A big buck with a massive neck works over a cedar tree trunk. It pushes it around like it’s nothing, which certainly displays its aggressive nature. Within a few minutes, the buck checks a scrape, hits another rub, and walks into a shooting lane. This is your moment. Consider using these deer hunting tips for the rut.
1. Save Your Best Rut Spots … for the Rut
Those who are blessed with multiple hunting spots should save their best rut hunting farms for that phase of the deer season. Until then, hunt other properties, or sections of the farm that tend to not be as good during the rut. This will keep your best spots fresh for peak-rut time frames.
2. Move Trail Cameras to Key Locations
Trail cameras should be moved throughout the season. Oftentimes, there are certain spots that are seasonal. Placing cameras in seasonally minded areas for the rut is a good play. For example, saddles, pinch points, and the downwind sides of doe bedding areas are good places for cams.
3. Know Your Local Rut Dates
those who hope to capitalize on the best rutting activity, must know their local rut date timelines. Fortunately, there are multiple ways to determine these. Consult with your state or local deer biologist to receive data on your county. Or, use available resources, such as HuntStand’s nationwide rut map, which provides data on virtually all counties and parishes within the U.S. whitetail’s range. Then, hunt according to the best days of the rut.
4. Don’t Skip the “Lockdown” Phase
Some deer hunters skip the lockdown phase. Oftentimes, they say this peak-rut window produces a lull in the activity. This is due to the bulk of does being in estrus and locked down with bucks. Oftentimes, breeding pairs won’t move very far for 24 to 48 hours. Despite this, it can be an excellent time to intercept a mature deer. All does aren’t in estrus simultaneously. Some bucks will remain on their feet in search of the next estrus doe.
5. Get There Early
generally, the best time of day to hunt the rut is the morning. This tends to produce the best movement of the day. So, ensure you get into the stand or blind early enough that it does not disrupt deer activity close to or around sunrise. Oftentimes, this means getting into your stand or blind at least one to two hours before daylight, if not sooner.
6. Hunt Mornings and Afternoons Differently
Deer hunters should tackle morning and afternoon hunts differently. Of a morning, focus on the fringes of bedding cover. Of an afternoon, focus on the fringes of food sources, water sources, and staging areas. Of course, of a morning, saddles, pinch-points, and downwind sides of the bedding areas can be good all day long.
7. Know When to Hunt All Day
The rut is the time to implement all-day sits in the stand. That said, these aren’t easy, and it’s best to use these when the time is right. The best time for this tactic includes just prior to peak breeding through peak-breeding date windows.
8. Hunt Pinch Points
The most documented and storied rut hunting tactic in history is hunting pinch points. And for good reason — it’s an incredible tactic for killing whitetails. Oftentimes, bucks cruising during the rut will pass through these areas to get from point A to B. Hunting the downwind sides of these can be an excellent play.
9. Sit Downwind Sides of Doe Bedding
Another solid tactic is hunting along the downwind sides of doe bedding areas. Oftentimes, doe family groups bed consistently and reliably. Find these spots, and they’re used during much of deer season. Therefore, camping out along the edges of these, can be a great way to intercept rutting bucks. Big deer like to cruise the downwind sides and scent check for estrus does. If you’re a little further downwind than the cruising bucks, it can play out just right.
10. Find Interior Scrapes
Exterior scrapes along field edges oftentimes don’t see much (if any) daylight movement. Furthermore, they might be visited once or twice by a single buck, never to be freshened again. In contrast, interior scrapes are used more frequently and by more deer. Plus, these tend to see more daytime movement. So, consider hunting near interior scrapes closer to bedding cover.
11. Use Some Deer Scent
During the rut, deer are jacked up and ready for action. That action might be loving, and it might be fighting, but they’re ready for both. Therefore, using some deer scent can play off both those factors as deer navigate the breeding season.
12. Call and Rattle When It’s Right
Calling and rattling isn’t ideal for the entirety of deer season. However, it is good for hunting the pre-rut and rut phases. If the situation calls for it, don’t be afraid to use these two tactics. Buck grunts, doe bleats, estrus bleats, and other subtle to moderate calls might be the ticket to success. Some soft rattling might do the trick as well.
13. Get More Aggressive with Calling
Don’t be afraid to ramp up calling and rattling. If the situation calls for it, getting even more aggressive can trigger a positive response from a buck. For example, maybe you start with general buck grunts and light rattling. That doesn’t do the trick, though. So, you decide to throw in some snort-wheezes, grunt-snort-wheezes, or even the iconic but rarely heard buck roar. Done correctly, you light up the woods with big-buck back talk. Perhaps you clash those antlers even harder. These things can put a buck in bow range.
14. Monitor Deer Body Language
Studying how deer respond to other whitetails is part of hunting the rut. So is observing how deer respond to your calling. In each instance, monitoring deer body language can reveal what you should do with your next move.
15. Conduct Off-Brand Deer Drives
Typical deer drives involve people who push through cover and other hunters who shoot at exiting deer. It usually requires a large hunting party to conduct it. That said, conducting off-brand deer drives can create opportunities during the rut. For example, push through oddball, overlooked pockets of cover. Deer might not spend time there most of the season, but don’t think mature bucks won’t steer receptive does into such places to get them away from other bucks.
16. Stay at the Ready
At times, the rut is a feast or famine timeframe. The action is either phenomenal or completely dead. Because of this, staying at the ready is a challenge. But that’s exactly what hunters must do during the rut. Be always prepared for that buck of a lifetime to walk into view.
17. Don’t Be Afraid to Make Changes
The best deer hunters are adaptive deer hunters. When something goes wrong, they don’t slink back into the shadows. Rather, they aren’t afraid to make changes. This helps create great shot opportunities at big whitetails. When an opportunity presents itself, they call the right shot and make it happen.
18. Stay Healthy
The rut wears down deer. It can do the same to you. Instead of pushing too hard, take time to rest, relax, and recoup. Be prepared to get back out there as soon as you’re ready to rock. The rut is a magical time, and the deer woods is a magical place.
