Deer horn rattlers

[BearGuide]

I plan to cutt off a pair of horns from a few years ago to make a deer call.

Anyone know a good way to tie them together that looks nice?

[Stensethfan]

What I have done that worked well and looked decent was drilling a hole threw each abntler with a 1/4 or 3/8 in drill bit and feeding nylon rope through the hole (about 24 inches worth) and tieing knots on the outside of the antler.  Then burn the ends of the rold so the knots will not slip.  24 inches of rope worked good for me because I was able to have enough room to work them and also hand then over my shoulders when I would walk.  I hang them over my shoulders so they do not clank together when I walk and either alert or call in deer when I was not ready for them to come!!  Another tip is to cut the brow tines off or they end up baging your fingers when you try to rattle.  It hurts when your hands are cold from being out on stand!!

[bowhunter73]

  Deer ANTLERS for rattlers

I would also cut the tines down a few inches. It will not affect the sound and it will be easier to pack in. You would be surprised at how small the antlers are that I use.

[Stensethfan]

I have read a few times that using smaller antlers to rattle is a good trick due to the pitch of the rattling sounding like two smaller bucks are fighting over a doe.  If there is anything that hears that in the area and thinks he is bigger and badder than the "smaller guys fighting" and he thinks they are fighting over a doe he will be fast to investigate.  On the flip side using too big of antlers to rattle in an area that does not have bigger bucks of that caliber will likely scare the smaller ones enough for them to be very hesitant to investigate.  I guess it all comes down to knowig what types of deer you have in your area. 

[tripnchip]

I do the same as Sten.
 You see a lot of the bags out there, has anyone tried them and had results?