Home-made rattle-bag DIY

317wc

Start with about 3 feet of hardwood dowel rod, maple, ash, cherry, oak or walnut are all good. Thickness depends on personal preference but I like about 3/4"-1". Its just my feeling but I think any larger and it sounds too wooden and also (hypothesis follows) maybe intimidates the larger bucks you are trying to rattle up, since it sounds like a huge Pope and Young buck fighting. Cut into 6 inch pieces, chamfer ends. I use a large upright belt sander but you could use a handheld if that's all you have, just clamp it in a vise upside down. Keep one or two pieces round. Sand one or 2 into a triangular shape, a couple more into half-rounds, a couple into a kind of oval shape. Sand smooth all rough edges.I wax mine to make them slip and slide over each other more easily. When they are nicely sanded and waxed I find an old sock, wool works well, nuetral or outdoors color such as green or brown. Slip dowels inside, test-rattle several times. If the sound is good then take an old shoelace or leather string and tie the sock shut with the dowels inside. They should be somewhat tight against each other. If they are too loose use a rubber band fixed around them. Get into the woods to try out your new rattle-bag.

BTW I am a new bowhunter and have never rattled before in my life prior to this season. 3 different days of rattling produced 3 sightings of bucks, 2 sightings were of the same deer and 1 was different. This morning I rattled a nice 8 point to about 15 yards but he spooked after hearing me draw on him. Try it out!