# Rattled Me One Up - 8pt



## HeartofDixie (Oct 3, 2007)

Used my rattling horns to bring this 8pt to me. Took this 8pt on New Year's Day at about 7:00am. He weighted about 175 lbs. and had an inside spread of about 17 in. Good G2 length also. Gonna make a great skull mount.



















The bucks on my property have been extra active the last week or so. The bachelor buck groups have broken up and they have become very territorial. A couple of buck fights have been seen and heard, so I decide to put on a moc fight of my own. Monday afternoon I rattled up a 6pt at high noon (12:00pm)...came straight to me looking for some action on high alert. This gave me confidence to try and rattled again the next morning (Tues morning, 1/1/08) in a little better area, near to where I know some bucks are bedding. Started rattling, grunting, shaking trees, & more rattling/grunting at about 6:50am. I stopped for about 5-6 min and I spotted this 8pt moving in some thick stuff. He came in all bristled-up and looked pissed off. Making his way around down wind of the fight, (I popped him before he got there), he was on high alert and was looking to kick some ass. I grunted a couple of times as he was walking in and this seemed to make his blood boil. Buck fever started to set in so I stopped toying with him and popped him with the ol' 30-06 at about 70yds.

My dad and I have 2000 acres about 10mi southeast of Evergreen, AL. I've heard people say before, that rattling doesn't work too well in this part of the country (southeast), and to be honest I wasn't sure myself. Well, any doubters now are dead wrong. This worked better than I could have imagined. I think it was the timing more than anything...right now, the bucks are very territorial and stand-offish. But, are not completely focus on chasing does yet. Try rattling too early in the season (Nov. or early Dec.) and you probably won't get a response, or will run everything off.

Try rattling now if you can, and see what happens. I can't promise anything, but it worked for me. And it was pretty damn fun! Has anybody else had any luck rattling...In The Southeast??? I know it works in Texas and other places...Just wondering.

Happy New Year Everybody!!!


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## Ryan (Dec 28, 2007)

GREAT DEER!!!!!!!!!:clap:clap


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## lobsterman (Sep 30, 2007)

Nice buck, When we going hunting.


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## TGillman (Oct 19, 2007)

Dang FINE deer brotha...I come through Range quite a bit on the way to my camp. Congrats on the kill, that's a dang good deer !!



:clap:clap


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## Caspr21 (Oct 4, 2007)

Man that is a fine alabama 8pt! I would have a hard time just skull mounting that one. IMO there is nothing more impressive than a mature 8 pt. I guess that is the reason I have 4 of those on the wall! What a way to start the new year!!!!!:bowdown


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## HeartofDixie (Oct 3, 2007)

> *Caspr21 (1/1/2008)*Man that is a fine alabama 8pt! I would have a hard time just skull mounting that one. IMO there is nothing more impressive than a mature 8 pt. I guess that is the reason I have 4 of those on the wall! What a way to start the new year!!!!!:bowdown


Thanks to all previous replies! I thought about mounting him, but I've gota 8pt and a 9pton the wall already (this one is bigger thanthe 9pt). I know this is being picky, but I'm looking for a big 10pt to mount. I'm willing to wait, years and years probably, but I won't stop trying. If this one had a little more mass I'd think long and hard about hanging him up, but he's not quite the wallhanger I'm looking for. I'm sooooooooo proud ofthis buckthough. And I fact that I brought him in with my rattling makes this hunt pretty special for me.


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## Captain Woody Woods (Oct 2, 2007)

that's a great looking deer. that's something i would have taken right there...


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## fishaholic (Oct 2, 2007)

Congrats on that fine Buck :bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown


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## jigslinger (Sep 30, 2007)

Pretty rack! :clap


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## mpmorr (Oct 3, 2007)

One word "STUD", congrats. That would be on the wall in the Morrissey household for sure.:bowdown


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## chuckseven (Oct 6, 2007)

Great deer and helpful info.

Thanks,

C7


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## ilander (Oct 2, 2007)

Dang that's a goodun. :bowdown


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## lobsterman (Sep 30, 2007)

> *HeartofDixie (1/1/2008)*
> 
> 
> > *Caspr21 (1/1/2008)*Man that is a fine alabama 8pt! I would have a hard time just skull mounting that one. IMO there is nothing more impressive than a mature 8 pt. I guess that is the reason I have 4 of those on the wall! What a way to start the new year!!!!!:bowdown
> ...




Just do a skull cap rack mount.


