Pro Staff Updates
Posted By
Ben Koopman
at
10/28/2011 12:00:00 AM
Northeast
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The morning of Oct. 23 we had a mature buck on his feet right after daybreak. Other than that movement in the morning has been slow compared to afternoon hunts. We have been monitoring trail cameras and also waiting for the corn to come out before hunting our better stands. I've found hunting farms with the least standing corn in the area has showed the most action. We will take that strategy with us as we decide on which stands to hunt and when. I will be sitting almost everyday for the next two weeks, waiting for the first doe to come into estrus.
- Brennan and Corey Welsh
North-Central
This morning's hunt started with 5 mph west winds with temps in the mid 20s. I was hoping that the cool temps would get the bucks moving before the wind started blowing out of the south. We spent four hours in the stand and saw three deer, 2 bucks and one doe. I did two rattling sequences with my new Knight and Hale Pack Rack. I wanted to see if for one the deer were responding to calls yet and two if the Pack Rack really worked. Both sequences were short and not to aggressive. Each resulted in a small buck walking in about 5 minutes after I rattled to check it out. It was encouraging to see some response and that my Pack Rack did work, but no big boys yet. Our trail cameras are showing the deer are still feeding at night. If this night time/early morning trend continues, my plan will be to try to catch these bucks as they return to their beds in the morning. My Muddy tree steps and Bloodsport stand are becoming my go to combo for when I need to sneak in and get up a tree quick and quietly. But for now I am going to keep hunting edges of food plots and start bringing the decoy out. Check back often as the Iowa rut draws near for Blog updates and strategies from the Iowa Pro staff as we try to out wit these old bucks and close the deal.
-George Dean
Central
I have been finishing up my first week of vacation here that I have been using merely for scouting bucks on the farm as well as patterning the herd, which has worked out well being that Einstein (a
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For the past week during the heat and windy conditions deer have been moving from approximately 7:00 a.m.-9:30a.m. and then slows way down until around 4 pm and on. I have had great luck experimenting with calls (Knight & Hales Doe Bleat and Death Chamber.) As far as Rattling in the "Big Boys", well that hasn't worked out so well. Knight & Hale's Pack Rack Magnum has brought in the smaller bucks and some doe' to investigate however be weary how often you use these techniques being that once deer enter the area and are "bluffed", they will catch on pretty quickly. The only call that I have had absolutely no luck with what so ever has been the snort wheeze. Right now it seems to spook most bucks off. I may still incorporate the snort wheeze with my grunts every now and again, however I have to say that the best luck has been with doe bleats and grunts. Make sure, as the warm temperatures linger and the high winds are blowing, that you completely submerse yourselves with a scent control from Xecute. S o stick with me as we hunt down and catch Einstein off guard and as always, be safe with your harnesses, be cautious on calling and scent control, and most of all let's have a string releasing blast as we all welcome in November 1st!!
-Ryan Rood
South
Well with quest for Mr. Clean over I am gearing up to get back out and hit the tree stand. The last couple of weekends that I have hunted has been pretty slow. With the rut starting to heat up it should be pretty good this weekend (Oct. 28-30). I put my cameras back out to see if anything new was coming in and to get a better idea of where to hunt at for my upcoming vacation (Nov.3 -13). I will be hunting hard this weekend and will definitely be starting to hunt my best stands. I will be concentrating on travel corridors between bedding areas and also food sources such as cut cornfields. The bucks should be really starting to move this next week! So get your Pack Rack out and see what you can call in!
- Thad DeMoss 
The leaves have almost all fallen and the cool wind cuts deep through the mighty woods. The bucks will soon be on their feet trying to find the first doe in heat. With my early success in Iowa, I
may end up hunting late muzzy or the shotgun season in Iowa, but till then Missouri may draw me away. Missouri offers great deer as well. With it being my home state, I have a few Missouri giants to get after. If you can don't pass up the chance to be in a tree. There isn't a better time to be in a Muddy stand so it's time to use your vacation days now. Scrapes litter the ground, and you can count the rubs from the tree. The sign are all around that the rut is just around the corner. With that said, rattling and grunting sequences can pull that cruising buck from where he is to check out what is going on. The vocalization of deer will begin to pick up and responsiveness as well with this early stage of the rut. Get into your best spots now; they will be heating up but be smart about scent and wind direction. Its time to fool that big brute.
-Jack Borcherding
Finally the time is here that we have all been waiting for, the RUT! With my vacation planned Nov. 5th-13th, I am hoping for a cold front to come through to heat up the action for the rut. I will be hunting my food plot with a decoy, along with a corn field that has about 12-16 rows picked, I'm hoping that these two locations provide some good feeding opportunities for the deer during the start of cooler weather. I have also added a new buck to my hit list "Ya Boy", he showed up on the cameras earlier this year and I'm hoping that during the rut he will become more visible . So keep tuned in to MW Iowa for updates to see if I am able to bring one of my Big boys down!
-Brad DeMoss
