YOU'RE HUNTING THE RUT WRONG! #1 Mistake During the Rut | Deer Hunting Tips

[@kevinlong1104]

So if the neighbors shoot zero does and they have 3-1 ratio every single buck u have is on the neighbors place… ???

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

Deer don’t pay attention to property lines. First, deer will spread out due to social pressure so you will end up with more bucks making their home on your place throughout the year, and some of their does will naturally move into your area to balance that social and environmental pressure. Second, it is more about what you have on your property that is attractive to deer. If your neighbor has all the food and/or bedding all the deer will be over there anyhow. So it has more to do with the makeup of your property and the overall herd balance. If you have less does on your place they may come over to your place during lock down to escape the pressure. Or if your have fewer does on your place you might have more mature bucks on your property throughout the year (assuming you have food, cover, and water) because there will be less social pressure and mature bucks are solitary animals that hate social pressure. You are thinking about it WAY to simply if you think they will just all be on your neighbors.

[@NQTOD]

I’m the only one that takes does on my farm my 300 acres.. roughly 1500 acres surrounding it no one does take them I’ve always been successful but it would help if my neighbors did more than trophy hunt. I only shoot mature bucks but our ratio is WAY out of whack

[@frankbrowning328]

@@NQTOD It's often very difficult to get the surrounding property owners on board for deer herd management. You can prove the herd benefit and the resulting better yield but getting everyone on board is challenging

[@2CanTan]

Your ratio shdnt be far off. I’m with you but opposite. We don’t kill enough and have too many and they hammer the doe with extra tags and it has saves me for years but they now kill more bucks and less doe so my problem is magnified and I’ve got to lean hard on all my members to take doe this year

[@edwardmartin9898]

Not sure you guys experience it but we have two rut cycles..first one is around Thanksgiving and the second is around late December into January. Often with less does able to breed the second rut is often when we see the big boys come into town.

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

That is the typical pattern for sure. Does that don’t get bred the first time come into heat again about 30 days later. If you are seeing a lot of rut activity during the second rut, that is a sure sign that you have WAY too many does for the bucks to get to. We don’t see much noticeable difference in that second rut typically. Ours is more of a tame and elongated first rut.

[@nicholast.5444]

Yes! I do believe that it's not always the same across the board as far as days . I live in lower Northern Michigan and it was crazy Nov 1st - Nov 10th then nothing but that week was crazy fun . So many bucks, so, so, many I went out 2 nights ago and saw nothing. First time this season I went out and saw nothing. But 1st -10th was great here and even opening day of rifle at our cabin I have 11 family members hunting and they only shot 2 bucks . Things fell off the map after the 10th here

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

That is a sign of a balanced herd in your area! The places where it seems like there is not much of a noticeable change and it drags forever are the places where you need to really be thinking about killing more does. For you, you should be looking to kill 1 doe for every buck you kill to keep the balance. Thanks for the comment!

[@craigwagner327]

I totally agree with this. My biggest bucks i have seen and the most rut activity ive seen has been in that nov 15-20 window

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

thanks for the comment!

[@craigwagner327]

@@WeekendWoodsmen no problem, good luck hunting

[@223savvage]

Killed my personal best this year November 20th and my second biggest 3 years ago on November 14th.

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

congrats! always great to hear about successful hunts!@@223savvage

[@ML-ks2lj]

When they lockdown though where do they go? Thick bedding areas?

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

Many times it’s areas away from other deer. So islands, fingers out in fields, it is incredibly hard to predict. Hunting in bedding areas is your best bet because the does are tired of being chased so they also don’t travel far and stay in thick cover. Bucks will be cruising the shortest distances between bedding areas and will run the downwind side of them.

[@WWOofficial]

Some of the best rutting action I have ever seen has been the last 10 days of October, I feel like that time frame gets slept on

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

Yup, we have been seeing a nice uptick in the back part of October too. They are heavy on scrapes and definitely extending their bed time!

[@jason6325]

Same. I've taken a giant the last 2 yrs on oct 27th. No joke

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

@@jason6325 yup, early part of the bell curve!

