The Best Stands to Hunt During the Rut
- Overgrown Fields. When a buck locates a doe near estrus, he will follow her nose-to-tail until she is willing to stand for breeding.
- Cornfields. Standing cornfields are magnets for rutting bucks, too.
- Community Property.
- Scrape Lines.
- Ravines.
- Beaver Dams.
- Wilderness Paddle.
Is it better to hunt morning or evening during the rut?
Right Time to Hunt: Anytime And if you can wait out a string of hot days, cooler weather can trigger all-day movement as animals catch up on feeding. Meanwhile, during the rut, bulls and bucks often travel large areas in search of females. Hunting the gray light of dawn and dusk is often your best shot at success.
Should I hunt field or woods during rut?
During the seeking and chasing phase of the rut, bucks love to run back in the woods (usually about 15 to 30 yards) from the edge of a field (harvested corn is my favorite) as they use their eyes and nose to search for any doe offering even a hint of being near estrous. Often, bucks will cut the corner of the field.
How far will a buck travel during the rut?
When we think of buck movement during the rut, most hunters probably picture nomadic deer that travel far and wide, (perhaps as much as five miles or more from their core area) for an extended period of several days.
Do bucks bed during the rut?
Bucks change their patterns during the rut and go to the does. But they keep them corralled in thick cover. During the pre-rut, I often find them shifting to what I call rut beds. These are usually located adjacent to doe bedding, where they can monitor the does as they come and go from bedding.
When is the best time to bow hunt in Wisconsin?
During the rut or whitetail mating season that moves into high gear from late October though mid-November, bow hunting stories abound across Wisconsin. Now is the time for excruciating, close encounters with monster bucks and success stories of tagging once-in-a-lifetime deer. 2009 has its share of stories, north and south.
How many points does a Waukesha County Buck have?
[Photo: Bob Mercier used his new system that he developed for use exclusively during the whitetail rut to tag this Waukesha County buck November 5th. The buck had 17 scoreable points, a 19-inch inside spread and great mass and character including a hole in the horn.
Do hunters still hunt on public land in Wisconsin?
Although Mercier 2009 hunt was on a 12 acre piece of private property in southern Wisconsin, he said that public land hunters have and will continue to use the system as successfully.
