Moon/Rut Cruise Times

[Hill Hunter]

I know alot of us, will hunt whenever our schedule allows. I'm the kinda guy that has trouble sitting from sun-up till sun-down and get impatient easily if there isn't activity. The 'rut cruise times' for the last week off October are mid-day. Before having these times/days to look at, my dad and I started seeing (in past years) mid-day movement, after seeing nothing from sun-up till then and discussed not going to our spot for the day until 9am ish. Does anyone else sometimes skip a morning hunt and hunt more based on these predicted times???

I guess this question isn't relevant for the hunter who has no problem sitting all day when they have a day off of work....

[headgear]

In the past we have talked about hunting different locations throughout the day to maximize your rut hunt. This of course was Dan's method but makes perfect sense. Basically you hunt a bed in the morning so see if anything shows up for the first hour or so, then move to a funnel or other mid-day cruising area for the morning and mid-day action, then back to bedding for an evening hunt. It really makes perfect sense to me, plus moving twice during the day can really break up an all day sit which is no picnic. You could certainly cut out the morning hunt and go in late and hunt 9-2 or something like that and then move for the evening hunt. You could also try and time it around the moon but you never know when its going to happen during the rut so I feel logging some hours is better than trying to time if perfectly.

[dan]

I think cruise times can be greatly effected by the moon over head / under foot times..
To elaborate on what headgear said, bucks do different things at different times of the day... My observations make me believe they bed down in the morning like they do outside the rut, but then the bucks that cruise wait till the does are bedded for sure, and get up late morning or midday or early afternoon and cruise from doe bedding area to doe bedding area in search of hot does. If they are unsuccessful, I think in a lot of cases they bed randomly for a while then just before dark start cruising the edges of doe feeding areas... So I move with the bucks. I don't sit in a funnel all day if my belief is they don't use that funnel all day...

[Sweet Shot 7]

I think cruise times can be greatly effected by the moon over head / under foot times..
To elaborate on what headgear said, bucks do different things at different times of the day... My observations make me believe they bed down in the morning like they do outside the rut, but then the bucks that cruise wait till the does are bedded for sure, and get up late morning or midday or early afternoon and cruise from doe bedding area to doe bedding area in search of hot does. If they are unsuccessful, I think in a lot of cases they bed randomly for a while then just before dark start cruising the edges of doe feeding areas... So I move with the bucks. I don't sit in a funnel all day if my belief is they don't use that funnel all day...

Good post Dan! All makes great sense.

[Stanley]

I think hunting, morning and evenings during the rut is based on tradition rather than production. During the rut, sitting any time of the day can be productive. This doesn't mean you should forget about hunting other patterns, it just means you have other options than hunting twice a day morning and evening. If you are limited to hunting small parcels of land, moving a couple times during the day can be counter productive in tomorrows hunt. Hunting is not always about today, for sure, the up coming days need to be considered. It is hard to stay ahead of a buck when he doesn't know what he is going to do much less where he is going to be. I do believe bucks bed more randomly (daytime) during the rut than other times (as Dan suggested). Sometimes the set up dictates the process. If you are hunting a funnel in between two doe bedding areas (rut) where would you move to improve your chances? Hunting your area smart is the key to success.

[archhunter]

Great post Dan, put that way it makes it a little easier for me to visualize what the deer are doing vs. just "cruisin".

[dan]

Stan makes some good points in his post to... Especially, relating to pressure from moves on small properties, and hunting smart.

[BigHills BuckHunter]

I think cruise times can be greatly effected by the moon over head / under foot times..
To elaborate on what headgear said, bucks do different things at different times of the day... My observations make me believe they bed down in the morning like they do outside the rut, but then the bucks that cruise wait till the does are bedded for sure, and get up late morning or midday or early afternoon and cruise from doe bedding area to doe bedding area in search of hot does. If they are unsuccessful, I think in a lot of cases they bed randomly for a while then just before dark start cruising the edges of doe feeding areas... So I move with the bucks. I don't sit in a funnel all day if my belief is they don't use that funnel all day...

Great post Dan. Thanks for the info/observation sharing

[Edcyclopedia]

I think hunting, morning and evenings during the rut is based on tradition rather than production. During the rut, sitting any time of the day can be productive. This doesn't mean you should forget about hunting other patterns, it just means you have other options than hunting twice a day morning and evening. If you are limited to hunting small parcels of land, moving a couple times during the day can be counter productive in tomorrows hunt. Hunting is not always about today, for sure, the up coming days need to be considered. It is hard to stay ahead of a buck when he doesn't know what he is going to do much less where he is going to be. I do believe bucks bed more randomly (daytime) during the rut than other times (as Dan suggested). Sometimes the set up dictates the process. If you are hunting a funnel in between two doe bedding areas (rut) where would you move to improve your chances? Hunting your area smart is the key to success.

Gr8 points

[backstraps]

Stanley/Dan

Good points. I have a question though:

If for instance you are are a huge tract of public ground. Ground that doesnt see much hunting pressure. Rut time is in, if you pick your a.m. sit over bedding areas based on the wind that morning, then move to a funnel area around 9:00ish and hunt it during the mid day.

How do you determine you evening sit via doe feeding areas? Are these feeding areas places you observed through in season scouting or prior knowledge of the land? What tips can you share in deciding an evening sit?

[dan]

Stanley/Dan

Good points. I have a question though:

If for instance you are are a huge tract of public ground. Ground that doesnt see much hunting pressure. Rut time is in, if you pick your a.m. sit over bedding areas based on the wind that morning, then move to a funnel area around 9:00ish and hunt it during the mid day.

How do you determine you evening sit via doe feeding areas? Are these feeding areas places you observed through in season scouting or prior knowledge of the land? What tips can you share in deciding an evening sit?

I was referring mainly to main food sources like farm fields with corn, alfalfa, etc, or maybe an apple orchard, or some natural food source... A place where does frequent in the day light in the late evening. Mature bucks usually don't just wander out in the field and sniff each doe like the young bucks sometimes do... Instead they like to parallel the edge of the field crossing the entering doe trails to see if any of the trails were used by estrous does...

[backstraps]

Okay that makes sense. I have always been one to hunt the a.m. grab a bite to eat then hunt the p.m. or
Many times pulling all day sits in the same tree. I am going to try alternating my stands this fall during the rut.

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[Stanley]

Stanley/Dan

Good points. I have a question though:

If for instance you are are a huge tract of public ground. Ground that doesnt see much hunting pressure. Rut time is in, if you pick your a.m. sit over bedding areas based on the wind that morning, then move to a funnel area around 9:00ish and hunt it during the mid day.

How do you determine you evening sit via doe feeding areas? Are these feeding areas places you observed through in season scouting or prior knowledge of the land? What tips can you share in deciding an evening sit?

Great question, For me I have many possible/probable stand locations chosen ahead of time. You can develop a list pre season or during season as the food patterns change. Just like my pond stand thread some one asked if I was going to abort that farm because the water hole pattern didn't develop like I had hoped it would. I have no intention of not hunting that farm, just decided with the intel I had gotten with the camera, to not hunt that pond. I will hunt bed to corn patterns, as they are usually a good bet. In your case you need to develop many beds to hunt, or food sources to hunt, or water holes to hunt. Smart hunting is merely putting yourself in the best possible position at the best possible time and success usually comes as a by product of that. I may strike out 10, 15 or 20 hunts in a row but that doesn't mean I can't kill a deer on a rut pattern, or late season feeding pattern. Being as versatile as you can be, will pay dividends in the long run.