Cloud Peak Wildworks

Most parts of the Midwest the rut is either in full swing or about to pop. If I can be out in the field anytime during the season this would be my first choice. The odds of tagging a mature buck increase 10 fold during this period.  I have a few tips that may be old news to some but to others might be exactly what you were looking for.

Tip 1. It’s time to push into your hotspots a little deeper than you normally would. you need to be extra cautious and hunt smart but the rut is in the air and some deer seem like they lose their minds and drop a few safeguards a bit so push in a bit closer to your known deer hotspots. Hunt travel corridors, if you have pinch points, heavy cover, fence rows, or drainage’s, just walk around a bit and get a bearing on where you see a lot of hoof traffic.  The deer will be moving these areas you can bet that if there is good sign the deer are there.

Tip 2. With the increase of deer activity mature bucks will increase daytime movement as well as move a bit more out of their home range or pre-rut areas in search of the first receptive does.  An all-day sit or as long as you can bear can pay off huge. For example: if you have receptive does in your area or the next farm over they can attract as many bucks as you can imagine.  It is not uncommon to see 2 to as many as 5 bucks pursuing one doe.  This is a chase game so just cause your area seems dead doesn’t mean you should pick up after sitting 2 hours in the morning.  Hang tight cause all it takes is for the hot doe or does to be pushed your direction and its game on.  You can go from zero to hero real quick during this time.

Tip 3. Scents, decoys, rattling, magic deer potions, etc…Damned if you do damned if ya don’t! I like to have a control or another hunter hunting nearby and doing the opposite I am doing.  If I have a decoy setup and rattling every thirty minutes… he should not have a decoy and rattling every thirty minutes.  It’s kind of like when I am fishing with a buddy.  When you’re trying to pattern fish you never use the same thing until you figure it out then its game on. I have had years where rattling and decoys work great then years (This one in particular) where you might as well have done aerobics in a onesie in your deer stand and got just as many positive reactions from deer. If you’re hunting alone just keep all the tools at hand.  If you see a buck cruising in search of a doe start off subtle with a grunt or doe bleat. If he is ears up and looking in your direction he is either going to flee and get outta dodge or he is waiting for some other deer talk to validate and verify what’s going on. If he is looking in your direction use some noise deflection.  Do not point your grunt tube at him and blow again because he will pinpoint you very quickly. Instead cup your hand over the end of the grunt move it behind the tree or whatever your in or behind and blow soft making a quieter grunt or bleat.  Think of it this way… when you caught his attention when he was cruising by he had a lot on his mind analyzing smells, thinking about where old Sally Doe is at this evening, and probably trying to avoid you if at all possible.  Then you blew your little deer call and now you have every one of his senses directly focused on your area. People say to wait until the deer turns his head or isn’t looking your way, well what if he stands there for 10 minutes locked on your area and nothing else happens… My experience is that he will get nervous and then it gets even tougher to trick him.  If you simply make sure your concealed, simply turn or whatever is feasible for the given situation and blow another grunt or bleat but like I said earlier make sure it is quieter and use some sort of deflection because he is now solely focused on what he just heard and probably listening for validation that it is what he thought it was.  I know I mentioned magic deer potions… if you read this and actually want to know my take on deer attractants I will write a specific article on that… but again whether its aerosol, gel, drags, drippers, deer pee, poop, or god knows what else is out there I tend to stay away… I have never had them work consistently so I don’t feel its worth “My” time. I know a lot of people won’t agree with me, and some will, and some will tell me how they only use their pee…

Tip 4: If you’re a weekend hunter like most of us are, sit all day long if possible. Talk the old lady into it somehow because it’s really just simple math.  You hunt say 4-6 hours a day and you hunt 8 days during Archery season (during the rut)… That figure adds up to 40 to 48 hrs of hunting.  Seems like a lot right? Now let’s say you hunt all day 10-12 hours and you hunt those same 8 days during the rut.  That adds up to 80 to 96 hours!!! That is like hunting 2 years’ worth wrapped up in one season! You literally get to learn and experience twice as much! The odds are tilting more in your favor also.  That old saying is true “Can’t kill a deer from deer camp”.

These are only a few tips I know. There are books written about this stuff. I don’t really have that kinda time to write a book on here so I just wanted to put a little info out while it was on my mind. I hope you might have picked up maybe a thing or two and I hope you enjoyed the read.

Good luck to everyone out there I hope you all get what your looking for this deer season! Happy Hunting!