[@jason6325]

@@WeekendWoodsmen I'never thought In my wildest days i would take a buck 2 years in a row on the exact same day. You better Beleive oct 27th is the start of breeding in northern ar. Atleast on the property I'm hunting. Take care guys. Be safe.

[@jason6325]

WWOOFFICIAL. You are correct. Not allot of people know this. Or they just simply ignore it. But it most defintly is one of if not the best time to be in a tree.

[@kirktrussell5502]

I didn't see one deer from Nov. 8-15th in Upstate S.C. - Nov. 18th, two bucks showed up and I took the first one. Exactly in line with what your video just stated.

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

sometimes you just have to power through! congrats on your buck!

[@JohnDoe-jk8yy]

It’s rut now where I live

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

where is that at? my guess is pretty far south?

[@Hammerback0]

Im in a part of Kentucky that has been neglected by our fish and game department for my entire life. Im 47, spent 16 years as a state trooper here, working collisions all over I75 involving deer. That said, my county is still a "zone 4", which means NO DOE WITH A RIFLE, One doe permitted during archery and the last two days of muzzleloader season. So on my little piece of land i have a pile of doe and a few bucks, but there is no "chasing", no competition due to the doe population being the way it is. Sure, i killed my ONE doe but that doesnt help. .2 of a mile away is a zone 3 which is better but doesnt help me at home.

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

That’s unfortunate and a VERY outdated way for the state to manage deer 😞

[@ranger053]

Any deer talk to me is one question, are we talking about private, keep out, property or public state gameland s.

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

well that is very true hunting pressured public ground can be a very different experience vs private.

[@frankbrowning328]

Yes, the ratio has to be right to both have a healthy herd and to increase the odds of getting a buck. People also think that during the rut they can just walk out in the woods and shoot a nice buck. Even though bucks let their guard down somewhat, they are still deer and the females are still creatures of habit regarding food, cover, and their natural habits.

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

Absolutely correct! It is humbling!

[@frankbrowning328]

I completely agree with you. I've been a bow hunter for more than 40 years and I find all the points made as valid. 1 other thing I would add is the type of noises we make which spook or do not spook deer. Not always but most of the time a simple movement noise where a few leaves rustle or you slide on your seat a little will not spook the deer. However, metal being struck nearly always spooks game including deer. Accidentally bump your metal stand with your bow or relaease and deer most often will run or go on full alert.

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

That’s true for sure! They know the difference between natural and unnatural sounds

[@RobbieArtigue]

Makes total sense on shooting does. But! If you shoot your does then the bucks are gonna go to your neighbors property for o find does.right or wrong?

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

The deer will naturally spread out based on the decreased social pressure. So you will naturally get more deer moving into your property too. Bucks might start living on your property full time rather than just passing through. And bucks will move more in general because they have to search more for receptive does. Also you don’t want to kill ALL the does. You just want to create balance.

[@RobbieArtigue]

@ ok thanks man…. Happy hunting and holidays

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

Same to you and yours! Thank you!

[@kidiraq8381]

Do you use a bone saw for the rib cage? It seems to be yet another hot topic in hunting. The people I’ve spoken with either say “no”, they just reach high up there and cut the trake. The others say “yes” because they’ve constantly cut themselves reaching up there blind. God Bless!

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

No we do not typically, but we have a different way to cut the trachea that we apparently need to do a video on! 🤫

[@kidiraq8381]

@@WeekendWoodsmen That would be Great! I tend to favor my fingers uncut lol! 🤐

[@RileyMcColligan]

Im out of school till dec 3rd so what days would be good for hunting

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

Starting now, you probably need to just get out as much as you can. Rut is winding down but if you get lucky and have a hot doe around you will have every buck in the area there!

[@TroyS49]

Unfortunately in WA only a very few GMUs allow the harvesting of Doe.

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

They must be trying to boost population. Unfortunately while that’s going on most people are shooting all the young bucks to fill the freezer.

