Levi Morgan is one of the top competitive shooters of all time, and his skill level on animals is also extremely high. In the 1-minute YouTube clip below, Morgan explains his simple safety hack for rattling antlers.
I agree with Morgan that although imitation rattling antlers can sound okay, nothing rivals the real thing. The problem with real antlers, as he explains, is the tines are usually sharp, which could injure a hunter should he fall on them. Think about it: The tines are pointed/sharp for a reason: to puncture the neck and side of another buck during a fight over a doe-in-heat.
Morgan’s safety hack makes a lot of sense, and it won’t change the sound of the antlers significantly. After all, during the rut, which is when most hunters rely on rattling, you aren’t “tickling the tines” to sound like two early season bucks sparring. Instead, you’re making big sounds in an attempt to mimic two mature bucks battling with everything they’ve got.
