I rattled in my best buck to date yesterday. Only problem was there was 5 strands of barbed wire between me and him. We have 20 acres across the county road from our main lease that we have never hunted. I decided to try rattling on the 20 acres after it slowed down on my morning hunt yesterday. Beautiful, mature, at least 9 points with chocolate horns came running in @ 70 yards after my 2nd session of rattling. I knew right away that he wasn`t going to jump the fence by his demeanor. He didn`t see the bucks he was expecting to see and knew something was up. He walked the fence for 30 yards and then slowly walked into the mesquites. It was the only place on the 20 acres that was open enough to make a shot, so I knew this might happen. It`s interesting that we have no pictures of him and I`ve sat every day but one since the season opened and probably 8 sits during bow season and never seen the deer. You never really know all the bucks in the area no matter what.

Most of the times that I've tried it I got busted by deer that scent checked me from protected brush on my downwind side.

Dang!

This year I did quite a bit of pre-rut/rut rattling. I don't think it's any coincidence that every buck that responded that I could've shot, was too young. I did bring in a few mature bucks, but they came in on high-alert, mostly downwind, and busted me before I could knock an arrow. Not saying it's impossible, but I think you need to have the wind just right, the perfect cover (tree stand, blind, etc) and have some luck on your side. It is fun though...

I agree on the mature part. For one, most of the mature bucks should be locked up with does. You'll never pull him off a hot doe. That's where luck comes in. You gotta catch him in an area where he knows there could be hot does but he's between dates. And, he has to be close enough to hear the horns and think it's worth his time.

Next, you have to beat a mature deer's experience. He knows your rattling doesn't sound quite right, and even if it's good enough to get him coming, he knows the fight isn't won in the first 30 seconds and that he has a great chance of taking the doe anytime in the next hour or more. He's going to be wary; maybe not wary enough to come in downwind (if he's the wrong direction), but wary enough to listen and look as he comes. When he doesn't see any other deer he will go to high alert. He'll peek at you over brush or watch from another sheltered vantage point to determine if this is just small bucks disagreeing or if there's actually a doe to be had. If he does come in downwind, even if he can't smell you, he also can't smell the other deer he expects.

It can certainly be done and it's easier if your buck/doe ratio is closer to 1:1, but it takes both skill and luck. I firmly believe a decoy can help quite a bit. Electronic rattling is another option, because you can position the unit and then move out 100-150 yards in the direction you think he's most likely to come from. That way you can ambush him before he locks up.

Since you brough it up......... I did get busted about 2-3 minutes after the big buck left. One came from the downwind direction I had just walked in from. Really didn`t think anything would come that way because the county road was about 150 yards away and I had just come from that direction. WRONG. You never really know how close to deer you are in thick cover with elevation changes.

We took some friends out one year, hit the horns after we all got settled in some brush, and there was a 3-yr old 8pt that must have been bedded within 100 yards. He nearly ran over one of the hunters, who shot him 'in self-defense'. I think from the time we hit the horns to the shot was 8-10 seconds, if that.

I have not rattled a lot. Only had luck getting small/young bucks and does and typically they would kill around getting closer and closer till they busted me.

I've rattled in several bucks but mostly because I hunt in an area with few deer to begin with and a good buck to doe ratio. Most of the deer I've rattled in were small bucks but I have taken 3 of the bucks I rattled in. It's worth trying if your bucks have to work to get a doe. It's also a lot of fun messing with young bucks even if nothing else responds.

Also, grunts and snort wheezes can make a huge difference. Again, I have experienced this first hand. In fact, in the scenario initially described, I believe a well timed snort wheeze would have brought the buck across the fence. I've done this several times.