O.K. some of you guys help me out alot with scouting whitetails..THE RUT..so what kind of info can you give me.i think i might be asking for alot BUT every one has some thing that they do and dont do so what are they..what kinds of calls do you use,do use sents or lures..do buck have bounderys...what about rattling..any thing you can think of..i could get book,dvds that sort of stuff..BUT,i would rather ask you guys first...the only dvds that i like watching for the info is ones by PAUL BRUNNER hes the man for whitetails...thanks john
Hunt the doe's. I love to rattle. I rattled in 5 different buck in 2 hours last year during the rut. When I rattle I invision watching the two buck fighting, then at the end of rattling I grunt however many times I feel at that time (usually around 5 times).
If you have a chance to do any scouting watch the doe's. They don't change their routine, the bucks change theirs to meet the does. What I mean by routine is funnels, feeding, bedding, and watering. Good luck the real experts will chime in soon!
I don't go out anytime, pre-rut through post-rut with "The Can". Those little calls work amazing for me. I will often alternate a Can bleat with a grunt, trying to sound like a buck tending a doe.
I have killed a lot of deer over the past several year doing this.
You can do the "can" call or a doe bleat by plugging your nose and saying Ma or Maw. it is effective and you never forget to bring it along.
Do yourself a favor and contact "Brothers of the Bow" or look on the big auction site for anything written by Gene Wensel about rut hunting - Those boys have forgotten more than most will ever know. An even more rare resource is anything written by Roger Rottharr(sp) if I am not mistaken his information helped the brothers and he is kind of the uderground Godfather of whitetail bowhunting.
Second on Gene Wensel. If you can get your hands on "Come November", there's a book almost exclusively about hunting white-tails in the rut. It's a gold mine. Buckskin and Bone, his newer one, is pretty good too.
If you are hunting from a ground blind, don't spill that stuff on yourself...
Look for scrapes scout early look for bucks, if you find a scrape ask yourself why is this here? whats it used for? figure it out and you will be amazed at what you can find ;)
I am not familiar with the terrain you will be hunting, but here in Minnesota where it's relatively flat finding a pinch point or funnel is really helpful. A small ridge or dry strip between swamps, inside corners of swamps, blowdowns that force movement one way or the other, the edge of thick cover...anything that concentrates the natural movement or travel patterns of the deer in the area.
I'm no expert on the whitetail rut, however, I have read and heard from more than one source that a hunter should try and be out there during the second week of November.
I know others have their favorite times, but I agree that Nov 8-15 is HOT.
Pinch points and funels are certainly productive, however I find them to be only useful when deer or moving from or to. I much prefer getting into their bedding areas or a thicket where bucks like to push does into. There, bucks feel more secure and more than likely to move through out the day. I get into the stand before daylight and don't leave until after dark.
Get in a funnel and sit there as many hours as you can and practice walking shots.
man,you guys are funnel happy i will have to pull out pauls tree stand hunting book...john
I have to agree with Gene's book....but also say Barry's as well. Barry's is a little more story oriented, as intended, but there are nuggets in there as well....you just have to pay attention.
You will learn more from the 'MEN of Whitetails' than you ever did before.