Watch GOP
Sundays at 11am on
or Saturdays at 5:30pm on
Recent Photos
click to enlarge
GOP Sponsors
Rattle in the Big Boys
Do you use calling to lure in your deer? Here is a little tip from Mark Maggs on his rattling techniques to lure in the big boys.
I start with doe estrus bleats and allow a couple minutes to pass by and do some tending grunts. After a minute or so follow up with a couple snort wheezes then the action starts. 30-90 seconds after the snort wheeze I go into a full fledged brawl with the banging antlers for 6-8 minutes. After that I typically bleat one more time followed by a couple more tending grunts.
Creating a scenario where there is a hot doe in the area and a buck that was chasing her around when a second buck showed up to challenge him for that doe, a war followed and the wounded wore out victor is now tending the doe. If you rattle too light often times a mature buck won’t come even if he can hear you because it just sounds like two subdominant bucks sparing and he isn’t interested in pushing little bucks around he is out looking for his hot doe. Younger bucks up to 2.5 year olds will often come to light rattling because it sounds like small bucks fighting and a fight they could get in on and not get killed, plus those teenagers just like to fight. When mature bucks fight over a doe it is violent, there is no playing around, often times the loser will die from his injuries. When other mature deer hear big bucks fighting they know there is a hot doe in the area. Big boys don’t risk their lives in a fight unless there is a susceptible doe in the picture. Always try to create a scenario, just like calling elk. You won’t call a herd bull in by just blowing on your bulge tube… you HAVE to create a scenario. It’s the same thing when calling to 3.5 + year old deer. They’ve already heard your neighbor and his nephews all blowing on there grunt tube and rolling their rattle bags across their laps. He knows the difference between that and the real scenario that plays out in real life. He will also try to circle down wind. Having an estrus scent and a buck scent present during your scenario is paramount to your success in tricking the old timer into believing that there is in fact that hot doe present.
Mark Maggs