I have been hitting the horns pretty hard for the last couple weeks on farms with great buck to doe ratios with great success. I have been hitting them quickly not pulling the antlers completly apart fo 20 seconds or so. Yesrerday morning I seen a buck about 150 yards away in some thick stuff and wanted a closer look. I kept the bow in my hand and left the antlers hanging where they where. I then picked one up and slammed the other one against the tree he was coming my way within seconds. He walked right under the tree trotting the whole way with his head up. He was a 120's class 9 point. The places where the ratios are greatly in favor of the does have produced very little response. I don't think you can rattle to hard at this point. I think you just startled those bedded deer being that close and all is quiet and then you hit the antlers. Best rattling year I have had so far. Now if the big boys would come......... I just read an article in Fur Fish and Game by T.R. Michels that has some great content here it is.
By T.R. Michels
Rattle Up a BUCk: During a three-year study by researchers from the University of Georgia and from Texas A&M-Kings-ville, bucks responded to 65 percent of 171 rattling sessions. Bucks usually responded during the first of three 10-minute sessions. Loud, sustained rattling worked best in the pre rut. Loud, short sessions worked best during the peak rut (when the highest number of responses occurred). Longer, quieter rattling worked best post rut, when slightly more mature (3.5 years and older) bucks responded.
The young bucks responded best during pre rut. Middle-age bucks (3.5-4.5 years old) responded throughout the entire rut. Older bucks responded equally well pre rut and post rut, but less during peak rut (probably because they already were with does). All bucks responded more deliberately and slowly during post rut.
Response rate decreased as wind increased. The highest response rate also occurred when cloud cover was about 75 percent; lowest occurred when skies were clear. Two thirds of the bucks were first spotted downwind. Morning sessions proÂduced the most responses, but older bucks responded most in the afternoon.
My own studies confirm that wind speed and sunlight have a lot to do with buck movement and response to rattling, calling and scents. My studies also show that throughout the rut, more dominant bucks are seen in the evening than in the morning. The results of these studies sugÂgest that the best time to rattle for any buck buck, try in the evening.
I have rattled bucks from as far away as a half-mile using loud, sustained sequences. It took the bucks an average of 20 minutes to come in from downwind. I also have watched bucks run all the way to my stand when I rattled, and I have brought back bucks by rattling again when they started to leave.
Don't rattle the same buck from the same stand on successive days. If he comes in but you don't get him, wait three to four days before trying again. I also found that if a buck doesn't see a deer (or a deer decoy) when it responds to rattling, it probably won't come in more than three times. For that reason, I use a decoy when rattling during bow season, especially when I am after a particular trophy buck.