quick question, im thinking about picking up some fake antlers to rattle or call. what is peoples experience with them? does a guy go with the fake rack, real rack, the smaller plastic pucks with the knobs on them, or even the bag of wooden dowels…….. or anything at all?
I used a rattle bag (think it was about $15 at Gander) to rattle in my buck earlier this year. Had never used them before, and will be using them going forward.
i have a rattle bag as well that i use. although i have had limited success using it. its nice thats its not too big and will fit in a pack or even pocket.
I also have a rattle bag and am not real impressed with it. tough to sound real with it unless you are really slamming it around. They are convenient to carry. I am thinking about getting the black rack, they sound good, pack easy, and aren’t quite as easy to see for the deer when you use them. Plus they designed them so you don’t bash your fingers when you are rattling.
I’ve got a bag and also a set of sheds I lopped off the brow tines so I don’t impale myself. Personally I like the real deal better, soak them in water when not using them to keep from getting a hollow sound to them.
It’s definately not something that works everytime, but when it does it makes up for all the failed attempts. I had a night 2 years ago that one rattle session brought in 4 bucks, all small ones but they started having a royal rumble sparring match under my tree. The best responses have been when they charge in, had a nice buck come in real hard from accross a valley last fall, about 400 yards away. He ended up skirting behind me and got as close as about 15 yards but the way he came in pinned me down so that I couldn’t get into position and he got away. Sure gets the blood pumping though when you here that rustle of leaves that sounds more like a heard of elephants coming than a single deer.
Some buddies of mine did a test to see what products sounded best…. And by best I mean to HUMAN ears..
went into the timber and did a 20 second sequence with each product 50 yds away into the timber to create as real of conditions as we could.
We tired the following products
Knight and Hale pak rack
knight and hale pak rack magnum
black rack
hs strut heavy horns wooden dowel
primos rattle bag plastic dowel
Real whitetail sheds
Cabelas real rack antlers
Worst of the test were the following in order
Primos rattle bag with plastic dowels
Knight and Hale pack rack
These two just sounded plain plastic like and fake to us.
The rest sounded pretty good, and we had a hard time distinguishing which was which.
The pack rack magnum although it has great volume sounded maybe a bit too deep at times.
The sheds and the cabelas real rack we couldn’t tell apart, so save your $100.
The best of the best we decided was the Black Rack, and the HS Heavy Horns. These sounded very realistic. The Black Rack was easier to use than real sheds and because it is 4 sets of tines instead of 2 with real sheds…less movement was required to mimic a fight. And they are black as too not be seen as easily when you are calling in the tree or blind.
The winner for us was the HS HEAVY HORNS. Both the black rack and the heavy horns have great sound quality, and the ability to get loud if it is windy or long range. But what tipped the scales to the heavy horns was its portability. It was significantly smaller and more compact than the black rack, and it also had the ability to be silenced with a elastic strap. We never could find a great way to carry the black rack except in hand or back pack.
Hopes this experiment helps you guys.
wow!! thanks for the feed back guys!!!!! im heading to the store this weekend!!!
I rattled in quite a few over the years. use a real rack,medium 8 pointer works well, dont crack them togetherto hard or to long at a time.Week around halloween was always best for me. Closer to the rut not so much. DK. During the rut hunt your does ,
I really like the black rack. Great sound. I use a rattle bag early for tickling. I think I’ve tried everything. I do kind of believe when everything is right they all work. I’ve had the most luck blind calling from about the Oct 25-Nov 5. I still do some rattling outside of the window but it has been the period I get the most responses from.
Funny story, it happened about ten years ago. I was in Iowa just before Halloween and was setting a stand when all heck broke lose. I had a giant 8 point come in right to my tree… all fired up and looking for the fight. The sound of the stand banging on the tree while pulling it up by my pull string, made this big guy think a fight was raging…. I had just got to my hunting land to set up and hunt for a week and I was going to set my stand and sit for the rest of the day. Sadly my bow and daypack were at the base of my tree or I would have been shooting. Still cool encounter.
jeff, man what a story!!! isn’t it funny how those things work out, its always the big guys that walk in when your hands are tied!!!
honestly I started this thread because of an info mercial o saw about a deer call called the extinguisher (I believe) it really got me thinking about picking up one or something similar!!! now I know its a commercial but it does make sense to be calling using something!!!
The main thing to remember is start with a low volume sequence and don’t over do it. Wait 15 minutes and try again at the same volume. Bucks that are tending does or close to it don’t want to fight if they don’t have to. Bucks that are looking will come in anyway, gradually increase the rattling. I’ve seen it not work more then work so don’t scare those bigger bucks away. Smaller bucks will come into just about any rattling and so quick sometimes you can’t even get the bow up for a shot. Start low volume and listen for any movement in the leaves, it takes awhile if a bucks very far out to come in, 3 too 500 yrds, don’t worry they can hear it. Grunt tubes and rattling work good together too.
great advice mossydan and thanks much to every one for there 2 cents, opinions advice and stories!!!
ok now how about grunt calls? whats a good one? are the extinguishers as good as they look on tv??
I use the Primos buck roar and really like that call. I also always have a can call in my pack.
Have never tried the extinguisher so I cannot comment on that.
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