Search results
For all of the BIG HUNTERS out there, the rut is here which is the best time fo the year for hunting. Buck are making scrapes, chasing does, and grunting! I...
- How to Stage A Peak-Rut Deer Drive
- Find and Drive Doe Bedding Areas
- Make A Small, Quiet Deer Drive
- How to Drive Deer After The Rut
- How to Drive Big Tracts
- How to Drive Small Areas
As good as stand hunting can be when bucks are searching for estrous does, it can be brutally slow once they find them. During the peak-breeding phase of the rut, most mature bucks are holed up with hot does. In most cases, they aren’t going to move-unless you move them by coordinating quick-strike, precisely focused drives in one doe bedding area ...
First you need to locate doe bedding areas, which are fairly easy to pinpoint and drive. Compared with buck bedrooms, these are often found in more open cover, typically with gentler terrain. Groves of saplings and young cedars or pines, abandoned orchards, patches of honeysuckle, and weedy or brushy cover near feed fields are all likely bed sites....
Two or three hunters are usually required to push these areas, with one to two hunters posted along any funnels deer may use to escape. Lacking an apparent funnel, simply put the posters downwind of the cover in a place where they’ll have clear shots. You want to push slowly toward the posters—without any whooping or stomping—and keep the wind at y...
Pressured post-rut bucks often hunker down and move little during the day. So you’ve got little to lose by staging a drive. In fact, considering that Milo Hanson shot his world-record 213-5/8 typical whitetail on a drive, you may have a great deal to gain. These deer tend to seek refuge either in large tracts of wooded land or isolated patches of c...
Bruiser bucks love to hunker down in larger areas such as thick regenerating clear-cuts and conifer swamps. Here, a noisy drive involving six to 10 hunters is best. In this case, put the wind at the drivers’ backs and have them move through the cover in an open U-shape, which will help prevent deer from escaping out the sides. It’s also useful to h...
Brushy ditches, abandoned home sites, and overgrown thickets between fields are often ignored by hunters—but not by bucks seeking refuge. These are prime places to stage a quiet two- to four-person drive. Driving crosswind is best. In these small pockets, you don’t want the drivers’ scent moving toward a buck or he might slip out before the push ev...
- Gerald Almy
- Find the Does. Your next move might not require a move at all if you have scouted well. During the breeding or lockdown phase, bucks relentlessly search for estrus females.
- Hunt the Downwind Sides. Keep in mind that during the breeding phase, bucks become highly efficient. Instead of boldly walking across a field, they might skirt the downwind edges or inside corners to scent-confirm any estrus females.
- Find a Love Nest. You do have another option and whether you make it your main play or a backup, consider looking for a buck love nest. Once bucks find a doe, do they want to parade it through a crowd of potential suitors, or spend more time alone?
- Find a Drifter. By scouting and setting up stands or blinds near highly visited food plots, agricultural fields or the routes in between, you stand a high chance of meeting up with a home territory buck.
Nov 6, 2020 · MADISON, Wis. – As Wisconsin heads into what is known in the hunting community as "peak rut," or the primary breeding season for deer, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) would like to remind those participating in deer hunting season to practice safety when using treestands. According to surveys, 25% of bowhunters have ...
- Bob Robb
- HUNTING MEMORIES. Why It Happens: Daddy killed a whopper from the Monster Stand back during President Obama's first term, so you always hunt there, even though it hasn't produced in several years.
- NOT CALLING AGGRESSIVELY. Why It Happens: Deer hunters are trained to be in über-stealth mode at all times, and that's certainly a smart approach, but some take it too far by not ramping up their calling intensity during the rut.
- HUNTING RUBS INSTEAD OF RUB LINES. Why It Happens: Big rubs have the tendency to get us all excited. However, they only tell you where bucks have been, not where they are.
- MISUSING SCENTS. Why It Happens: Premium estrous scents are spendy, so some hunters opt for the cheap stuff, assuming deer pee is deer pee. As with most things, you get what you pay for.
Nov 6, 2023 · It goes something like this: “Keep shooting until the buck is down or you can’t see him anymore.” —A.R. 94) Always keep your scope dialed to the lowest power during the rut. It’s possible that buck could come charging in at 25 yards, and if you have your scope dialed to 12X, it will be difficult to get on him quickly.
Nov 16, 2020 · 1) Did you know? Studies show that one mature buck may blaze as many as 1,200 rubs from late September through November, or some 17 rubs a day. 2) Which rubs are the best sign? Look for antler-blazed trees as thick as your bicep. All bucks rub saplings, but only mature bucks work trees 4 to 6 inches in diameter or larger.
