle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ivhunter Report post Posted November 5, 2015 like str8shot said but in my case its bucks hanging around with wild donkeys, if I see donkeys I stay in the area and usually see deer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4Falls Report post Posted November 5, 2015 I have witnessed javelina run cattle off a tank before. Once the pigs showed up the cows actually scampered away. I doubt the javelina even saw them. Cattle will obllterate any sign on a tank in a hurry. Deer don't seem to mind unless theres a big aggressive bull around. Last year a shot my elk off of a tank 5 minutes after the cattle left. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BeardownAZ Report post Posted November 6, 2015 Almost every time this last week I saw cows, there were deer in the same canyon or hill. Alil odd how often it was occurring. Of course they were all antlerless deer 😣 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZbowhntr Report post Posted November 6, 2015 I have hunted Mexico a couple times and whenever I saw cattle I almost always saw deer close by. Like others have stated it was almost odd how often I would see both together. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yoshi Report post Posted November 6, 2015 If you make calve sound the MD will stop and look back so they are not afraid In the MDF magazine they had a article about WT tips that can be use like calls etc... but they are just tools that could work Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
