Hunting Strategy | Deer Hunting & Management

Hunt Scrapes After a Rain

White-tailed deer management is about controlling the age, genetics, and nutrition of a deer herd. These components are the nuts and bolts of producing and growing big, healthy deer. Hunters understand that whitetail, like other game animals, are a renewable natural resource that can be used for both recreation and food. This is exactly why we enjoy getting out in the woods and doing a little deer hunting each fall. Although proper doe harvest is essential for maintaining a deer population within the carrying capacity of the habitat, let’s face it, hunters really look forward to hunting for big ole mature bucks.

There are several strategies that can be used to bag a buck, but for the most part hunters are limited to hunting food, water, travel areas, or deer sign. Whitetail bucks often leave visual evidence of where they have been in the form of rubs and scrapes. Of the two, scrapes can predict the location that a buck is likely to return. Despite the fact that many mature bucks check scrapes under the cover of darkness, hunting scrapes after a rain could increase your chances of crossing paths with a big whitetail buck. Continue reading “Hunt Scrapes After a Rain”

Time to Rattle for Whitetail

Fall is here, food plots are in the ground and the deer hunting seasons are underway. Except for conducting a couple of controlled burns in the near future, the only thing left to do deer management wise for me is to harvest and record the deer we need (or would like) to remove. Though most deer hunters hunt whitetail by setting up over a food source, whether it be a feeder or a food plot, there are much more active ways to bag a buck.

When it comes to hunting there really are only two ways to go: Either you can go to the deer, or you can bring the deer to you.

Rattling for Bucks

Though many hunters have read about rattling bucks in, or have at least seen it on TV, many have yet to give this method of hunting a serious shot. Or maybe you tried it once, but didn’t feel confident, it didn’t work so you packed it in. Ratting for bucks can work, especially if you incorporate the technique into your hunting on a regular basis.

I suspect many deer hunters have picked up a set of shed or cut-off antlers and have at attempted to rattle up a buck, but their lack of success caused them to quickly dismiss the effectiveness of antler rattling. Those antlers then went back to collecting dust at camp. So as effective as rattling can be for whitetail, most of time it will not work and you are not going to bring in a buck on a string. It does work, however, and when it’s hot, it’s hot!

Best Time to Rattle?

Rattling can work at any time during the hunting season, but it is typically most effective just prior to the rut, during the pre-rut. At this time, antler rattling can be an effective way to bring whitetail bucks right up into spitting distance. I’ve seen bucks come running out of the brush with as little as two seconds worth of antler rattling!

Of course many, many times I’ve rattled antlers together only to attract the attention of area squirrels, or even worse, nothing at all. During the pre-rut, bucks are busy establishing dominance for breeding purposes, setting up territories, and working off an excess in testosterone. It is also during this time in which they are most vulnerable to rattling, so this is the BEST time to rattle.

Rattling Antlers Attracts Attention

When it comes to rattling, let me tell you that you never really know what you are going to attract. I’ve had all sorts of deer respond to rattling. I can only guess they all want to run over and see who is fighting — and who will win? Some bucks want to participate, some are just curious. I’ve had does, spikes, middle-age bucks and mature bucks all come to a set of rattling antlers.

All age classes of bucks will respond to rattling more or less at the proportion in which they occur in the population. Younger bucks probably respond at a higher percentage overall and mature bucks probably a little less overall, but it’s not easy to measure since mature bucks are smarter. Older bucks often respond to the sound of rattling antlers by moving downwind of the action and then creeping in. Younger bucks do not always take such precaution, so there is a chance some of those more experienced bucks are detecting us before we detect them.

If a good percentage of the local buck herd is made up of young bucks, then that is probably what you will bring in. If, on the other hand, there are a good number of older bucks in the area, then you have just as a good of a chance of bringing them to you as younger-aged bucks. In fact, you probably have a much better chance of bringing them to you rather than simply sitting and waiting to see them — because they may have stayed “brushed up.”

Rattling, Battling Bucks

A friend of mine spotted a huge whitetail buck last year on public land right as the season started. The buck showed up on a couple of his game camera photos before season, but he got a glimpse of the buck the second day of archery season as the animal walked by at 200 yards. At that point, he then made it his personal mission to hunt that deer for the remainder of the season, even if it meant he ended the year with no buck at all.

To make a long story short, he hunted long and hard with no success, but one cold morning a few weeks later he decided he needed to be more aggressive. He had decided that if he didn’t change then his success rate was not going to change. The best trick in his book: try to get near the buck’s core area and rattle him up for a battle.

The right day came: Temperature perfect, wind great and he was able to rattle that buck to within 25 yards and made a perfect double-lung shot. He said after his first rattling sequence he could see the buck, which scored over 170 Boone and Crockett inches, running at him from over 400 yards! Sometimes it helps to bring them to you.

