How To Attract Big Bucks During The Rut

Without a incertitude, hunters drop more than large bucks during the superlative of the rut than any other time of the twelvemonth. Sure, some bowhunters take whoppers in the early on flavor later keeping tabs on item bucks all summer long. Also, some real wall-hangers are duped by rattling during the pre-rut. And for those die-hard hunters who stick with it to the very end, some of the nation'southward biggest bucks are smoked during the muzzleloader seasons.

Nonetheless, when the breeding flavour takes center stage, rut-crazed bucks are more vulnerable than they are at any other time of the year. They no longer bed in the aforementioned thickets, and food is definitely the last thing on their minds. Instead, they are on the move 24/7 in their seemingly countless search for a doe in heat. All you lot have to do is sit back and wait in ambush for the buck of your dreams to saunter past. The cardinal word here is ambush, and not just whatever hideaway will practise. With that in mind, here are my vii favorite super-hot ambush sites for hunting the summit of the rut.

one. Overgrown Fields

When a buck locates a doe near estrus, he will follow her nose-to-tail until she is willing to represent convenance. If she is close to the magic hour, he will ofttimes push her into remote areas to keep her away from whatsoever other potential suitors. The last thing he wants is some other buck or two trying to horn in on his action.

I one time watched a monster Iowa whitetail herd a diminutive doe into a small brush lot for only this reason. He had been chasing her for some time, and she bedded in the middle of a cutting corn lot to thwart his advances. She was visible at a peachy distance, in several directions. That'south how I first spotted the buck.

Equally I watched from the sidelines, the buck prodded her with his rack until she stood and ran across the cornfield. He kept at her like a rodeo equus caballus on a fleeing steer until they both disappeared in the brush.

Many remote areas do non have a tree large enough to safely hold a hunter. For example, in farm country my commencement option is to check an overgrown field for mature bucks, because these abandoned fields are oftentimes situated side by side to active agriculture. A rutting buck will find a hot doe in a preferred feeding expanse, and so push button her out of the immediate vicinity and into thick embrace so he tin accept her all to himself.

This is an ideal location for a skirted tripod or box stand up, ready upwards high above the cover, where a hunter can see a peachy altitude and remain hidden from view. You tin can sneak in quietly and remain for every bit long as you desire. Mornings are all-time, only a buck can push a doe here any time of the day.

2. Cornfields

Standing cornfields are magnets for rutting bucks, too. They love to cruise the periphery of the field, besides equally inside rows that border creek beds, irrigation ditches and fence lines. Look for plenty of better-than–average size tracks in the soft world for proof that rutting bucks are present.

Standing cornfields also agree does during the rut. They employ the rows every bit bedding areas and will pigsty up inside to escape ambitious bucks. If you listen advisedly, y'all might hear the telltale sounds of deer brushing against cornstalks, or the tending grunts of a buck in hot pursuit of an estrous doe.

Of course, some cornfields are better than others, and non for reasons y'all might expect! Which fields are best? Yous must look at last year'southward harvest schedule. Some large fields might not have been harvested, due to excessive pelting, early snowstorms or a farmer's busy personal lifestyle. Either way, uncut cornfields provide bucks with aplenty comprehend during the firearms season, allowing many bucks that would otherwise have been tagged, to survive. Expansive cornfields that are not harvested until after the gun season are top choices for hunting bucks for the next one, two or even three years downwards the road.

Lonesome bucks will use next ravines, creek beds and brush fingers as conduits to enter and get out cornfields. These pressure points are platonic ambush sites for the pinnacle of the rut. Position your ladder stands or hang-ons to intercept incoming and exiting bucks, as well as bucks that sneak along the field's outer rows.

A second prime location for a climbing stand is a break in any hedgerow or fence line that separates one uncut corn lot from some other. Bucks move from ane field to the side by side as they search for estrous does. They apply these openings to sneak back and forth undetected.

One of the advantages of setting upwards an aerial ambush hither is that lilliputian or no brush trimming is usually required. You can erect your climber downwind of the opening at a moment's notice and be assured of a clear shot without disturbing the area.

3. Community Property

In subcontract country, rutting bucks will take advantage of any fleck of embrace every bit they move about the countryside. Irrigation ditches, hedgerows, contend lines and creek beds immediately come to mind. The hottest deadfall point is the untillable country found at the intersection of two, three or fifty-fifty four property lines. In that location, you'll often find a wide strip of trees, castor, spinous wire, goldenrod or briars along with dead logs and other debris.

Bucks travel along these barriers as they go from ane doe bedding or feeding area to the next. A plethora of various age-class rubs should confirm your suspicions. Be enlightened that the best "hubs" accept hedgerows and argue lines that aid direct rutting bucks like spokes on a wagon bike. A county plat book can be useful in identifying potential sites. It will take shoe leather to realize the truthful potential.

Position a hang-on stand well before the oestrus goes into high gear, and do whatsoever necessary trimming early. Plan an approach path. Yous don't want to walk upwards and down any of the travel routes used by bucks or does.

4. Scrape Lines

Scrape lines are usually thought to be hottest during the pre-oestrus when bucks are searching for the season's starting time estrous does. However, once the rut kicks into high gear, almost scrape lines are abased for several days on stop, if non the rest of the season.

