Changing Hunting Tactics During The Whitetail Rut

November: Frost covered leaves. Shelled cornfields...

Whitetail bucks chasing does through frost covered leaves and shelled cornfields!

No other month on the calendar gets whitetail fanatics excited the way sweet November does. Hold on tight! It's a bumpy ride, with twists and turns around every corner. The rut is filled with action-packed hours of hunting, alongside days of total boredom. Then, before you know it, it's over. Let's take a look at some of the tactics we can use to make those action packed hours last longer.

Gettin’ started

The beginning of November usually starts out slow as far as the rut is concerned. Most does are not ready to breed, but the few that have already cycled through their estrous period have got the bucks fired up. Bucks are in an all-out cruising frenzy. They are running themselves ragged. Being in a treestand or on a high vantage point where you can see a lot of real estate might just show you the hangout area of a big buck. Much like the latter stages of the pre-rut, bucks are on the move, checking out doe groups and hitting scrapes. Evening hunts are still good, but it's during this time frame that morning hunting becomes better.

With the first couple days of November behind us, start to solely focus on doe groups. Focus on feeding areas in the evenings and travel corridors leading back to bedding areas in the morning. Check out The Rut: Hunting Whitetail Bedding Areas.

Get Out of Bed

Mornings become my favorite time to hunt around the 5th of November. Bucks have been out all night checking and running does. The first couple of hours you’ll catch bucks trailing does back to bedding cover. Around eight to nine o’clock bucks begin cruising. They're on a mission to find a hot doe. They will be scent checking known bedding areas of does. It’s similar to beagles looking for rabbits, running from patch of cover to patch of cover, until their nose hits the scent they're looking for. It's reckless running, bucks become oblivious to things going on around them. We see deer at the strangest places during this time frame, it's almost as if they lose track of where they're at!

There's really only two different approaches for stand locations during the morning hours. Either around bedding areas or bottlenecks, also referred to as pinch points. Bottlenecks/pinch points occur when there's a topography change or when different types of cover adjoin. This “forces” deer to move through a certain area. Always keep in mind what the predominant winds will be and the up draft of thermals as the morning air heats up. Bucks are trying to cover as much ground as possible this time of year. The quicker they can get from point A to point B, the better. Traveling through bottlenecks allows them to accomplish this and staying downwind of known bedding areas does too.

Evening Hunts

From the start of season until the end of season, rut included, all my evening hunts revolve around food sources. I focus on agricultural areas such as corn, soybeans, winter wheat or alfalfa. In other areas, you may have to rely on acorns or woody browse as a preferred food source. Does will be where the food is when evening comes around. Bucks will be where the does are. Plain and simple!

All Day Sits

We often hear about bucks being killed during the middle of the day. Many experts will tell us that between 10am and 2pm is the best time to kill a big buck during the rut. Personally, I have never seen much mid-day action. For seven years I guided whitetail hunts at 7J Outfitters in Wyoming. From November 1st until November 27th, I was chasing whitetails all day long. I killed one deer at noon during that time span. All the other buck were killed by 11am or after 3pm. I'm not a big believer in all day sits, and maybe that's why I've never had much success during that time frame. It could be that my hunting style isn't suited for it. Whatever the case may be, big bucks don't die for me from 11 to 3.

If you are going to sit all day, you need to keep a couple things in mind. First of all, be mindful to the changing winds throughout the course of the day. It does no good to be sitting in a tree when the wind is wrong. Get down and move if the wind changes direction. Secondly, be mentally prepared. Carry a book and snacks to keep you from getting bored. You may hit a day where the action is virtually non-stop but, more often than not, you will go hours without seeing a thing. Finally, be comfortable. Pack enough clothes to keep you warm. Buy a stand that has a big platform and seat with a good cushion. Always wear a good safety harness.

Locked Down

Have you ever wondered why you aren't seeing many bucks during the middle of November? That's because they are off with a doe that has come into estrous. Bucks will push these does into secluded areas to breed. They don't want the distraction nor the pressure from other deer as the mating process begins. I've seen bucks stay with one doe in the same area for two days and at other times they will breed her once and move on. These “breeding zones” may be an acre of tall grass on the edge of town or out in the middle of a 100 acre cornfield. In my experience, bucks will use these locations year after year. Often times, if one buck gets killed or leaves, another will take his place the following year. Keep tabs on these locations, come next fall when the bucks disappear, you know where to start hunting.

Conclusion

As I mentioned earlier, the rut is full of ups and downs. You’ll have a lot of movement one day and nothing the next. Big bucks you never knew existed will show up out of nowhere. This is the time of year to hunt your best stands. It's the only time of year when I recommend hunting stands on consecutive days. If a buck is just passing through in search of does, he has no clue if you've been in that treestand one day or 100 days. Just because big bucks start acting “stupid” doesn't mean you can get careless with wind direction. If the wind is wrong for a certain set, you still shouldn't hunt it. Your pre-rut tool bag of rattling antlers, grunt call and doe bleat should still be in your pack. Read this article on speaking the whitetail language to get more insight on calling techniques. If you see a big buck cruising, a grunt or bleat may bring him into range. Hit the antlers together if nothing else works. It's the only time I will get real aggressive with a buck. You have nothing to lose. My train of thought during the rut is; “here today, gone tomorrow”. Kill’em when you see’em.