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## off route II (Sep 28, 2007)

VERY nice deer, gonna make a really nice mount no matter how you do it.

:bowdown


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## David Ridenour (Sep 28, 2007)

Great post and trophy! I've never tried rattling but I imagine it would be a real rush seeing them react and rush in.


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## Catchin Hell (Oct 9, 2007)

That one will definitely work...


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## cobiaphil (Oct 8, 2007)

That is one fine buck. We are not far from you. Our camp is off Hwy. 22 North of Hwy. 31 about 4 miles east of Evergreen but the club land is on the other side of I-65 off of County Rd 29.

We are finally seeing some chasing and scraping going on and with cold snap and new moon coming up it is just going to get better.



FYI!!

There is a guy at DG&K Deer Processors on Hwy 41 between Brewton and the Interstate that does the skull mounts several different ways and does the horns on the plack. He only charges $50 for just the skull (European mount) mount. He does a good job too. 

Their # is 251-867-7448.


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## HeartofDixie (Oct 3, 2007)

> *cobiaphil (1/2/2008)*That is one fine buck. We are not far from you. Our camp is off Hwy. 22 North of Hwy. 31 about 4 miles east of Evergreen but the club land is on the other side of I-65 off of County Rd 29.
> We are finally seeing some chasing and scraping going on and with cold snap and new moon coming up it is just going to get better.
> 
> FYI!!
> ...


Thats exactly who I took my horns to, Keith Fleming at DG&K off Hwy 41. He does a good job..I'm just getting the skull mount (european), no plaque...seems to take away from the look to me.

I'm located over near Brooklyn...well east of I-65.


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## SKATR JIM (Oct 2, 2007)

I know I've asked you this before, but how close to Brooklyn are you? We own 1100 acres b/t Hw 43 and the river in an area called Teddy. Your bucks seem a bit bigger than ours, although we have caught a few nice studs on our trail cameras.


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## HeartofDixie (Oct 3, 2007)

> *jamesm1976 (1/2/2008)*I know I've asked you this before, but how close to Brooklyn are you? We own 1100 acres b/t Hw 43 and the river in an area called Teddy. Your bucks seem a bit bigger than ours, although we have caught a few nice studs on our trail cameras.


We're about 5 miles west of Brooklyn (near Johnsonville). The property is on the south side of Conecuh Co. Rd. 6.

It all about proper deer herd management my friend. WeONLY shoot mature bucks. I've passed up several nice 8pts this year to let them grow another year or 2. We also feed year-round now...that provides nutrient to grow big racks and keep the big boys on your property. Also, we take plenty of does for freezer meat and hunters helping the hungry.

Another reason we have some big bucks is that we have greatneighbors. WhyNot game reserve (huge private land) is on our southern border (shoot big bucks only). To the east and west we have landowners with similar shooting standards, and they also feed year-round. We're all enjoying the benefits tobuck management. _*Not saying you do*_, but you can't kill 4pt, 6pt, and basket rack 8pt and expect to have big rack bucks walking around very often.

Be patient and selective...the big ones are around you and in your area. Good Luck and stop by sometime!


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## HeartofDixie (Oct 3, 2007)

> *David Ridenour (1/2/2008)*I've never tried rattling but I imagine it would be a real rush seeing them react and rush in.


Yeah, that was a huge rush of a<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #1f5080; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">drenaline...very cool to watch him come to me as oppose to me looking for him. I had a bad case of Buck Fever when I shot him...a good memory I won't forget.

<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #1f5080; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">I suggest you try rattling if you want to try a diferent style of hunting. I'm not an expert, but I think the timing is key to success with rattling (at least in the deep south).


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## Captain Woody Woods (Oct 2, 2007)

heartofdixie-

you hit it right on the head there. this arguement comes up time and time again. if you shoot immature bucks, you wont see mature ones. it's that simple. and i am expecting some stormy weather with this next comment, but there is all of maybe 5 people on this hunting forum who shoot MATURE bucks. and i dont wanna hear the "oh well we arent all so lucky to have private land" cuz that is horseshit too. i haveseen plenty of beautiful bucks taken off public land (mainly in magazines)....they're just smarter than the hunters pursuing them.


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## Hangout (Sep 28, 2007)

Great deer!:bowdown That will make a pretty scull mount. I've rattled up a few bucks but they've all been small. Guess they just came to watch the fight.


