The Rut is Near
Posted By
Josh Neville
at
10/24/2011 12:00:00 AM
Time to get serious!
Well, the last week of October has officially arrived! This is when things start getting serious. It's time to dust off the rattling antlers and Pack Rack's and break out the decoys if you've got one!
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We've been saving our best spots for this. Family obligations are going to limit the amount of hunting that we can do this weekend, but we will try to get out a few times. When we hunt, we'll likely be doing a lot of grunting and rattling. We'll also be using a decoy whenever possible. Scott and I have had a lot of success with using decoys in open areas. We think the key is to have the decoy in a highly visible area, such as a cut cornfield or food plot. We try to position the decoy upwind of us and quartering towards us. Ideally, we have plenty of room on either side of the decoy for open shots. In a perfect situation (i.e. Potato Digger 2010), a mature buck will posture in front of the decoy and will give you a broadside shot. That doesn't always happen though, so it is important to try to allow a wide area around the decoy with plenty of shooting lanes.
Keep in mind, does will often spook on a buck decoy. That doesn't bother me though. Many times, I've witnessed does spook and run away from mature bucks in the
pre-rut as well. When we're using a decoy, we aren't really hunting does anyway... We're hunting bucks!
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-Bo Parker
