AM succusse before the rut

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brkissl82
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AM succusse before the rut

Unread postby brkissl82 » Fri Oct 05, 2018 11:00 pm

Just wondering how many of u guys have had success at killing a good buck in the am before rut starts. My encounters with big bucks has gone up since joining the beast but i feel like im wasting half a season by not hunting ams. No i dont want to waste my best bedding spots in the am so just wondering for those of you who had success in the am what tactic did you use? Ive heard cody daquistos podcast and heard him say its crazy not huntin the ams early season so it got my gears turnin


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headgear
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Re: AM succusse before the rut

Unread postby headgear » Fri Oct 05, 2018 11:15 pm

I've seen enough random Joe's shoot big bucks opening weekends in the AM not to hunt them, I think even that first week if you can find some unpressured deer you could nab one coming back to bed a little late. I gave it a couple of shots this year and never saw anything but I won't give up. You could also try the moon or some bad weather any time of year to see if you can catch them coming back to bed a little later than normal.
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James
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Re: AM succusse before the rut

Unread postby James » Fri Oct 05, 2018 11:48 pm

I think strategically you need to think about how much ground you have and how the extra pressure of morning hunts in the early season will impact it. For myself I only hunt a few small farms separate from public (2 80s to be exact). While I would hop in there in a minute if I felt like I had something on a regular pattern, or had a shot, I like to stick to just a few evenings. On public where I have room to keep bouncing I wouldn’t be afraid to sit some early season mornings. For me, my public is just too far to make it feasible unless I’m hunting all day.

I believe Cody hunts some pretty sizeable farms in Iowa and Illinois? Something to consider
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Drenalin
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Re: AM succusse before the rut

Unread postby Drenalin » Fri Oct 05, 2018 11:58 pm

I've had several AM encounters with 3.5 and younger bucks pre-rut, all of them right at or just prior to sunrise (still after legal shooting light). I wouldn't say it's high odds at all, but my hunting time is limited enough that there's no way I would give up hunting mornings. The best morning setup I had was 25 yards from a white oak that always seemed to be the only one dropping acorns in the very early season. Caught a pair of bucks heading to that oak at 10:30 in the morning during the second week of bow season once - one buck I think was 3.5, the other 1.5. Also commonly saw younger bucks there. This was unpressured ground.
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Re: AM succusse before the rut

Unread postby MOBIGBUCKS » Sat Oct 06, 2018 12:52 am

I shot a big mature buck in 2016 on September 17th in the morning near bedding. There was a cold front and a full moon which i believe both had the buck up on his feet a bit longer that morning. While the deer were in the corn that morning, I used a creek to back door into bedding and setup about an hour before first shooting light.

It's definitely doable but it's situational where you can get in undetected.
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Re: AM succusse before the rut

Unread postby Lockdown » Sat Oct 06, 2018 12:56 am

I think it’s do-able. I killed a nice buck early October in 2008, but whether he is 2.5 or 3.5 is debatable. Definitely not a mature buck.

I agree with James about Cody’s scenario. Pressure plays a huge part. I will say access is absolutely make or break for mornings. I might be trying one Sunday. Scenario is corn to the South, North/south running peninsula with an island North of that. My access to the island is from North to South through a cattail bog. No chance of bumping deer at all, unless he beats me to his bedroom.

Accessing via the same dry land he is would be a recipe for disaster.


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