DIY: Make noise with drop-rope rattling

Rattling for whitetails is one of my favourite things to do during the rut. It gets the adrenaline pumping. After the first time a deer aggressively responds to it, you anticipate a hormone-enraged buck to come storming out of the bush every time.

While it may not be feasible to haul a set of real antlers around everywhere you go, they are hard to beat. If you have them, try this tactic to ramp up the authenticity, and cause more of a stir.

How drop-rope rattling works

To add another dimension of sound and more realism to your rattling sequence, try something I refer to as drop-rope rattling, or dangle rattling. I don’t really know where it originated, but it certainly works, and has found its way into my whitetail repertoire. There are a few adaptations, but for the basic approach, start with a set of antlers, and tie them together with a piece of paracord, about a foot or two apart. In the middle of this rope, tie a loop, and then attach a long rope to it. Once in your stand, lower the antlers down towards the ground.

The idea is to lift, shake, and rattle the antlers with the rope. The antlers will swing wildly, banging into each other, bouncing off the ground, dragging through leaves, hanging up on branches, making all sorts of added natural sounds, more realistic of a true battle between warring bucks. It creates noise at ground level, and adds a further element of realism.

You can still hoist the antlers up and rattle the traditional way if you want to really smash them together, or keep a second set in the stand.

Load up for volume

Carrying real antlers can be cumbersome, so leave them at your stand. By not having to carry them in, you can add more than two antlers. You could tie three, even four together, for more noise and disruption. I found with more than two, tying them a little closer together works well, but experiment, and see what you prefer.

Drop it

An added bonus to drop rattling is that if a deer approaches, you don’t have to suddenly find a place to quietly set down or hang up the antlers. Your rope should be secured to the stand, and if they’re already at the ground, you can simply let go. This is a one-handed operation, so you can still even hang onto your bow or gun, ensuring you’re at the ready when that raging buck comes charging in.