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## SKATR JIM (Oct 2, 2007)

The last 3 bucks I've killed were aged 4 1/2, 4 1/2, and 3 1/2. I passed 5 different 8 points last year, and have passed 3 8 points this year b/c they were too young to kill. Unfortunatly the bull **** on the property bordering us shoots every buck she sees (I've alsoseen her kill 2 spotted fawns).Last year I saw a 1 1/2 year old 8 point 3 times, and was MAJOR pumped about his potential. She shot him the lastmorning of the season after 2 other people had seen him chasing a doe and passed on him. (she shot it 1.5 miles from wherehe was first seen).Nothing that can be done about her.

Here are some shots of a deer I managed to photo after putting a camera out for a week. We have mature deer, heartofdixies are a little bigger, and he aparently sees them when he hunts.


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## Caspr21 (Oct 4, 2007)

James, what is that bright stuff laying on the ground in the black and white picture??????????? That must be those glow in the dark acorns!:moon:nonono


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## SKATR JIM (Oct 2, 2007)

That there is some yellow gold!!!

That camera is in an area that is 100% impenetrable and is completely unhuntable. Since nobody is able to get in there to hunt it, I feel A-OK throwing a bit of corn out. Guess thats why there are more bucks in the photos I get from it then there are does.



And I'm pretty sure the 80 lbs of corn I threw out is no comparison to dump truck of corn that shows up twice a month for the folks that have property across the street from us.


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## TGillman (Oct 19, 2007)

> *cobiaphil (1/2/2008)*
> FYI!!
> There is a guy at DG&K Deer Processors on Hwy 41 between Brewton and the Interstate that does the skull mounts several different ways and does the horns on the plack. He only charges $50 for just the skull (European mount) mount. He does a good job too.
> Their # is 251-867-7448.


Phil, that's who I use to make my summer sausage, jerky and Snack Sticks. If you haven't tried his snack sticks and like beef jerky, you NEED to try that...that stuff is beyond FINE !! I actually just got off the phone with Danny, Danny and Keith do a FINE job on everything they do, I've been using them a couple of years now and have been MORE than satisfied.


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## hydraporter (Oct 2, 2007)

Hey Heart, we're in the same neighborhood as you. We've got 1400 acres that we lease from Cedar Creek Land & Timber that owns Why Not. Our main road is the northern access to Why Not off of CR 27 near L pond. Our camp is about 1 mile south of CR6on CR27 about 1/2 mile from our lease. This is our fourth year with the land and we have killed a couple nice deer and passed on many young bucks. No doubt that is the only way to kill a deer like yours, which is a greatdeer.It's crazy how big Why Not is. I hunted there one time and drove 22 miles to get to my stand without leaving the property. Here's our best from last year, a nine point.


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## HeartofDixie (Oct 3, 2007)

> *hydraporter (1/2/2008)*Hey Heart, we're in the same neighborhood as you. We've got 1400 acres that we lease from Cedar Creek Land & Timber that owns Why Not. Our main road is the northern access to Why Not off of CR 27 near L pond. Our camp is about 1 mile south of CR6on CR27 about 1/2 mile from our lease. This is our fourth year with the land and we have killed a couple nice deer and passed on many young bucks. No doubt that is the only way to kill a deer like yours, which is a greatdeer.It's crazy how big Why Not is. I hunted there one time and drove 22 miles to get to my stand without leaving the property. Here's our best from last year, a nine point.


Damn good buck right there! We're blessed with some pretty good deer around us. Be patient, their out there.

Yeah, I know where you're located. I grew-up in Brewton, AL, so I know that whole area real well. The north end of WhyNot Rd is our western boundary...thats acouple milesto the east from you.

My family and the families that own WhyNot/Cedar Creek Land&Timber(McMillan & Miller) are good family friends, so I know what you mean about WhyNot. I've been previledged to hunt out there many times over the years (and their other camps). Great piece of land out there...and yes, its HUGE...I think its about 70,000 acres of private managed hunting (yes 70,000).

Good Luck...Our rut is coming soon!


