ratteling

[jeffreys 21234]

so ive never really tried ratteling befor have heard it works good for wt was wondering how effective it is with mule deer ? and tip or suggestions

[Pincherguy]

I have had mule deer come in when I was rattling, I don't know if it was just curiosity or what. Can't hurt to try anyway.

[wildcat111]

i have only had success with mule deer, never could get a wt to bite

[pottymouth]

I've never had a mule deer come crashing in. I've had a couple of young show curiousity, never full blown like whitetail, do !

Pay attention to your surrondings, watch to see when bucks may be sparring, and listen to the sequence and sounds you are hearing, the duration , the breaks , the snorting and grunting if your close enough.

Try to Replicate what you heard and observed in the area's you hunt, and I'll gurantee you'll get a some whitey's in looking for a fight. I've been almost ran over a couple of times.

Mule deer if they are small and curious, maybe!!!. My opinion and experience says its a waste of time, to rattle for them , I'd stick to whitey's! But you'll never know for sure, if you don't try.

mid to late oct is usually not bad time to try.

Good luck

[jeffreys 21234]

ok great tips thanks you guys and kind of figure might be waste of time . was just curios more then anything never tryed rattlening before but usally when im out in my area fighting see mules sparring alot took wife out on her first hunt this fall for her mule doe and come over a ridge and a big buck is sparing wth average sized youngster her jaw dropped and was jst in aww

[Redfrog]

While I've had more action rattling whitetails, I've had a lot more action from mulies by calling them.

I use a deer distress sound on a hand call and have them come in to kick my ass and take my lunch money. Often the does will come in, but when the rut is on, the bucks come in as well. I have called single bucks in as well.

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by pottymouth

I've never had a mule deer come crashing in. I've had a couple of young show curiousity, never full blown like whitetail, do !

Pay attention to your surrondings, watch to see when bucks may be sparring, and listen to the sequence and sounds you are hearing, the duration , the breaks , the snorting and grunting if your close enough.

Try to Replicate what you heard and observed in the area's you hunt, and I'll gurantee you'll get a some whitey's in looking for a fight. I've been almost ran over a couple of times.

Mule deer if they are small and curious, maybe!!!. My opinion and experience says its a waste of time, to rattle for them , I'd stick to whitey's! But you'll never know for sure, if you don't try.

mid to late oct is usually not bad time to try.

Good luck

Sounds like you got some learnin' to do, Mulie Master.

Mature Mulies will come into rattling, likely more often than a mature Whitetail.

The way to rattle a Mulie in is different than what works best for WT's.
Mulies rake the bush for sound effects. To rattle in a Mulie, beat the trees , not another antler, and grunt.

[Pincherguy]

Originally Posted by Pincherguy

I have had mule deer come in when I was rattling, I don't know if it was just curiosity or what. Can't hurt to try anyway.

When we were bow hunting we had lots of does and young bucks come in to a coyote call. Try to imitate a young lamb, worked lots of times.

[duffy4]

There are a lot of good videos on rattling and calling. One oldie but a goody is a Gordon Eastman one called "Deer Talk" and I think there may be one called "Rattling and Calling".

When you watch these you learn a lot about techniques and see how effective they are. Any kind of game calling is really exciting hunting.


I don't think it is critical to try and be "realistic". You ever look at a red and white spoon ? Does it really look like a fish? And yet a pike will bite it.

I was watching a bull elk at the valley zoo in Edmonton once in September. A truck went buy on a nearby road with a squealing wheel bearing. That bull looked in that direction and bugled his lungs out.

Animals don't understand lying and deceit (humans are experts). If you sound half way like a couple deer fighting you should get some action.

Good luck!

[Redfrog]

"Animals don't understand lying and deceit"

Really? Ever walk up on a kildeer nest? Wat about all the animals and bugs that disguise themselves as something else? Are they showing their artistic side?

[Cowtown guy]

Originally Posted by Redfrog

"Animals don't understand lying and deceit"

Really? Ever walk up on a kildeer nest? Finally got to see that first hand this year. What a cool thing to see.Wat about all the animals and bugs that disguise themselves as something else? Are they showing their artistic side?

That is too funny right there. True yet funny.

[jeffreys 21234]

alot of good info thanks guys might hafta try it out this fall when im out wth bow for first season

[Dan_Andres]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

Sounds like you got some learnin' to do, Mulie Master.

Mature Mulies will come into rattling, likely more often than a mature Whitetail.

The way to rattle a Mulie in is different than what works best for WT's.
Mulies rake the bush for sound effects. To rattle in a Mulie, beat the trees , not another antler, and grunt.

Ol' fashioned antler to antler rattling can work on mature bucks as well. A clashing sound during the rut means one thing: two (or more) bucks fighting over access to an estrus doe. Bucks that don't pay attention to these sounds end up lonely and reproduce less often.

Here is a mature mulie I rattled in last November. I actually rattled two in within 5 minutes of each other. A 3 yr old came first. He spotted the buck I was hunting that was bedded ~100 yards away, and headed right back where he came from. I let another sequence of rattling go, and my target buck bounced from his bed and came charging in and headed towards where the last buck disappeared. A grunt at 15 yards finished my job.

[jeffreys 21234]

nice buck dan jst got home from doing a littel glassen in the coulees came across five bucks cpl 2x2 and a 3x3 an one not to bad 4x4 so is ratteling as effective in the early archery season or more so when the rut is going ?