Maine’s heavy forests, especially throughout Aroostook County, have shaped the most productive deer-hunting tactics since the early 1900s. Our fathers and grandfathers filled the ice box with venison using walk-and-stalk methods.
The techniques of “still hunting,” slowly and quietly wandering the woods along obvious deer trails or following a fresh set of tracks, still work more than a century later.
Decades of lumbering and the creation of thousands of new agricultural fields across the Crown of Maine opened the door to other successful styles. Fifty years ago, sitting on a stump overlooking a fresh cut became popular.
In recent years hunters have relied more on tree stands and portable blinds placed along well-used trails, crop fields, apple orchards, beech ridges, scrapes and rubs. These setups are both common and effective.
All of these approaches depend on silence. Hunters must stay hidden, motionless, scent-free, patient and quiet.
But a new approach is gaining popularity in Maine, and it comes from the West. It uses noise to bring deer to the hunter. More and more whitetail enthusiasts are finding success rattling antlers to draw bucks closer.
For decades hunters tried to sneak up on whitetails. Now there are tactics that encourage deer to come to the source of the sound. Some involve attractant scents, but others rely entirely on mimicking deer behavior.
Rattling antlers was the first such method I saw more than 30 years ago. The technique began in Texas, where hunters crash a set of horns together or rake them against brush to imitate two bucks fighting. I never thought it would work in Maine.
In the 1990s, Donnie Embleton of Presque Isle took me out during archery season to prove otherwise. He rattled for 30 minutes, clashing the horns, pawing the ground and shaking nearby bushes.
A fat four-pointer soon stepped into view. It was well within rifle range but just beyond bow range. The deer circled nervously, convinced a dominant buck was nearby, before finally catching our scent and slipping away. Had it been firearms season, we would have been eating venison.
The next fall, just before deer season, my cousin Steve Hitchcock of Mars Hill called to talk tactics. He is an avid outdoorsman who spends most of November in the woods.
When he asked about rattling, I shared my experiences with Donnie and what I had learned. The very next week Steve shot his buck only 45 minutes after climbing into his stand, and only 30 minutes after trying rattling for the first time.
Donnie is the first to admit rattling is not the only piece of the puzzle. Scouting matters. Weather matters. He pays attention to barometric pressure.
Understanding trails and travel patterns increases the odds that deer will hear the sound. His marksmanship, shaped by his time in the Marines, is excellent. He avoids risky shots and has relied on a single-shot T/C rifle for years.
Many of the more than 50 deer he has tagged responded to noise rather than silence.
During the rut, bucks become less cautious and focus on finding does. That steady movement helps hunters who set up near rubs, scrapes and well-traveled trails.
A mock scrape or a drip site with a quality doe-in-estrus scent can help draw bucks in. Add the sound of two deer fighting for a doe, and any nearby buck may come to investigate.
Rattling imitates sparring bucks and has been used successfully for decades in states like Texas. In recent years more Maine hunters have used the tactic in late November and have taken some impressive deer.
The setup is simple. Cut off a set of real antlers at the base, tie them together with a rawhide thong for easy carrying, and bring them into a stand or blind.
Once settled, grab the antlers by the bases and clash the tines together in short bursts for several minutes. Rake nearby limbs for a realistic effect. Wait a few minutes and repeat.
Watch closely. Bucks often approach silently, but some arrive at a run. Wear gloves and pay attention to hand placement. Overzealous rattling has caused more than a few scrapes and jabs.
Synthetic rattling antlers are available from several companies and produce excellent sound. Mechanical options such as the Bang Bag, Rattle Bag and Battle Bones also imitate antler clashes and are easy to use with one hand. They are inexpensive and effective.
The height of the rut is the best time to rattle, but curious deer may respond at any point in the season. It might even be worth trying during the upcoming muzzleloader season.
Times and tactics have changed in the Maine deer woods. With only a few weeks left to fill a tag, it may be time to take some sound advice and make some noise.
Since you cannot sound like a deer’s favorite food, the next best option is to sound like another deer. When the rut is raging, sounding like a buck ready to spar can be very productive. Silence is not always golden in November.
