You Have Three Days

[Twenty Up]

Picture an out of state hunt or quota hunt, etc that you were drawn for where you have a limited time period with a rifle to get it done, on public during the rut.

What's your focus?

[HoosierG5]

During rifle? Cover-Id find the thickest nastiest cover I could. Id start there.

[PK_]

Escape routes with back door entry.

[Boogieman1]

With a gun I would find the longest continuous running ridge on the property. Set up across the valley with wind in face watching the leeward side of ridge across from me. I would hunt it daylight until dark all 3 days if wind allowed

[daveynewman]

If the ground is quiet I'd still hunt the heck out of it

[Tufrthnails]

Picture an out of state hunt or quota hunt, etc that you were drawn for where you have a limited time period with a rifle to get it done, on public during the rut.

What's your focus?

What's the terrain? What's the stage (pre-rut, rut, post rut)? What's your target (mature buck, any buck, freezer fillers)?

[Jphunter]

If it was an area that had any type of scouting or limited hunting prior to the draw hunt , I would look for thick overlooked areas like the small thicket that is close to headquarters that everyone drives by on their way out in the mornings or the small thicket on the top of an grassy ridge that looks to small to hold a deer..

[Twenty Up]

Picture an out of state hunt or quota hunt, etc that you were drawn for where you have a limited time period with a rifle to get it done, on public during the rut.

What's your focus?

What's the terrain? What's the stage (pre-rut, rut, post rut)? What's your target (mature buck, any buck, freezer fillers)?

I was drawn for a quota hunt and it really got me thinking about how I would hunt a place given limited time frames. I already have a game plan set out for this place but I figured it would be a good group discussion on how guys would hunt given certain variables.

Let's say: farmland/swamp bottom during the rut and the target is a mature buck or larger 2-3YO

Good question though I should've added that to give y'all more to go on.

Me personally, I'm going to setup downwind of doe bedding areas as well as sidle funnels between the two or more doe bedding areas.
If I didn't scout or know the area, I'd still hunt until I found the does or promising sign.

[Tufrthnails]

That's a pretty solid game plan. and very similar to what I do every year in KY. I try to hit a new piece of public in the area every year for 3-4 day depending on schedule during my 2 week rut hunt. Last year It was Hill country so i hit so scouted into some saddles and had some great encounters and passed on a pretty nice 3.5yo (guessing) could have been older. This year I am hitting the same piece as last year (got a day of out of season scouting in late march in while working on my cousins house and found a pretty intriguing area) before the guys show up for the gun season on the farm and then we are all going to LBL for the 2 day gun quota hunt. which is 3 days total as we are getting settled a day early to do some scouting and observation.

My game plan for LBL as it sits is when I arrive to drive all of the roads I can in our zone. taking note of the parking areas and what is more heavily traveled. Then I have a couple ridges I think I can get out and sit an observation stand with some targets for my brothers and cousins to go sit and observe as well unless we hit hot sign trying to get to the observation points. My gut is telling me (and some input from others that have hunted it) that we are gonna end up sitting between bedding and the crop fields and try to catch the movement between. There are a few saddles, but they are pretty obvious so I am thinking those will prob be hammered by the locals. Pretty much I'm thinking the human pressure is gonna tell me where I want to go. That philosophy has worked for me so far for the last couple years. Honestly I'm hoping all the guys have nothing but a doe tag left in their pocket by the time we hit LBL.

[SplitG2]

3 days ain't very long so I would try to maximize my success by cyber scouting then taking a minimum of 1 full day and devote it to just scouting and assessing cyber scouting results. In the remaining 2 days I would pick out the 4 best spots I found with boots on the ground for the predicted winds and hunt