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## hydraporter (Oct 2, 2007)

Heart, my friend who shot this buck is Tom McMillan's step son. We've had the privelage of hunting their Dozier camp annually for almost twenty years. We hunt Jay Villa pretty regularly as well. Our camphouse is on CR27 a little before you get to the dirt road that takes you down to L pond. Its the first house on the right just past the big open cow pasture on the right. We'll be up this weekend. If you're in the area stop in and havea beer with us. Bring somemoney and we'll let you leave it on the poker table. :letsdrink

Reid


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## ScullsMcNasty (Oct 4, 2007)

> *The Blue Hoo (1/2/2008)*heartofdixie-
> 
> you hit it right on the head there. this arguement comes up time and time again. if you shoot immature bucks, you wont see mature ones. it's that simple. and i am expecting some stormy weather with this next comment, but there is all of maybe 5 people on this hunting forum who shoot MATURE bucks. and i dont wanna hear the "oh well we arent all so lucky to have private land" cuz that is horseshit too. i haveseen plenty of beautiful bucks taken off public land (mainly in magazines)....they're just smarter than the hunters pursuing them.


"oh well we arent all so lucky to have private land". there ya go, i said it. I actually have private land that i hunt but its about 400 acres and its all spread out, 80 here, 150 here, ect... and the people that hunt around us kill almost anything that walks. i would love to let every "non mature" buck walk and have lots of bucks hanging out on my property but... so we kill 8pts out to the ears, it doesnt matter if its a 2 1/2 yr old deer or a 5 1/2 year old deer. and we watch our neighbors drive down the roads with basket racks(4s, 5s, 6s)that we passed up the day before on the back of their 4wheelers. im all for managing property for big deer, but im also not gonna spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars a year in gas and dues and time off work to not kill any deer. im not gonna waste all of this while i watch the people that live up there kill the deer that i pass up. im glad that you have a nice piece of property that you can manage and if i ever hunt with you, which hopefully i getto do one day,i will be glad to only kill wallhangers. but i kinda get the feeling that you look down on people like me because we dont do what you do. well i dont have 1000s of acres of "PrimeTime" deer hunting land and i dont have a 60 ft boat to go marlin fishing on but i still enjoy our sports the same as you do. just something to think about brother..


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## Captain Woody Woods (Oct 2, 2007)

> *ScullsMcNasty (1/2/2008)*
> 
> 
> > *
> ...


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## ScullsMcNasty (Oct 4, 2007)

i personally have never spoke to the people surrounding our land, for one, the people in Evergreen arent the most friendly people to others that arent "natives" like themselves so i try my best to leave them alone. they road hunt, night hunt and corn hunt... which ive witnessed on more than one occasion so i tend to stay as far away from them as possible. i could tell you some stories bout the people around us that would blow your mind. Two, a buddy of mine who hunts with me has spoken to numerousneighbors about their hunting practices and then watched the next day as they drove past us with tiny bucks on the backs of trucks. as you probably know the people of backwoods alabama are set in their ways and they do as they please. they do the same as their fathers taught them, which normally wasnt QDMand most of the time isnt even legal. as ive said before, i support QDM but i dont have the money or time to waste waiting for a monster to screw up and walk out. we enforce a 8 pt out to the ears rule, which is more than all of the neighbors go by, and we leave it at that. that doesnt mean that our way is worse, just a dif way to get near the same goal. andits a happy medium for us. we let the really young bucks walk but we stillend each year withmeat in the freezer and a trophyfor the wall. and i can assure you, none of us kill more than one or maybe2 bucks a year. we might not mount every buck but they aretrophies justthe same. ive killed a fair amount of deer in myhunting career and i can tell you the story behind every set of horns i have. to me thats the trophy. deer hunting issomething my dad taught me at a young age and i cherish every chance i get to harvest a animal. but hunting is still ahobby for me, the sameas it isfor you. and as i stated before, i hope i get the chance to hunt with you this year or if not, maybe next year. but to me, you come off as the way you think and act is the only correct way. and thats simply not true. so im kinda excited to get the opportunity to come up there and have a few beers and discuss our different ideas. it might enlighten us both.:toast


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## ScullsMcNasty (Oct 4, 2007)

oh and i hope you dont take this discussion were having as "bashing". were simply 2 adults having a convo about something were equally passionate about. but i need to get to sleep if im gonna get up in 3 hours. Good Luck to me and good luck to you next time you go hunting. im excited to see a pic of what im lookin forward to if i come up to hunt with you...


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## David Ridenour (Sep 28, 2007)

> *ScullsMcNasty (1/3/2008)*oh and i hope you dont take this discussion were having as "bashing". were simply 2 adults having a convo about something were equally passionate about. but i need to get to sleep if im gonna get up in 3 hours. Good Luck to me and good luck to you next time you go hunting. im excited to see a pic of what im lookin forward to if i come up to hunt with you...


:clap A perfect example of how to have a discussion and not get your feelings hurt or panties in a wad. I wish you, Woody and all hunters and fisherman good luck.