After the two brood, he seeks some other hot doe, and during the acme of the rut, they are everywhere. More than than likely, he will stumble into an estrous doe at a feeding area, a bedding zone or along a doe travel route inside hours of the separation. He will only return to his scrape line as a last resort.

In that location's i notable exception: when a scrape line intersects a travel route does take as they motility back and forth between bedding and feeding areas. A good strategy in this situation is to erect a fixed-position stand complete with tree steps on the downwind edge of an intersecting scrape line. This allows you lot to slip in and out of the surface area at a moment's notice. Forenoon hunts tend to exist slightly more favorable than afternoon hunts.

v. Ravines

In wilderness settings, terrain features usually dictate the path a cadet will accept to claw up with a doe in oestrus. His goal is to locate a willing doe while expending the least corporeality of energy, and he does this by taking the easy route whenever possible.

Studying topographical maps and aeriform photos can assistance you locate natural ambush sites before you ever prepare foot in the wood. A saddle between 2 high peaks immediately comes to listen, as does a spur leading in and out of a large swamp.

The killer funnels, yet, are plant at the intersection of several terrain features. For case, a gentle slope might lead downward to a plateau that's bordered past a steep ravine. Bucks will travel along both edges of the ravine as well every bit "around the horn" at the peak of the ravine.

The gentle slope will also steer bucks toward the pinnacle of the ravine, which is exactly where yous want to await in ambush. In fact, such a location can be so hot that I would decide to chase one just by looking at the map. Pack a lightweight climber and a lunch, and plan on staying the unabridged day.

6. Beaver Dams

Unfortunately, most beaver dams are not indicated on maps, although you lot might exist able to guess where they exist by examining the tributaries of larger bodies of water. Without a tip from a forest ranger or group of hikers, you will need to scout the area to locate beaver dams in the big woods.

Whitetails are attracted to beaver "works" like moths to a light. Ponds provide edge, and the edge provides both food and thick encompass. The region just below the pond is generally thick and impenetrable, making whatsoever dry out humps prime bedding cover. Even if the dam is breached, the dried pond will presently sprout new growth that deer discover irresistible. Add nearby hardwood ridges teeming with mast, and yous have all the makings for a whitetail hideaway.

Deer find the dam itself almost attractive. A big dam serves every bit a bridge from one side of the swimming to the other, and during the peak estrus, bucks will use the dam as easy admission to the far side. Dams also serve as escape routes, and if there are other hunters in the nearby wood pushing bucks around, so the dam is the place to prepare up an ambush. I don't think I have ever stumbled upon a beaver dam in whitetail country that was not littered with deer tracks and other sign.

A beaver dam will produce all season long, so I would opt for a ladder stand, firmly secured well-nigh the downwind edge of the dam. Ladder stands are inherently stable and are easy to enter and exit, even in wet, stormy weather condition. You'll desire to position the stand and so yous can shoot a cadet crossing the dam just also so y'all tin accept advantage of any traffic moving upwardly and down the water's border. Once the rut kicks in, a buck tin appear from any direction to cross the dam. Remember, rutting bucks are on a mission!

7. Wilderness Paddle

If you are looking for a true wilderness risk, nix beats a canoe trip downwards an untamed river during gun season. Go far enough off the beaten path, and you lot volition discover bucks that live their entire lives without ever encountering humans.

Y'all will need to fix yourself for any contingency, including tipping over in frigid waters. Life vests, waterproof vesture bags, matches, topographical maps, compass, flashlight, rain gear and an extra paddle are simply a few of the items you lot will have to pack.

A float trip is generally an all-mean solar day affair. You can try to bag a cadet from the canoe, but taking a shot at a stationary cadet from a moving canoe is non as easy every bit information technology sounds. Your best bet is to disembark and hunt likely looking areas with your bow, rifle, pistol or muzzleloader.

You can beginning past back-tracking the first good deer run that crosses the river. You lot might discover a beech ridge, an oak hollow or an abased apple orchard teeming with deer sign, or you may come across a doe bedding area — an ideal location for a portable tree stand. Tributaries are too worth exploring for additional food sources, equally well equally beaver dams. Gentle slopes that lead downwards to the water and whatever nearby hardwood ridges and plateaus might too be worth investigating.

Don't get too carried away. Rutting bucks like to parallel shorelines for estrous does, as evidenced by the numbers of scrapes and rubs you lot will notice forth the water'southward edge. Placing a stand in a lowland area (where natural funnels grow) tin also produce.

You lot must be aware that climbing treestands and screw-in tree steps are not immune in many wilderness areas. Fortunately, there's enough of room in the canoe, and you won't exist hunting far from the water'due south edge. Ladder stands, fixed-position stands, climbing sticks and strap-on steps are all practiced choices.

The best function of hunting bucks from a canoe, however, comes later on you score. Paddling back to your waiting four-wheeler with a bays buck in the bow is one memory that will last a lifetime.

— For video tips on hunting the oestrus, visit www.YouTube.com/DDHOnline

Source: https://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/content/articles/the-best-stands-to-hunt-during-the-rut

Share this post