Early Morning Rut Hunts

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Beauford
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Re: Early Morning Rut Hunts

Unread postby Beauford » Fri Aug 13, 2010 7:09 am

Morning hunts in November R the cats meow. Shot three years in a row a buck between 07:50 and 08:05 in the morning. Once it turns November the bucks are out looking in the morning, not bedding down for the day.


buck_junkie
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Re: Early Morning Rut Hunts

Unread postby buck_junkie » Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:04 am

Beauford wrote:Morning hunts in November R the cats meow. Shot three years in a row a buck between 07:50 and 08:05 in the morning. Once it turns November the bucks are out looking in the morning, not bedding down for the day.

Unless he's snuggled up next to a hot doe...
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Re: Early Morning Rut Hunts

Unread postby dan » Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:35 am

My best trolling action has been about 9:30 to 11:30
For the trolls I set up on wind tunnels on the Lee side of hills that lead in and out of bedding points that contain doe bedding.
It appears to me that a majority of the bucks bed down right after sun up and rest a few hours then once they know all the does are bedded they head for the doe bedding areas to check for hot does.
In flatter terrain I concentrate on funnels between bedding or adjacent to do bedding areas on parallel buck trails that cross the doe trails heading into the bedding areas... .
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Arrowbender
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Re: Early Morning Rut Hunts

Unread postby Arrowbender » Sat Aug 14, 2010 6:50 am

I have had way too many run-ins with chasing bucks right at daylight to not be anywhere else but in my stand.
If you're going out for mid morning anyway, you sure won't hurt anything by being there before 1st light. During the rut anything you jump on the way in in the dark wasn't going to be around at daybreak anyhow. (of course I'm not talking about hunting IN the bedding areas)
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Hodag Hunter
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Re: Early Morning Rut Hunts

Unread postby Hodag Hunter » Sat Aug 14, 2010 7:46 am

I'm in the camp be in the stand whenever you can during the early rut phase.

If I had my way it would always be before first light, but sometimes kids need to get on the bus, check in with work with a couple quick phone calls and so on. Getting to the stand between 8:00 and 9:00am isn't the worst either.

I think early in the rut a buck tries to hang to his old patterns of in his bed before daybreak but with the increased desired to breed gets "antsy" early and gets up and starts roaming again with-in a few hours.

Who knows.....I just know it's awfull hard to kill one sitting at work, doing chores around the house or laying on the couch waiting for the afternoon hunt.
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Spysar
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Re: Early Morning Rut Hunts

Unread postby Spysar » Sat Aug 14, 2010 7:50 am

The activity that you see in the morning probably will vary with the buck to doe ratio. The closer it is to 1:1, the more competition between bucks, and therefore more cruising all around.
A buck will see you three times, and hear you twice, but he's only gonna smell you once.
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Re: Early Morning Rut Hunts

Unread postby Hill Hunter » Sun Aug 15, 2010 4:49 am

The first few days of good buck activity (late Oct, early Nov) I'll try to make it all day, then adjust as mid day action picks up. LW's will keep me mobile and try a few different spots to keep me in the woods all day until burn-out sets in....
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magicman54494
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Re: Early Morning Rut Hunts

Unread postby magicman54494 » Sun Aug 15, 2010 4:56 am

I have had good luck at first light then again later in the morning. My guess is that after running all night they take a break to rest. I have read that they wait for the does to get bedded down for the day before they check the doe bedding areas. In any case the best time to be out there during the rut is anytime.


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