In Texas, most of the white-tailed deer are on the tail-end of the rut. There are a few areas of the state that are notable exceptions, with the south Texas rut just warming up. However, deer in most parts of the state have finished the first and most important breeding cycle. Does that were not bred during their first cycle will come back into heat 28 days later, so bucks will continue to search out these ladies. But even if the rut is almost over and only a single un-bred doe exisits in your area, there are still some tactics you can use to be successful at late season, post rut whitetail.
Once the primary rut is over, does will search out winter food sources and start to re-group. Early season hunting strategy usually calls for hunters setting up along scrapes or rub lines, but the success rate of this technique drops rapidly after the majority fo the rut as occurred. Rather than looking for buck sign, look for signs of does. Find the portion of the property where you hunt that has the highest concentration of does. Go there. This is probably not the place where your stand is located. 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! Continue reading “Hunting Post Rut Whitetail”