Rattle Up a Late Blacktail 7

 
Gerald Sexton downed this 4×4 blacktail with guide John Koenig in the Skagit valley

Big blacktail bucks seldom leave the confines of their worm holes in the jungle on the wet side of the Cascades and when they do most of their movements are nocturnal. They are big because they don't make many mistakes. During the rut, however, this all changes. Their minds are more intent on breeding than safety and they can be tricked into range with a few dirty blacktail tricks, one of which is rattling. I got the chance to talk to two northwest blacktail experts, John Koenig and Dieter Kaboth, about rattling for these elusive deer. 

Guide John Koenig, owner of John's Guide Service (360-853-9801) in Washington's Skagit valley, used rattling late in the 2010 general rifle season to help several customers tag heavy-bodied blacktails in the North Cascades. One of these bucks was a gagger four by four blacktail sporting a 20 inch inside spread and good mass. As luck would have it John's digital camera fell in the drink the week before the action began and the only photo he grabbed was with his cell phone. John zapped me some phone photos of the giant blacktail and believe me, it was a good'n!

After one of his customers scored a rutting blacktail buck in the middle of the general season John had the presense of mind to remove the bladder from the deer and disperse the urine around the area the deer had been using. To top it all off he also removed the tarsal glands and rubbed them on all the nearby trees. "When we came back the next day another buck had totally torn the place up," says Koenig. Do you think this buck would succumb to rattling? Oh yeah!

John rattles for blacktail deer much the same a mid-west hunter would rattle whitetails. Once he finds fresh rubs or scrapes in an area he'll find a spot nearby that offers good cover for rattling. John likes to set up in the timber along the edge of clear cuts and in areas of thinned timber. He'll shy away from rattling in the middle of clear cuts or large, open areas, as it's too easy for an approaching deer to get down wind and figure out the program as it approaches.

Before the heavy work begins though, John will sit quietly for up to thirty minutes to make sure there isn't already a deer nearby. Then he begins the process by rubbing his antlers against a small sapling to simulate a deer marking it's territory. He methodically sets the scene of a buck rubbing, making a scrape, encountering another dominant buck, and a fight ensuing. If there's a lot of buck sign in the area this could take one to two hours to play the whole act out.

When he starts rattling in earnest he'll tickle the antlers together lightly at first to imitate two bucks that just met up, but aren't fully engaged in a brawl yet. If nothing happens right away he hits the rattling quite a bit harder and thrashes the brush nearby to imitate a full-blown skirmish between two dominant bucks. John will also stomp his feet on the ground to further imitate two bucks engaged in a fight. He'll do this for four to five minutes and then sit still and wait, rifle or bow at the ready for twenty to thirty minutes to see if a buck approaches. If nothing happens he'll slowly hunt his way out of the area and repeat the process somewhere else.

It's a laborious process, but it's put his customers in close contact with quite a few trophy blacktail over the years and definitely worth the effort.

Four time world elk calling champion Dieter Kaboth, who works for Hunter Specialties, lived in Southwest Washington for 26 years and spent a great deal of time rattling blacktails during the rut. Dieter uses a "run and gun" strategy when he's rattling blacktails, covering as much ground as he can in areas with a lot of buck sign. He's looking for dominant bucks actively pursuing does and guarding their territory.

Instead of using antlers though, he prefers to use a Heavy Horns Rattle Bag. Rattle bags are a lot easier to transport than a full set of antlers, easily fitting in a jacket or cargo pocket, and they can be used effectively with one hand. This leaves the other hand free to quickly grab the rifle when a buck comes in.

Like Koenig, he'll work the rattle bag softly at first to imitate the tickle of the horns at the beginning of a fight. He waits just a few minutes and if nothing happens he'll go to a much louder rattle and fight sequence. He rattles hard for two to three minutes and mixes in a short series of two to three low grunts from a grunt tube before and just after the simulated battle. If a buck doesn't approach Dieter within ten to fifteen minutes he moves on, covering ground until a buck that's willing to play is located.

Both Koenig and Kaboth agree that the hunter needs to be ready for a quick shot, as bucks will often approach quietly and appear out of nowhere. Even though they come in tuned up for a fight they don't stick around for long once the gig is up.

Late blacktail seasons are quickly approaching here in the Northwest and rattling could be just what's needed to tag out on a big buck this year. Give some of these strategies a try in the woods and send me a photo or three of the big buck you take rattling. I'll be out in the woods myself later in the week and you can bet I'll have a rattle bag handy!

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com