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## Caspr21 (Oct 4, 2007)

Hey Sculls, couple things to think about. If you are truely having those problems with your neighbors. Call the gamewardens. We had some serious problems last year with a coupleour neighbors corning, hunting illegally, and on their small tracts of land it always sounded like a war zone! I am not sure how the gamewardens got to the specific spots of all this illegal activity, :shedevil, but they did and on the last two weeks of the season, they wrote 11 citations and took one to jail for running. Now in saying that, they also felt the right to come check us as well, which is fine. They will do their jobs, they just have to be lead in the right direction. 

Also, if you are trying to manage the larger portion of your land, and not pressuring it like your surrounding neighbors, then guess where those big boys are going to lay, and guess where they will first come looking for does in daylight. Your property. I have seen more big bucks this year not far off our our property lines, laying in our property looking back at the neighbors. Because they pressure the deer. Justa couple of thoughts 

Ps. if you don't wear panties, can you get them in a wad???:moon


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## HeartofDixie (Oct 3, 2007)

And I thought I was going to get some fedback about rattling in the deep south...lol...wrong

No, theres been some good discussion going on within this thread...I've enjoyed it. 

I can understand Sculls frustration of spending all that time and money looking a mature buck in AL, only to have the neighbors shoot everything (spikes, 4pt, etc)...that sucks. All the while, I practice strict buck shooting standards.The difference is I am BLESSED to have good neighbors that have the same buck standards as me. Managing a piece of land to hold big bucks is hard enough without having neighbors that shoot "if its brown its down". Try to approachyour neighbors about changing their buck standards...it helps everybody...you and them...sell it to them. Or like Casper said, call the game warden on their ass.

My dream is for AL to go to a 8pt buck minimum rule with a 3 bucklimit (take all the does you can handle for meat). Then we would ALL see more trophy class bucks. I know...keep dreaming huh...probably won't happen.

Now, tell me about that rattling stragey in the deep south......


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## Caspr21 (Oct 4, 2007)

you have me fired up about rattling again. I bet I havent tickled the horns in YEARS in alabama. Up north on some of the trip hunts, you better pin your ears back, but not down here. But by god, I am going to try it this weekend. And if it works, then I will buy you a 6 pack of whatever beverage you would like!:letsdrink


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## HeartofDixie (Oct 3, 2007)

> *Caspr21 (1/3/2008)*you have me fired up about rattling again. I bet I havent tickled the horns in YEARS in alabama. Up north on some of the trip hunts, you better pin your ears back, but not down here. But by god, I am going to try it this weekend. And if it works, then I will buy you a 6 pack of whatever beverage you would like!:letsdrink


Alright, I'm going to hold you to that...

Good luck! I'm not promising success, but its worth a try if you know where a good buck may be hanging out.

I'm going torattle againthis weekend to try and get another one


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## Caspr21 (Oct 4, 2007)

over the past few years probably half of our land has been thinned and now we have tons of bedding areas for the deer. So I have several places to go and try. But don't be fooled, I am still nanny hunting if no shooters come by


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## Rammer Jammer (Oct 1, 2007)

> *Caspr21 (1/3/2008)*you have me fired up about rattling again. I bet I havent tickled the horns in YEARS in alabama. Up north on some of the trip hunts, you better pin your ears back, but not down here. But by god, I am going to try it this weekend. And if it works, then I will buy you a 6 pack of whatever beverage you would like!:letsdrink


How about I go with you, you buy me a 12 pack of my beverage of choice - I ride around on the 4 wheeler while consuming the beverage of choice and you sit and rattle your ass off. :moon


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## Caspr21 (Oct 4, 2007)

How about I just come by your house tonight, say about 130ish after drinking my BOTTLE of choice and sit in your bushes and rattle my ass off! Which do you think will respond, the buck or the doe????? I hope the buck comes a looking and leaves the doe alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he shoots and scores:moon:moon:moon


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## big$bucks$ (Jan 3, 2008)

Verry nice 8pt. what kind of rattlers did you use?


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## HeartofDixie (Oct 3, 2007)

> *big$bucks$ (1/3/2008)*Verry nice 8pt. what kind of rattlers did you use?


don't know what kind...I ordered them out of Cabelas a few years ago. They're laying in front of the deer in both the pics.

I only suggest using a set of big antlers. Using 4pt antlers might sound like pencils tapping together. Just my opinion. Oh, and I grunted a lot too, so you'll need a grunt call.


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