There’s a very good reason many hunters look forward to Sweet November every year. As a whitetail hunter the rut is one of the most action-packed and exciting times of the year to hunt in my opinion. Things are getting crazy, a hot doe could roll under your stand at any time with numerous bucks following hot on her tracks, hunting is good from sunrise to sunset, and bucks are on the move. You may have new deer in from miles away so anything can happen at anytime. This is the time we’ve all been waiting for, the rut.
Of course the rut kicks in at different stages depending where you hunt, but for most of the Midwest it’s usually heating up from early to mid November. When you head farther south like Texas you’ll find the rutting activity in December so if you really do love the rut, you can actually chase it for about two months if you have the time. Bucks that seemed nocturnal are suddenly out chasing, fighting, and searching for hot does. Activity usually increases throughout the day and this is the time of year for all day sits. Over the years there is no question the best time of day is between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. So many hunters are getting out of the woods for lunch, pushing deer around causing even more chasing. If you can stay put on stand not only are you putting much less pressure on the ground you’re hunting, you will probably reap the rewards of others getting up to leave.
A key to hunting the rut is really watching what deer do in their natural environment. Regardless if it’s a buck, doe, fawn under your stand — watch them. Listen to the sounds they make, watch how they interact, see what they do when they’re put on alert. These are cues you can use and are helpful if people just pay attention. For example, when a buck is chasing a doe he will often grunt on the run. Listen to the cadence of this and listen to the volume and frequency. When you pick up a grunt tube try to emulate this. Different bucks have different sounding grunts so I like to bring two different grunt tubes to keep it as realistic as possible.
As soon as that buck chasing a doe around runs into another buck, watch their reaction to each other. Often times they’ll eye each other up, start parallel walking, pin their ears back and their hair all goes on end. They’re trying to look as big and tough as possible. Before an actual fight occurs one of the bucks will almost always let out a snort wheeze. This is basically telling the other buck it’s time for you to leave or there will be consequences. Again, use this in your own setup. Add a snort wheeze every once in awhile followed up with a rattling sequence. That way if anything is close by it all happens in the same sequence a real fight usually would. In my opinion this is key to really luring those big mature bucks in. Everything has to be right; everything has to happen in the correct order for them to be fooled.
Of course hearing the fight is one thing, but a mature whitetail is always going to use his number one defense, and that’s his nose. If there is a buck out there that just heard your sequence and he believes this is something that needs to be checked out, he’s almost always going to get downwind of the sound and try to smell it first before exposing himself. This is where scents come in and may be the absolute most important aspect to sealing the deal. First, if you have any sort of decoy out it needs to be sprayed down with Scent Killer Gold to remove any human odor you may have left on the decoy. Next you want to lure them in so adding some key wicks with Special Golden Estrus in your hunting area will make it smell like there’s a hot doe around which is why all the fighting is going on. Next I like to add a little Golden Scrape around my decoys hawks so not only do you get the smell of doe urine with estrous secretions, but you also get the smell of premium buck urine and territorial musk.
This scent also works great with mock scrapes, which we like to place in front of our stands or on a natural scrape in the area. Since the Magnum Scrape Dripper drips daytime only you can actually get your bucks to start frequenting the area during shooting hours, since they want to figure out who’s hitting that scrape when they’re not around. Place a camera on this setup and see the results for yourself. It’s a great way to get bucks to transition from nocturnal activity to daytime activity.
Now for the importance of an all day hunt; during the rut this is key. Your chances of success go up exponentially when you go in with the mindset and gear to hunt all day. To make this a success, you need to be comfortable. Check out the weather and ensure you have proper clothing to stay warm. Add a seat cushion to your pack so you will sit still and be comfortable. The less movement on stand the better your odds! Ensure you have way more snacks and food than you think you’ll need. I like to always throw in at least one extra sandwich as I’ve had one too many hunts where my entire lunch is gone by 10am so pack extra. If you like things like chips, candy, and other items that have noisy wrappers consider taking them out of the wrapper ahead of time and placing them in plastic bags. This makes for much quieter access to your snacks. Another great tip is to toss in some Wildlife Research Center Washcloths to clean up after your lunch, in case you need to use the bathroom, or for cleaning up after you field dress your animal.
Overall the rut is a magical time in the whitetail woods so do your best to get out there and put in as much time on stand as possible and enjoy the memories!
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