Long season but limited opportunities

[OzarkHNTR]

Hey gents, so I got my A22 tag. Went out opening day but as we all know the heat was extreme. With it cooling down and me going out to sea on and off for a few weeks at a time I don't have much time to go and feel like I'm missing prime deer moving weather. I'm thinking of attempting to use all the tricks up my sleeve even though it's early in the season. Has anyone been successful rattling bucks in early season if at all in SoCal?

 

[Snake Charmer]

Rattling works but generally its a November/Early December thing and dictated by weather. So Cal is a fickle place because of the climate and how it can change from year to year

 

[Deleted member 29105]

SoCal rattling hasn't served me well in the past but doing it out of rut will definitely not serve you well anywhere. It's not a common practice here but that doesn't mean it can't work during the rut. As a scientist I'd say we need more data.

 

[OzarkHNTR]

Thanks for the input fellas. I've had success with gentle rattling during the early season for white tails and Muleys in western Kansas. I might give that a shot out here to see if I can lure a curious buck withing range since their testosterone levels should be increasing. I'll let you guys know the outcome.

 

[Cali Ridge Runner]

Thanks for the input fellas. I've had success with gentle rattling during the early season for white tails and Muleys in western Kansas. I might give that a shot out here to see if I can lure a curious buck withing range since their testosterone levels should be increasing. I'll let you guys know the outcome.

It works and it works now this early. rattling , grunt , doe bleat all have worked well for me here in D16. It takes patience and the behavior of the deer in your area will tell you when is a good time to start. Ive been watching deer for the past month and seen really no rut behavior up until now. I watched a group of 11 deer this morning. 4 bucks in the group and all 4 of them were chasing around two of the does in the group for hours. I threw some grunts and some rattling and although I couldnt get them to come into bow range I did get them to hang around for hours. Sometimes they will come in and sometimes they hang back but curious. For Rifle it will def bring them in to rifle range. For bow it is a little tougher but does work. Good luck