rattling

[300 ultra mag]

Anybody do any good rattling. How loud and for how long? Do you throw in some grunts and doe bleats? Has anyone ever weghed a boned out buck, incase I would stumble into one in a roadless area? That way every step of the pack out I can say It is only 40lbs, only 40lbs. Ha HA

 

 

I very grate full for all of the advice, if I can return the favor let me know. I am trying to pay you of with pictures.

 

Gabe

 

Ps here is a picture of me about 8 miles back in a lion den calling bulls for my friend last year.

[Snapshot]

I have no experience with rattling, but I here it does not work on Coues like it does for eastern whitetail?

Coues use a much bigger area than thier eastern cousins and you have to be in fairly close to get something to come in,

even out of curiosity?

[galiuro mountain man]

I havent had much luck rattling for coues, but a good doe bleat will work good in the early part of the rut, sometimes. The best way I have found to call them is if a buck is chasing the does but they will not let him mount them, try to get into 200yds, then get settled in a good shooting position. Right after he attempts to mount, most of the time he will stand still where he is for a few seconds (probably wondering why she keeps running from him). Do a soft bleat real soft, he should hear it if it is not too windy or raining. Watch what he does, I have had them just look at me, and I have also had them run straight at me. If he doesnt look or anything, give it a few more seconds and blow it softly again, but dont overdo it, he will spook, most of the time the second one will get his attention. If he starts moving to you, dont blow the call again, if he just looks, dont blow it until he isnt looking in your direction, and absolutly dont move. If he heard you, he knows where you are, and I know that they can hear very well (explanation after later).

 

Also watch body language, if he postures up and raises his head real high and kind of puts his ears back, and seems to be looking more out of the back corners of his eyes (eyes probing all around, but mainly staying pinned where he can see behind him), or is making quick sharp steps, at any time after you call, dont call again, he is ready to bolt. If he does this, but doesnt bolt, after a while he will loosen up, then get curious and sometimes he will investigate the bleats. Another thing to watch is his tail, like mule deer, when white tails are relaxed they will flick their tails a couple of times before walking, if you call and he flicks his tail, he could be coming.

 

I know deer can hear very well, it amazes me at how they can pick up the slightest sounds and how far they can hear them from. Last Dec. my dad, my hunting partner and I were hunting mule deer. We glassed a nice buck and some does up 900 yds across a canyon. My dad had already been on a long stalk earlier that day, so he said it was our turn. We got above them and got to about 100 yds and the wind shifted, they all stood up and stared at us. My dad saw this and blew his bleat, a few seconds later they all turned and stared towards him. Then the wind blew from behind us again and they ran. Niether of us heard the bleat from that distance so I thought my dad moved to get their attention. When I asked him how he got them to look his direction, he said he did one quiet bleat. This was in a constant 15 to 20 mph wind, they heard a bleat that a human has a hard time hearing at 50 to 60 yds. That is why I say bleat softly, they will hear it.

 

And like I said earlier, a bleat works really good.... sometimes.

[Coues Sniper]

Gabe,

 

Some buddies of mine have done some rattling for Coues, with mixed success. One guy rattled in a buck in Mexico that went 118", so it obviously worked for him. The first time he ever tried was earlier that same day and a buck that "dwarfed the buck he killed" came in and surprised him, and he missed him. He was basically experimenting and was unprepared. My old man has had some success with it too. I've never really tried it, but i think it will work if you time it right with the rut. They are still deer after all. I bought some rattling horns, i just haven't put them to use yet.

 

And i've never weighed a boned out Coues deer, but I'm guessing a big one would weigh around 45lbs or so boned (with the head).

[CouesWhitetail]

I haven't done much rattling, but buckgrunts sure work during the peak of the rut. I can think of several instances in Mexico when we had great luck with calling. One buck was called back across a canyon after it had spooked and run across the canyon away from us. Here is a link to some video of him. Not great video due to light fading and not having it on a tripod. When you first see the buck he is moving fast away from us. Then after awhile, he starts coming back toward us at a fast trot. I ran out of tape and it got dark or I would have gotten more video of him coming back.

 

http://www.coueswhitetail.com/video_clips/...ck%20stable.wmv

 

 

And here is another buck that we called into about 10 yards. We first saw him walking down a ridge away from us, maybe 100-200 yards away. We set up under an oak tree and tried calling with a buck grunt and doe bleat call. The buck came back to within 10-20 yards very quickly. He is a nice buck, maybe 101-103 inches (gross). If you look carefully as he is leaving you can see an interesting, short, non-typical point between his eyeguard and 2nd tine on his right antler.

 

http://www.coueswhitetail.com/video_clips/...0in%20close.wmv

 

And there was another buck that we called in after hearing bucks fighting like mad beneath us and not being able to see them due to the thick brush. A few buck grunts and doe bleats brought him in running and into about 5 yards or so. I had my gun up and ready to shoot, so I didn't get any video of him, but I sure wish I could have! That was awesome! I think the bucks had only been less than 100 yards away when we decided to try and call them in.

 

Amanda