How mature bucks rut

Discuss deer hunting tactics, Deer behavior. Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers.
  • Advertisement

HB Store


JoeRE
500 Club
Posts: 4576
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2012 5:26 am
Location: IA
Status: Offline

Re: How mature bucks rut

Unread postby JoeRE » Tue Dec 06, 2016 7:23 am

Hunter74 wrote: So the big question is what do you guys think is the best way to find the mature bucks during the rut?


Good question.

I actually think what Magic does is probably the best way to FIND big bucks when it seems like they are locked down. Go after them, track them down if you have snow. Of course, its hard to kill them that way with a bow, and works best on a pretty large piece of land. I have done this before - just scout around with bow in hand instead of stand hunting when I think most big bucks are locked down. Pretty darn hard to shoot one with a bow that way though...

I talked about lockdown first because the area in Iowa I am most familar with, lockdown for mature bucks (4 year old and older) is a week and a half long most years. I rarely encounter big mature bucks between about Nov 10 and 20th unless there is a hot doe involved. Those dates are just approximate. By comparison the window where smaller bucks are locked down is a lot shorter - maybe 4-5 days most years.

The better your buck to doe ratio, combined with better age structure, the less lockdown you see its that simple. I know I have it pretty good, but still see nothing like what gets shown on TV from big well managed hunting estates. That is an alternate universe. Exactly like Haus described when he talked about the different properties he has observed.

Before mature buck lock down, I'm targeting rut beds of big bucks and the buck travel routes to and from them. I see this all the time in hill and farm country. Rut beds are usually located in fairly close to good doe bedding. I actually think a lot of guys are finding and hunting rut beds the whole season, not realizing big bucks are only using them for a pretty short window around the rut. I think rut beds are often the easiest to find because there is often more sign around them that guys find in the spring.

One thing I have noticed is that small bucks start to use rut beds earlier in the year than mature bucks. So if you are pounding what look like great buck beds to you and only seeing small bucks but you know big ones are in the area, that might be a clue you are hunting rut beds too early in the year. I have learned these things mostly through long term deployments of trail cams. Let them soak all fall on travel routes into bedding.

After mature buck lockdown ends I think big bucks are extremely vulnerable. They are worn down and seem to be more prone to make fatal mistakes than at any other time period. But if your state has a gun season in this time period, and many states do, you never see post-lockdown movement due to that gun pressure. Around here the biggest oldest bucks show more daylight activity post-lockdown than any other time I think. Its short a short window though just the few days until their hungry stomach over-rules thier hormones they are using that rut bedding and looking for that last doe in estrus.

Anyway that's what I see...it is definitely situational and depends on what your deer herd looks like and what hunting pressure is like!


Hatchetman
Posts: 291
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2016 11:42 am
Location: Wi
Status: Offline

Re: How mature bucks rut

Unread postby Hatchetman » Tue Dec 06, 2016 2:14 pm

A question for big you woods guys...

How much, if any do you think the presence of wolves affects a mature bucks rutting activity?
User avatar
rempse2
Posts: 187
Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2016 12:50 am
Status: Offline

Re: How mature bucks rut

Unread postby rempse2 » Sat Nov 04, 2017 11:34 am

I was looking through some old threads and as we enter the rut I thought it was time for a bump. Great info here!
rhagenw
Posts: 414
Joined: Sun Jan 26, 2020 6:37 am
Facebook: Rhagen Wiederholt
Status: Offline

Re: How mature bucks rut

Unread postby rhagenw » Sat Oct 31, 2020 12:26 am

Lots of good info
User avatar
headgear
500 Club
Posts: 11625
Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2010 7:21 am
Location: Northern Minnesota
Status: Offline

Re: How mature bucks rut

Unread postby headgear » Sat Oct 31, 2020 1:39 am

Good bump, if you combine this thread with magics "why am i on edge all the time" thread and then sprinkle in some bedding/beast tactics I think you have a nice little recipe for the rut. I will also bring up Dan's rut tactics of hunting bedding in the morning, cruising area mid-day and then bedding again at night and anything can happen. Absolutely have seen and shot more deer this way.

However the most important factor in all of this for me is scouting, where I rut hunt I pretty much know all the bedding areas and have a good feel for where the big bucks like to travel. 25+ years hunting the same ground and keeping mental notes of tracks, big buck encounters & kills and bedding areas kind of has me with loads of good info. I don't jus track my sightings but all 10-15 other hunters during rifle season and even what the neighbors are seeing because why the heck wouldn't I. Now to go totally opposite, sometimes you have to ignore history and go with the best freshest sign and that is where scouting comes in, bedding areas can and do change with logging and pressure and you have to adapt and be ready. Maybe the most important thing to do is try and locate a hot doe or a doe group, all your scouting is meaningless if the hot do is across the road and you are hunting "the best spot" with no deer. Just hunt em down and find them any way you can, follow the signs.

Also just for reference I hunt bigwoods and try and cover about 5-6 square miles of what I call my home turf. I don't get close to scouting all of it in-season but it gives me plenty of options and there are always new areas to check out and likely shooter bucks moving through the area during any given day, if I can find them. :lol:


  • Advertisement

Return to “Deer Hunting”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: -db-, adrenalin and 66 guests