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End of Rut Tactics

gunrunr

gunrunr

Life Member
I keep getting people in the shop frustrated with how their season is going and asking my advice. I thought I would post a couple quick ideas that may just help one of you succeed.

  1. Don't forget to shoot your bow with broadheads and practice a little throughout the season. You spend hundeds of hours in the stand waiting for just the right buck to show up and then it can all be over in seconds. Quite frequently people tell me they missed the shot or even worse, wounded or cripple the buck they are after and can't find it, and more often than not, they haven't shot their bow in a month! Dragging your bow around the woods, in and out of the truck, up and down the tree on a rope, laying on the ground, etc. and it is quite possible somiething moved. Take a few minutes and take a few practice shots with a broadhead you have set aside for practice and make sure it hits where you want it to. If it does, GREAT - now you have even more confidence in your shot. If it doesn't then you have a chance to fix it at home and not spend many days tracking a deer in frustration. I shoot my bow with broadheads at least once a week - sometimes more.
  2. Don't be afraid to change things up. If you have already sat in that stand ten times or more this season - chances are sitting there ten more isn't going to get you the results you want. Deer pattern us as much as we like to pattern them. Keep changing things up and force things to happen. Couple of examples:
    • On this years buck, things weren't happening for me in my normal go-to stands so I decided to spend a few days exploring other options. I hunted another farm of ours that hadn't worked well for me in the past and it worked out great with a big mature buck on the ground.
    • Several years ago I was looking for a very speciific buck and never spotting him. I found a spot in a very narrow draw that didn't look good at all but produced lots of daytime buck pictures (but not the one I was after) On a whim, I hung a new stand the last week of November and the first time I hunted there it produced the logo buck for IowaWhitetail - a 206" beauty.
  3. Don't get lazy on your scent control methods and stand selection based on the wind. Find a good weather website online that gives hour-by-hour wind predictions (i use the personal weather forcast as kcci) and then use a good overhead satellite image of your hunting area (like google maps) and try to pick stand locations based on wind direction. If the wind is wrong - stay out! Scent killing methods all work to some respect but none are 100% effective, play the wind the best you can and do everything in your power to keep your scent down
  4. Pay attention to what the other hunters in your immediate are are doing. If they are constantly rattling and grunting, maybe you should stay silent. If they don't head to the stand until 4 o'clock - make sure you are there by 3. If two hunters are hugging your east fence line, maybe you should hunt the west side, etc. etc. etc.
  5. Know your area, your property, your neighbors and your deer - something in that knowledge will help you succeed. And don't forgot to know your own abilities, dont shoot farther than is ethical. I don't believe I have ever even shot at a deer over 35 yards with a bow in my entire hunting career - keeping the shots short and close is what bowhunting is all about - make ethical shots within your range and you'll have short recoveries and less headaches.
Hope something on this list helps someone. Not everyone will agree with everything I say here and I understand that. Feel free to let me know what you think and maybe in our discussions we can find some more points that may help someone else.

Hunt safe, shoot straight and most importantly - Have Fun!
 
Excellent tips!

1)I shoot one Fixed bladed tipped BH once I get back to my truck each day I hunt. Im cold, clothes are on etc, makes a BIG difference.

2)Also, make your arrows EARN their way into your quiver, so many pick brand new arrows and shoot them the first time at a deer. Make sure they spin and tune right, fletches are on properly adhered to the shaft etc.

3) Download scentlookweather.com app on your phone. You can place your exact stand on the topo map and his refresh and a cone shaped wind direction will appear, showing you were its going. Great tool! Easy to just look at your area, know where you assume the deer are coming from and make decisions.

I am still hunting hard and its getting tough to get up early but you gotta stay after it!
 
Great! Some big things a lot of folks deal with later Nov- they get frustrated and BURNT OUT. I've been there. Take a day or 2 off and regain your will to keep plugging. BUT- keep plugging, it's gone FAST & then 2 weeks later you'll regret not going when you could have & it was good.
Late Nov is AWESOME. Different BUT awesome. Slower BUT big bucks! Me and bros have killed many mature bucks late Nov. COLD & crummy is often good and late AM's are often good.
I've had great success with random, infrequent rattling late season. I don't rattle much but if I try and rattle one in I see OR do an occasional blind rattle, works great.
Later Nov is excellent if you can keep at it with enthusiasm and have "fresh" spots and tactics & personal drive. Many of the bucks I haven't been able to find when they were going crazy & courting girlfriends in early/mid Nov show up for me in late Nov.
 
You got that right Skip. Tonight I had 2 bucks I have been looking for all month cruiseing the cornfeild and 8-10 other bucks all eating and checking does. The does are starting to relax now and come out to feed, so its all in the feeding areas in the pm for me now. Every year its this coming week that we have our best chance at the older bucks.
 
Great Tips!! I know a couple boys that have a couple walls of big bucks! In fact they are twin bro's! They will swear from here on out is when the big guy's are walk'in!! :confused: :way:
 
Great advice for those of us still packing a tag. Time is running out, but still need to try to do the little things right.
 
This week has paid off many times in the past for me. In recent years the 21st was my kill date which was 9:00 AM in 2009 and 4:45 PM in 2010 and OneCam shot a brute on the 21st in 2010 as well. Keep your head in the game and focused it's easy to get sloppy this late in the season and is really when you need to be more focused on details because most deer are educated by now. Skip and Boyd both gave great advice. I think the best is if what your doing isn't working change what your doing.
 
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