I love the rut for targeting specific bucks. I do it every year and am successful at it more often than not. I don't find them on food like I would in October or December though.
I read this opinion from a lot but guys, however, it's not my experience at all. I target specific bucks every year during November and am successful more often than not. I admit, I'm able to dedicate a lot of time to this and not everyone has the luxury of sitting day after day waiting on a specific buck.
My opinion is that they do not wander away from their core nearly as much as we tend to think. (I didn't say not at all) For the most part, I think they breed the does that are in the range they call home. They will not predictably show up in food plots during the rut though. I almost never kill them sitting over food in November.
As far as having a total stranger buck wander in. I have seen this on very rare occasions. More often than not, I think those stranger bucks are just bucks people didn't realize were there that became visible because of the rut. I have also seen a new buck move in after the dominant buck in the area is removed.
I agree, that in general “your” big bucks dont leave the area during the rut - they are just not as patternable - at least where we hunt. My land is pretty thick - so we hunt the food plots no matter the time of year. We see a few new bucks during rut - but we are much more likely to see a new mature buck after rut - when he show up on a food plot. None of our bucks we have on the wall were not previously on camera.
We dont hunt as much early in season when temps may still be 100 degrees - but if you find a big buck at that time, he may well be more patternable then than any other time during season - as you may be able to set your clock by him. These bucks now are still typically in bachelor groups. I killed our biggest buck the first week of October and our temp was in the low 90’s. I have no idea how the arrow made it through the skeeters. When our bachelor herds break up, it is not uncommon to lose some of these deer to the next property over. They dont go ten miles away - but they might go a mile or two - and when you own smaller property - that may well take them away from your property.
Unlike a lot of states, our rut falls during the modern gun season. And based upon fawn birth - the rut usually falls around the 15 th of Nov, give or take a week. We hunt a lot then. Weather is usually nice and cool and deer are on the move - and there are still a lot of bucks in the woods because they have yet to go through a solid month of modern gun season. We see lots of bucks, chasing, fighting, breeding. In my opinion, the best time to be in the deer woods for watching deer - but rarely do we kill a target buck.
By December, deer activity has slowed way down. Many of the bucks are now in someone’s freezer. The survivor’s are strongly nocturnal - and worn down. They are looking for food - and the second rut (not nearly as frenzied) - is upon us. This is when we might start seeing some of the mature survivors edging out into the food plots just before dark. And this is when we have killed over half our target bucks.
Too be honest - I am sure our habitat affects our deer sightings. This is not ag land. It is timberland or cattle country. My 400 acres is primarily woods with about 20 acres of native grass. The woods are thick. These arent the open mature forests. They are mature in many areas - but very few areas would you be able to shoot a deer 75 yards away. The woods are thick - cedar, palmetto, green briar - and that is why we mostly hunt manmade food plot openings. Even the cattle country here is largely woods. I have two cattlemen neighbors who own 1300 and 1400 acres respectively. One has 700 acres of pasture and one has 400 acres. These arent square 40 acre fields either. They are odd shaped openings that meander through the woods.
A relative from northern Missouri once came to my place and his initial reaction was - I dont know how you guys ever kill a deer down here. Of my 400 acres - picture 360 acres of bedding habitat.
I once heard on a podcast a noted deer manager expounding on the attributes of the deer seasons in Iowa. Short modern gun season, not during the rut, one buck bag limit, etc. He also said that something like 8 or 10 percent of the state was deer cover. Probably 75% of our state is deer cover. My 400 acres is 100% deer cover - most of it bedding cover.
I know a lot of folks on this forum are concerned - and rightly so - with creating bedding areas. I am concerned with getting them out of the bedding areas - which are everywhere.
As a comparison to much of the southern half of Arkansas - there is about seven weeks of rifle season, along with another 12 days of ml, during the first and second rut. Two buck limit. And lets not forget - unleash the hounds - and in most areas, spread bait by the truckload. Many of the central US states, Iowa, Ohio, etc - might have two weeks of modern gun and a week of muzzle load. One buck with a firearm. No rut hunting. Imagine if some of these central states had fifty days of rifle hunting, along with 12 days of ml, two buck limit, during the rut. There wouldnt hardly Be a deer left.
I think our season structure fairly well illustrates what so much cover can afford the deer herd. I bet I have three or four neighbors who have a corn feeder they can shoot from their back porch. The one positive thing about an outfitter next door - they know they cant shoot the last deer they have or they will be out of business. 15 acre neighbors with a corn feeder off their back porch dont have that worry.
Native nailed it when he said where he lives, “the whole world hunts like an outfitter”.
