Rut - jumping around vs hunting a few stands hard

[Bullwinkle]

Just pulled chips after my rut hunt

I was frustrated to see again my targeted bucks showed up on my stands when i was at another

During the rut I'm questioning the idea of over hunting a stand assuming you can get in/out spooking few deer. So what if you spook a doe or small buck during this time anyways.

I'm wondering if a better strategy is only hunting a few stands and hunt them hard

 

[SwampCat]

I am a lunger - i hunt all over the place - following the deer. My wife will hunt a single stand all year. I have one buck on the wall, she has three - if that tells you anything.

 

[tlh2865]

I vote to hunt the stand that the conditions best suit to hunt. If you can't get to a stand without spooking deer in the morning, don't go to that stand in the morning. If the wind is wrong for one stand, go to the stand where it works. Let conditions dictate where you hunt, and if its a tie fall back on your scouting and go from there. Hunting boils down to a probability game. going to your best stand where you have the most advantageous setup for the present conditions is going to be your best bet.

 

[SwampCat]

I vote to hunt the stand that the conditions best suit to hunt. If you can't get to a stand without spooking deer in the morning, don't go to that stand in the morning. If the wind is wrong for one stand, go to the stand where it works. Let conditions dictate where you hunt, and if its a tie fall back on your scouting and go from there. Hunting boils down to a probability game. going to your best stand where you have the most advantageous setup for the present conditions is going to be your best bet.

I know it depends on your situation- what kind of habitat you hunt. My wife hunts mainly food plots and we have multiple stands on each food plot. There is never a wind we cant hunt. The more comfy the stand, the better, too. Especially during the rut when a cruising buck might show at 1:00 in the afternoon. Our bigger bucks are almost wholly nocturnal. The only time they might slip up is during the rut or if something jumps them. You need to be out there when that happens.

 

[Fish]

Ask yourself why the deer are moving past the stand. Is it random, dumb luck? Bed to food? Funnel? Whatever.
I hunted periphery stands all bow season and came close to a target buck. But not close enough. To put the odds in my favor, i had to make a move. So, knowing i could quite possibly get smelled and that i had to walk through more real estate than i wanted to, i hung a stand in the hub of deer activity.
Killed him yesterday morning within 1.5 hours of climbing up there. First hunt.
Sometimes you gotta take a risk and go for it.

 

[tlh2865]

Sometimes you gotta take a risk and go for it.

taking risks can pay off big, but you have to make sure you do it for the right reason. Moving in tighter sheerly out of frustration can ruin a spot if you put too much pressure on it. But if you weigh the pros and cons and it comes out in favor of moving then definitely go for it. Congrats on the buck!

 

[gasman]

If you keep moving around you may always stay one step behind. If there are reasons not to hunt a stand (wind) then its a good idea to change locations. In my eyes bumping a deer on the way in isnt a huge deal during the rut, try not to do it but it happens. The deer you might shoot could be a mile away when you get to your stand. Hunting around the edges early in the season works great for keeping pressure down but once the rut starts you have to move into the good spots and hunt them. Like most cases you will rarely be rewarded without taking a few risks.

 

[Chainsaw]

I have come up short as well Bullwinkle. What everyone is saying here being to hunt the right stands at the right time sounds like a good strategy. Spooking a plain old doe won't hurt anything unless it is a doe that hasn't yet come in heat that will now not be walking by that stand with Mr. Big in tow when she does. Our rut is still on of course but the hunting is especially difficult with most bucks now not having any problem finding receptive does. Saw a nice eight (for here) this morning at six yards but let him go hoping for a larger eight or the large ten pictured below that may still be around and if not may return. Within another week or so hunting here will likely get better again so we'll have another good chance at them.

Many improvements for the deer have been made to the property here in the last three years as the plan Steve had made for me with a few tweaks of course has been being put in place; However I have focused more on the aspects on making the property better for the deer more than the aspects that could make the hunting better. I'm not saying you have done the same but when the deer are constantly going by different stands than where you are at, then maybe it's time to make the stand surrounds better where possible and even relocate them if not possible. My stand locations are mostly pretty good but I've not made enough improvements to the surrounding area to up the odds of the deer I want coming by, me being able to see him and getting a doable shot at him.

If we call the rut November 5 thru November 14 and November 23 to November 30, I'm thinking that stands for that period should be placed in significantly different locations than the stands for the rest of the season. For hunting other parts of the rut most effectively while maintaining the herd on your property, stands may be needed in whole different settings. Of course some stands will work in two different periods but even in that case they would work better in one period than another. It is frustrating for sure, we now have great deer on the property(for here) and we are not yet setup completely to effectively meet up with them. Here is the best we have a picture of that we presume is still with us.


Regarding your exact question Bull, is it better to focus on one stand or move around? I'm thinking it is better to have a few great, perfect stand setups that really stand out as slam dunks. And that will be our focus here in the coming year.

Congratulations in coming up with a good buck Fish; Obviously you picked just the right time to make the move inward.

 

[Jeff H]

I think during the rut there is so much luck or happenstance to it that the best advice is to spend as much time in the woods as you can in a spot where you have the most or best shot opportunities. So often during the rut we see deer that we've never seen before. To me that means that deer's core area is likely from another property. He's just on the move covering ground like no other time of year. Predictability is out the window. So in my mind you just need to be in the right place at the right time. The guys that consistently connect with big bucks also spend a lot of time in the woods. That's the best way I know to stack the odds in your favor.

 

[Fish]

taking risks can pay off big, but you have to make sure you do it for the right reason. Moving in tighter sheerly out of frustration can ruin a spot if you put too much pressure on it. But if you weigh the pros and cons and it comes out in favor of moving then definitely go for it. Congrats on the buck!

In my situation, i watched deer from multiple stands cross through the same pinch point. I dont hunt it because there is no good wind for it. But, with gun season days away i decided it was time to roll the dice. I wasnt going to watch the deer that i wanted to kill walk through there again while i sat on the periphery glad that i didnt scare one off. . I picked the best wind for it and the rest is history. 30 minutes after i killed, another back came through, got downwind and busted me.

So Bull, maybe you just get mobile if conditions dictate.

 

[Brushpile]

Before each hunt I look at the local weather and then a Google Maps. If I don't have a stand that fits, I have a 5 gallon bucket.

 

[Tap]

I believe that bucks are often where we aren't because we aren't there. We think to ourselves... "Boy, if I were in that other stand 200 yards over there, I would have killed him". Would he have been there if we we were sitting there?