Thread: Scraping and rattling for stags

I was watching some US hunting videos the other night and it reminded me how little kiwis use scrapping and antler rattling to call in stags during the rut. Often the elk hunters will have a cagey bull responds to bugles but not come in. Yet they come in when they use antlers to rattle them or they thrash a tree/bush with a stick. Here in NZ most that I know of and see use roars but not scraping or rattling. It seems to work well on the whitetail over there too. What are other's observations?

Fallow respond well to rattling.

Yea iv been know to beat a Bush or 2 to get a fallow to come closer

When i first bought the farm it was in major disrepair and being young and keen i used to often work all night fencing... one cold still night (early may) i was putting in a gate post near the back boundary on the edge of the bush using the quad's tail lights (engine off) and just as i was finishing up with the rammer a stag let out the hell bellow at me - i'd pick him as 5 metres or so away (or less). just about pooed myself. I'd rather go for a stalk than put in a gate post though...

I know that some people in the UK use it for fallow. Some people claim that it only attracts young satellite bucks so not much good if someone is after a big trophy. And then there are other people saying that the biggest bucks they ever got were rattled in. Might depend on a multitude of factors including time of the year, time of the day, and personalities of the individual herds of animals.

Fallow are stroppy little shits, spoiling for a fight.
I've watched a buck having a go at a red stag nearly twice his size don't know who started it or what it was over but the little guy wasn't giving up and when the red broke off he had the fallow up his bum for a good distance.

There is a you tube clip possibly the Graff boys and one of them uses a stick on the ferns and a nice red comes in to less than 10m.

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

Fallow are stroppy little shits, spoiling for a fight.
I've watched a buck having a go at a red stag nearly twice his size don't know who started it or what it was over but the little guy wasn't giving up and when the red broke off he had the fallow up his bum for a good distance.

The last 2 big bucks I got (have a look at the opening pages of Bucks Stags 2022) Had some really mean poke holes in them from fighting.