Hunting the rut more effectively

[lostinstateforest]

So I did a search and found zero results for the word rut, which is unusual, perhaps I searched wrong. Anyway I am wondering how the public land boys approach the rut differently than the everyone else. I am not big on using scents and generally find some high traffic doe areas and set on them all day. I hunt large tracts of state forest so some days you see 10 bucks sometimes not even a bird. So we all now the top 1/3 of hill country, watch the thermals, how to hunt the swamp but how do things change when Nov rolls around, if at all?

[ Post made via Android ]

[Bucky]

So I did a search and found zero results for the word rut, which is unusual, perhaps I searched wrong. Anyway I am wondering how the public land boys approach the rut differently than the everyone else. I am not big on using scents and generally find some high traffic doe areas and set on them all day. I hunt large tracts of state forest so some days you see 10 bucks sometimes not even a bird. So we all now the top 1/3 of hill country, watch the thermals, how to hunt the swamp but how do things change when Nov rolls around, if at all?

[ Post made via Android ]

I believe Dan continues to hunt beds... I look for does personally. If you find em, you will see bucks. Sometimes 10... sometimes none

[BassBoysLLP]

I'm almost always downwind of the doe bedding during the rut. Some guys hunt the funnels hard for the cruisers...I never see the best bucks hunting this pattern. The action is slower, but the quality is better.

[headgear]

Last year I used Dan's approach of hunting different areas during different times of the day to up your odds on a mature buck sighting. Basically in the morning you want to be hunting beds and catch those bucks coming home late from a night of rutting, you could also hunt doe bedding areas and have a doe pull a buck with him. Mid-morning to mid-day you want to hunt the cruising areas (downwind of doe bedding areas, parallel trails, and funnels). Then again in the evening you want to focus on bedding, either doe or buck. During the peak rut I have better luck with doe bedding, leading up to that peak I would be hunting buck bedding areas. I have also seen some great early rutting activity in buck bedding areas.

[Sweet Shot 7]

I'm almost always downwind of the doe bedding during the rut. Some guys hunt the funnels hard for the cruisers...I never see the best bucks hunting this pattern. The action is slower, but the quality is better.

You talking slower action but better deer hunting funnels?!

[Sweet Shot 7]

Last year I used Dan's approach of hunting different areas during different times of the day to up your odds on a mature buck sighting. Basically in the morning you want to be hunting beds and catch those bucks coming home late from a night of rutting, you could also hunt doe bedding areas and have a doe pull a buck with him. Mid-morning to mid-day you want to hunt the cruising areas (downwind of doe bedding areas, parallel trails, and funnels). Then again in the evening you want to focus on bedding, either doe or buck. During the peak rut I have better luck with doe bedding, leading up to that peak I would be hunting buck bedding areas. I have also seen some great early rutting activity in buck bedding areas.

Pretty much a solid gameplan for the rut right here ^^^^^^!

[lostinstateforest]

I'm almost always downwind of the doe bedding during the rut. Some guys hunt the funnels hard for the cruisers...I never see the best bucks hunting this pattern. The action is slower, but the quality is better.

I found this to be true with funnels. I would see 5 or 6 1.5 to 2.5 yo hunting a certain funnel. Make a move to an area with the wind and see zero does but 1 much much better quality buck.

[ Post made via Android ]

[BassBoysLLP]

I'm almost always downwind of the doe bedding during the rut. Some guys hunt the funnels hard for the cruisers...I never see the best bucks hunting this pattern. The action is slower, but the quality is better.

You talking slower action but better deer hunting funnels?!

Opposite. Less bucks, but bigger bucks hunting bedding. I rarely see a 4.5+ year old work his way through a funnel.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Sweet Shot 7]

I'm almost always downwind of the doe bedding during the rut. Some guys hunt the funnels hard for the cruisers...I never see the best bucks hunting this pattern. The action is slower, but the quality is better.

You talking slower action but better deer hunting funnels?!

Opposite. Less bucks, but bigger bucks hunting bedding. I rarely see a 4.5+ year old work his way through a funnel.

[ Post made via Android ]

Sounds good! Same here. Most my big bucks I have seen have either been with does or crusing field edges or cutting across open fields. Its like they know where the pinches are or that have been hunted.

[MOBIGBUCKS]

I focus on the doe bedding/transition areas. I may hunt some big buck beds in the early mornings as well.

[Dewey]

I do a little bit of everything, hunt funnels, doe bedding and buck bedding areas. When you have a combination of all three you are in for a great day if you hit the right day during the rut.

A few years back I sat in a spot like this and saw 5 bucks that would have scored over 130". This is unheard of where I hunt on public and a day I will never forget. Problem was they were cruising really hard and I was slightly out of position so they never offered a shot I felt comfortable with.

[JoeRE]

I'm almost always downwind of the doe bedding during the rut. Some guys hunt the funnels hard for the cruisers...I never see the best bucks hunting this pattern. The action is slower, but the quality is better.

You talking slower action but better deer hunting funnels?!

Opposite. Less bucks, but bigger bucks hunting bedding. I rarely see a 4.5+ year old work his way through a funnel.

[ Post made via Android ]

I completely agree with that - I see way more of the fully mature bucks cruising past downwind of doe bedding than going through funnels, especially super obvious tight funnels that every hunter in the woods can see. I think a lot of the oldest bucks learn to avoid tight restrictions like that. I still hunt some funnels but try to pick the less obvious ones...like a saddle between two doe bedding areas or such.

[wmihunter]

Good stuff. I've only seen 1 big buck 140+ and was Chasing a doe through a wide funnel at 11am

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[keb]

Find the big buck perinal travel corridors or routes they use to avoid other hunters and the pressure when rutting, dont see very many deer but they are usally big.

[headgear]

Find the big buck perinal travel corridors or routes they use to avoid other hunters and the pressure when rutting, dont see very many deer but they are usally big.

This is a good tip keb, and probably overlooked by a lot of hunters. We can all look at a map and see funnels but we need to look at it like a deer would, we would probably see a map of safe areas, hunter/pressure zones, and some overlap of both.