Hunting the Whitetail Rut

We all tend to get excited when the rut period is approaching. We all want to go out there with either our guns or bows and start hunting the rut. Do you know the perfect ways of hunting the rut? The rut is divided into three main phases which are: the pre-rut, the rut and the post-rut. These phases vary a bit depending on where you live. By using deer lures and scents this will always increase your chances of harvesting a nice buck.

Pre-rut phase:

This is the phase where bucks will spend most of their time in male groups. These groups of bucks usually move around together feeding. The male groups will usually be seen in the evening. This period is usually in the summer. As autumn approaches, the hormone levels of the bucks rise and the male groups usually start to decrease in size. During this period the antlers also stop to grow. The buck groups will continue to grow smaller and smaller as the hormone levels increase. This is seen as a fight for hierarchy. After a while the male groups will totally break out and each buck will go around looking for its own place to stay.

 

The rut phase:

This phase is considered as the best phase for hunting the rut. This is because the does usually stand where you are hunting. During this phase, bucks usually search for does to mate. After mating with a doe, the bucks usually move out searching for other does.

Post-rut phase

During this phase, the bucks usually disappear. It is usually challenging to know where the bucks are. Trailing the bucks can very difficult here. Rut hunting can be quite challenging sometimes. You should know the best tactics to use in order to hunt down bucks. You should know when to strike and where to find bucks. Here are some of the skills you should employ when rut hunting: Hunting in the afternoon.

During the afternoon, bucks usually look for places where they can stay. They usually stay in places they see as their food source. While staying there, bucks may start looking for does and start chasing them. Mature bucks usually sit back and watch what their young ones do. You can either choose to target the mature bucks which are watching the younger bucks chasing does or you can target the bucks chasing does. At this point, you should consider targeting the mature bucks. This is because during this time, the mature buck will be concentrating on the other buck chasing a doe. The mature buck is simply not aware of anything happening around it because it is concentrating on the other buck. Simply put yourself in a position for a shot, targeting the mature buck. Depending on the type of weapon you are using, place yourself far enough from the buck. Look out for any kind of obstacle that may hinder you from hitting your target.

Control your scent:

Did you know that bucks have very strong sense of smell about 10,000 time stronger than ours? Now you know. You can control your scent by simply using scent free soaps. Don’t use any kind of perfumes or oils that tend to have strong scents. You should pay more attention to the hairy parts of your body when controlling your scent. Make sure that you totally kill your scent.

Trick the buck using a decoy:

In order to trick a buck using a decoy, you have to be very careful. You should simply place a decoy at a good range where you are sure you will hit your target. When a buck sees another buck, it is most likely to approach it to start a fight. You should wait until a buck approach your decoy. As soon as it reaches it, strike immediately. Another way to work on this is by placing a doe decoy. A buck will obviously want to mate with a doe when it sees it. When a buck sees your decoy doe, the buck will most likely approach the decoy doe from the rare. You should place the doe in a position such that it is not looking at you. Position yourself at a position where the buck will not see you and you will be able to shoot down the buck easily. If those two ways don’t work, you can try out this last one. You can use both a buck decoy and a doe decoy. Simply place the decoys near each other. When a buck sees these decoys, it will view the doe decoy as a potential mate. The buck will with no doubt see the buck decoy as its rival and it will end up being jealous.

Because of jealousy, the buck, will approach the buck decoy in order to start a fight. Search for does in the big woods. This method is best during the morning hours when the sun is rising. In the morning hours, bucks usually move out from there food places and go to the big woods. As the bucks travel into the woods, you can use this as an opportunity to hunt them down. The big woods usually provide good covers where you can place yourself and target a buck without blowing your cover. You should be able to know the woods very well such that you know where the bucks usually go. You should know the path where the bucks usually follow and the best position to place yourself. A tip for you, bucks are most likely not to follow very steep paths.

Rattling:

Rattling calls for a lot of patience from a hunter. You should make rattles which are loud enough to capture a bucks attention. When a buck hears a loud rattling noise, it will think that there are bucks fighting in its territory. You should make sure the rattling sounds as a real fight as much as possible. This will attract a buck to the source of the sound and you will most definitely shoot it down. Hunting a rut calls for a lot of patience. Don’t give up because you’ve had a bad hunting day. It is your duty to make hunting fun.

 

Rusty – Buck Nut Deer Scents

 

 

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