Hunting the Rut
Posted By
Zach Schlueter
at
10/18/2009 12:00:00 AM
As I sit and write this, the favorite time of year for most us is quickly approaching. The end of October and early November during the pre-rut and rut can be an exciting and crazy time to be in the woods here in Wisconsin. One thing I'd like to touch on in this blog is a lesson we learned a few years back that may have you look at your approach to stand placement a bit differenly in the next few weeks.
Years ago we were lucky enough to hunt a property that was mostly fields with tree lines and a block of woods to the east. The deer would feed in the crop fields to the west at night, then make their way along the tree lines back into the woods to the east in the early morning. We set up stands on these tree lines to hunt these trails. The problem was most of the deer had already passed by the time daylight arrived. What we saw though as the rut came was a real eye opener for us that changed our future hunting stategy. Bucks were crossing the middle of the fields, even in the middle of the day! We couldn't make sense of it at first, we were just enjoying the action. One season I saw 21 different bucks in a 2 week period cross these fields. Well, it slowly dawned on us that these bucks were scent checking these trails. They were simply taking the fastest way through the area that crossed the most trials so they could scent check them. I had another reminder of this last season as I approached a block of pines in the early morning. I watched a nice buck walk the whole south side (we had a north wind) of these pines to scent check them and move on. What was interesting, he walked right down someones driveway the entire way. This was a great reminder of how these bucks move, and with what purpose. Mature bucks especially, simply want to be able to smell the most area possible the fastest way they can.
Now how does this affect how we place stands? Take a look at the property you hunt. By now you probably have a good idea where the deer trails are and where the deer bed. Now picture a buck coming through. Which way can he go that will afford him the best use of his nose. These travel corridors aren't usually loaded with sign and may not feel right at first. And your present stand may not be far off, but don't be afraid to try something new. Ideally, pick a spot where you can see well. It may take a few sighting of bucks doing this to help fine tune your stand placement. And remember, these bucks want to move through quick smelling as much as possible and then keep moving on. Also, try to have stand options for different wind directions too. If you can, sit as long as possible. Many of these spots are great mid morning and even all times of the day. This time of year these bucks are either with a doe or looking for one. So give it a try, step back and try something diifferent. As the rut approaches, try looking at where you hunt through the eyes and nose of a buck!
Good Luck Hunting!