So rattling can work, but don’t expect it to work every time.

Texas Deer Hunters Have One Last Shot

The General Deer Hunting Season has ended across much of Texas, but whitetail hunters still have an opportunity to take some deer during the Special Late General Season for spike bucks and antlerless deer. Although deer are very wary right now after a full season of being hunted, the late season gives deer managers one last chance to harvest the few remaining deer needed to achieve their deer harvest goals. Now, not all Texas counties have a Late Season in place for white-tailed deer, but most 5 deer counties do have the special season that runs from January 5-18. Make sure to review your county’s deer hunting regulations before heading out into the field.

As valuable as Texas’ Late Season may be for some hunters, it’s not the only option for harvesting white-tailed deer outside the General Season. For deer managers looking for some additional flexibility, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has the Managed Lands Deer Program (MLDP) that not only allows for an early start in some cases, for the early harvests of does, spikes, and other undesirable bucks, but for an extended season that runs until the end of February. I would recommend that any landowner interested in sound deer harvest and habitat management look into the specifics of the MLDP program. The winter weather is cold as I write, so deer are moving. Get out there and take advantage of Texas’ late season — and pray for rain!

Hunting Post Rut Whitetail

Hunting Post Rut Whitetail Deer

At this point in the season, most of the whitetail are on the tail-end of the rut. There are a few areas of the state that are notable exceptions. For example, the breeding season and deer hunting in South Texas rut just warming up. However, deer in most parts of the state have finished the first and most important part of the breeding cycle. Successfully hunting post rut whitetail deer generally means shifting strategies.

The “post rut” does necessarily mean ALL breeding activity is over. In fact, does that were not bred during will come back into heat 28 days later. This cycle continues until all does are bred. Bucks will continue to look for these ladies even though two to three breeding cycles have passed. However, with receptive does waning, bucks switch gears. You need to switch gears, too. This article provides still some tactics you can use to be successful at hunting post rut whitetail deer during the late season.

Hunting Post Rut Whitetail Deer

Why Hunting Post Rut Whitetail Deer is Different?

Once the primary rut is over, does will search out winter food sources and start to regroup. Early season deer hunting strategy usually calls for hunters setting up along scrapes or even rub lines. However, the success rate of this technique drops off rapidly after the majority of the rut as occurred.

Rather than looking for buck sign, turn your attention to looking for signs of does. Find the area of the property where you hunt that has the highest concentration of does. Go there. This may not be the place where you normally hunt deer. In fact, that’s a good thing! Deer can pattern hunters just as easy, if not easier, than hunters can pattern deer. After all, the deer are out there all of the time.

Doe, Doe, Doe… Buck!

If there is a single un-bred doe on your hunting property, the odds of you seeing that deer are better where you have the most deer. This should make a lot of sense. However, you would be surprised at the number of hunters that always see deer in one particular area, but never hunt that location. Instead, they continue to drive to their stand and wait it out, hoping that something changes.

Whitetail deer are wise late in the season. Of course, the deer are still out there but they know the score by the time the late season rolls around. Hunting post rut whitetail deer means knowing and adapting to changes in deer behavior. In many cases, deer will not readily approach your food plot or feeder because of recent hunting pressure. Your job is to find out where those deer can be found after the sun comes up and the sun goes down.

Remember, although you are looking for late rut does, you are really only using them to attract a lonely buck to you. Once feeding areas have been identified, it will pay to find bedding areas. The value of bedding areas has been stressed in the literature so much that we are all blue in the face, but it is very important.

Get Cooking with Post Pressure Hunting

Let’s say you are hunting a food plot, a feeder, or an area where deer come to feed on native plants. It doesn’t matter. When deer have been hunted by you, your hunting buddies, and your neighbors, deer get smart. Searching for whitetail does can be the most difficult task, but your post rut success hinges on finding them. Any doe coming into a second or third estrus cycle will leave her scent, but where is she?

In many parts of the country, the doe segment of a deer population has a better age structure than the buck segment. In short, this means unless you are hunting a property that has a good deer management program in place, there are more old does running around than there are old bucks. We all know how this occurs. So yes, many of the does are actually smarter than the bucks we hunt because they have been through hunting season after hunting season after hunting season. And guess what? They are still there.

So what’s next? Simply said, evening feeding patterns are easier to predict than morning feeding patterns. This is because deer know they will bed up nearby after dark, especially during the dark of the moon. A common occurrence is for is for evening-feeding deer to “hang up” in nearby cover before heading out to feed just before sunset. So if you are hunting an evening food source, rest assured that deer are not far away. The trick to is to get to them before your hunting light is gone.

Where to Find Success With Post Rut Deer?

