When do you rake and where?

[iccyman001]

For those of you who use stuff like raking up some trees or smashing sticks into a water whole.
Around what part of the season are you starting this tactic and do you have any key areas that you try to do this at?


Callers, are you making any calls while doing this stuff?
Do any of you think it\'s ineffective and stay away from it?

 

[Deertick]

I\'m interested to read the replies, because I don\'t know but I\'d like to add it to my toolbox... but I suspect that raking would be good in several situations.

I bet that raking is like calling in that it\'s better done as a \"caller-shooter\" team rather than as one guy trying to be both caller and shooter. I suspect that it\'s even more true for raking due to the movement involved.

I\'d like to think that raking would be good for angering a bull when in a territorial dispute, when you\'ve made him mad, and you\'re in a bugling match with him trying to cut him off. BigDan has talked about raking in his style of bull-confrontation. I suspect the noise is just a way of making things sound like \"not-a-hunter\".

But I\'d think that movement involved is really part of the show, too -- knocking a tree around, etc. As such, I think of raking as a mid-distance calling technique. After all, the movement of the tree ideally could be seen by the bull and act as a decoy.

 

[JohnFitzgerald]

Instead of when and where I\'d prefer to specify why. I use raking to play on a bulls curiosity and/or to express dominance. Raking can be used in conjunction with calling or without.

*note: Be careful raking when a bull can get a look at your position from a distance.

Just my 2-cents.

 

[Glacier Country]

I do not want the real bull to see me raking. IMO I just want to have him hear me ramp up the encounter.I do agree that if you could get away with him not actually seeing you and he could see the tree moving etc it would add realism. I just think it is too risky...
I use it as a single caller/shooter a lot. It would probably work better as a 2 man team though. It is also dependent on how thick the timber is.
With most of my setups the bull can\'t see the Caller/Raking unless he comes to 30 yards. At which point he is in range. So he never actually gets to see me raking/Calling and when I heard him coming I made an elk sound to send him in the direction of my shooting lane or made ready to shoot him in the shirt pocket. Troy Glacier Country Hunting Calls

 

[Swede]

I agree with Tick and John. In addition I use raking in some cold calling setups to peak their curiosity. That may be done in conjunction with splashing and stomping, and/or a short bugle.

 

[Guest]

Iccy,

For me raking is an in close game. When you move in on an elk to the usual 80-100 yards I will rake a tree and chuckle. When he hears you he will bugle and then I hit him with a challenge type bugle. Many times he will come right in to the raking and chuckling though !! So be ready for anything.

I will also use raking when cold calling as well just to add in realism. Do they come to the raking or the calling ? I feel they are coming to both and wanting get a visual on the bull causing the commotion.

Trav

 

[iccyman001]

Hmmmm. Now I am even more intrigued to try this.
Both as a team and a single caller.


I can see how this could be very risky. The bull is coming in to see what is making the noise and could catch my movement if I don\'t catch him first.
I\'ve also had deer hang up on my and leave because they didn\'t actually see anything.


Last year I had a VERY mature whitetail shredding up trees and bushes 15 feet away from me. We were separated by some cedars trees and he could not see me.

I would grunt, he would grunt back. Then I would rake, and he would rake more (scary)

Finally after a while, he just hung up and left because he never saw another buck.


I will have to keep that in mind when I pick a spot to potentially set up my rake. I will need to make sure I have advantage points.

 

[cnelk]

I set up once below a couple bugling bulls. I was in the bottom of an aspen draw.
I cow called once, not much happened, so then I raked and stomped.
Man this big ol\' 5 point came charging down the draw, bugling and never stopped until he was about 15 feet from me.
He came in so fast I didnt have time to draw.

 

[Bob Frapples]

I never had a stick in hand when I needed one to rake last year, every time I picked up one it broke. I finally used a broken arrow that did an ok job, I found it would trigger a bull to bugle a bit more but it was just too early when I went to hack one off enough to come in.