I mentioned deer bedding areas above because they are important. Post rut bucks spend more time resting during the day to recuperate. In addition, they will stay there to avoid all the hunting pressure. Identify thick cover or secluded bedding areas where deer feel safe. Bucks often bed close to both food and water sources. So, what’s the move here?

Set up near well-used trails leading from these bedding areas to potential feeding areas. Hunting post rut whitetail deer is about knowing where a buck will fill his belly.

Hunting Post Rut Whitetail Deer in the Late Season

Best Strategy for Hunting Food Sources Post Rut?

Hunting post rut whitetail deer and food sources go hand-in-hand. This is where hunting setup is important. Let’s say you have identified the highest density of deer the food source these animals are using. In addition, you know where the deer in your area are bedding up after dark.

Hunting between a feeding and bedding area may not payoff on late-feeding deer at this point in the season. However, the trick is to hunt near the food source, but between the food source and the direction the deer are coming from. That’s right, you are going to have to get out of your tripod or box blind and catch them in staging areas.

Once the feeding route is determined, back off the food source by about 100 to 150 yards and set up shop. Make either a small inconspicuous brush blind or use a climbing stand. Make sure you get there before the deer, and watch the wind. At this point, keep an eye out for either a hungry buck or one looking for a needle in a haystack, an unbred doe!

Weather and Hunting Post Rut Whitetail

Weather is the most important factor is late season success. Why? Deer activity increases with cold fronts, snow, or after a storm as they feed to stay warm. Deer need to eat when it gets cold. With this in mind, pay attention to the weather forecast and hunt when weather conditions are in your favor.

The best time for hunting post rut whitetail is immediately before or after weather changes. These changes are when deer are most likely to move. Cold weather gets deer on their feet. Unfortunately, extremely cold weather is also tough on hunters. Be prepared for long sits in colder conditions and dress accordingly.

Hunting Pre-Rut Bucks For Success

When it comes to timing your deer hunting activity, every deer hunter knows that hunting during the rut is a great time to be in the woods. Sure, this can a great way to harvest a white-tailed buck because during the rut bucks can be downright stupid.

In addition to bucks having only one thing on their mind, they may stray up to several miles from their summer range in search of does or chasing does to breed. And as exciting as this may be, there is another way to bag your buck that can take some of the guess work out of the equation.

Pre-Rut Success: Pattern Bucks

The secret is patterning the movement those early season bucks way before the breeding season kicks off. Early season bucks are motivated by safety and food. Bucks feel rather safe during the early fall because for 9 months no one has bothered them — no hunters in the woods, no funny scents, no 4-wheelers running around both before and after dark, and nothing strange at all. It has been quiet.

It’s during this time of year that whitetail bucks find food sources and eat in preparation of the breeding season and winter. They may be hitting a feeder, a food plot, or an ag field, but they are all the same as far as you are concerned. If you can figure out a buck’s pre-rut pattern you drastically improve your chances of bagging that big boy.

Pre-Season: First Shot is the Best Shot

Now as I mentioned earlier the rut can cause bucks to travel long distances, so once the rut begins the buck you may have had your heart set on may no longer be in the area, so why wait? You don’t want him throwing caution to the wind somewhere else now do you?

But as easy as it is to say get out there early, early season hunting brings its own set of challenges. In addition to facing warm, maybe even hot weather, you will be heading out into the woods battling mosquitoes, chiggers, and lots of leaves that have yet to fall. Hey, I never said it would be easy even though hunting pre-rut bucks can be highly effective.

In addition to potentially tough environmental conditions, many hunters have another huge obstacle when it comes to patterning and hunting bucks early in the season. This is the fact that the rut actually occurs prior to hunting season.

This can happen in many cases. In Texas, there are many parts of the state where the general deer hunting season opens after the rut has already begun! Many hunters across the country know this fact — and in many cases it’s probably one of the important reasons they picked up a bow. In areas where the rut takes place prior to the gun (general) season, bow-hunters have the best shot at both pre-rut and early-rut bucks.

Pre-Rut Turns to Post-Rut Hunting

The rut kicking off prior the gun season opener is not unique to Texas so it’s important to know when the rut takes place in the area where you hunt, because timing can be everything. It is very difficult to pattern a pre-rut buck that’s locked into a feeding pattern when you show up a few weeks late, after the pattern has been broken.

But not all is lost, assuming that buck you are chasing is still alive. Once the whitetail breeding season is complete bucks will return to their pre-rut patterns, hitting food sources hard to replenish fat reserves before the worst of winter sets in.

However, increased hunter activity, hunting pressure, and colder weather may cause the buck to shift to a more nocturnal pattern. All of these factors contribute to a buck that is much more difficult to hunt, so take advantage of the hunting pre-rut bucks early and you will not have to hunt late.