[@TroyS49]

@@WeekendWoodsmen Yeah I mean my first BT buck was maybe 2 or 3 yrs old. I am trying to find the mature BT bucks. I definitely have learned why they’re called the Pacific Ghosts.

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

@@TroyS49 they can be ghosts alright!

[@timber4896]

Nothing to fight about if there’s too many does.. which makes it hard to rattle one in also.

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

Absolutely correct!

[@Birdlivelife-nf9yl]

I’ve hunted the passed 3 days and something I’ve noticed is the doe to buck ratio is wayyyyy higher talking 50-60 does with fawns and I’ve seen 1 spike and only 2 kinda alright bucks neither of them I’d really want to take no bigger then the ears and at most 5/6 points… in my stand it’s cornered by 2 plots on both sides with a big field behind with a thin line of trees blocking it in. Last night I finally saw a decent buck but he stayed at most 200 yards away and I couldn’t get him off a doe at the cane edge. All the doe’s surrounding me was the worst thing how can I get him to get back closer to the plots ? Where all the rest of the deer are ?

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

You likely need to get in tighter to bedding/cover. The does especially will hunker down in cover when the peak rut gets going because they are tired of getting pestered by all the bucks. You can also catch bucks cruising the downwind side of the bedding. This is especially good for morning through mid day hunts. If you have deer hitting a food source in the evening you can hunt it for sure, but you will want to adjust your stand location based on your observations. That’s an insane amount of does so the bucks likely don’t have to travel far at all to find a receptive doe and when they do they will take them away from the higher concentrations of deer, so all the bucks will seem to disappear. Good luck!

[@mandovapehater6988]

The biggest mistake is not taking all your vacation during the rut! I save as much vacation as possible for the rut. Thanksgiving to mid December at my place is on like Donky Kong.

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

Great point! We are off as much as we can the next 3 weeks.

[@mandovapehater6988]

@WeekendWoodsmen dang right! Bust em. Too hot to enjoy here right now... 😒

[@ferrousgrump]

A few times I've seen 2-3 bucks chasing a single doe. Is she in heat or or close... or are they just "in the mood"

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

Typically when you get multiples persistently chasing them she is getting close but she isn’t ready to stand for them yet, so she’s just a bit early (probably within hours to a day) and if you see that you should hunt that area for the next day or two for sure.

[@acidsquidartstudio2154]

It helps taking doe out two because when they have fawns and if they are button bucks she will run them off Miles away and stay her self so your loseing bucks and they do this so they wont try too mate with them seen this a 100 times over the years

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

Yes it helps reduce the overall social pressure which is helpful and it opens up a “spot” for a buck to move in, because deer will always “move in” from places with greater social pressure. Just like when you kill a boss buck and then all the sudden you see new bucks. Same think happens when you kill a doe

[@joelkrystof5877]

Absolutely right my friend !!

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

thanks for commenting!@@joelkrystof5877

[@lyndonhamby7432]

Amen 👍👍

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

Thanks for the comment!

[@RiskyMethods.81]

Your trees haven't even lost there leaves. You must be down south with the tiny bucks

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

NE Ohio

[@chriswigington1572]

I shot my big buck last season the day before thankt

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

Congrats!🎉

[@chriswigington1572]

@@WeekendWoodsmen thank you.

[@LittleRayOfSnshine69]

Our buck to doe ratio took a big hit last season because some jackass started busting does on public land next to ours out of season, and boy did we get his sorry ass caught. Haven't seen a god damned thing all season. I saw some sign three weeks ago but nothing since. I'm sure the few does we still have were bred and whatever he was moved on to greener pastures to die. Public land hunters SUCK.

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

And on public land unless you have antler restrictions they are shooting every buck they see, so everything gets all out of whack. For you sounds like more just low deer density than buck to doe ratio issues

[@ML-ks2lj]

When they lockdown though where do they go? Thick bedding areas?

[@WeekendWoodsmen]

Many times it’s areas away from other deer. So islands, fingers out in fields, it is incredibly hard to predict. Hunting in bedding areas is your best bet because the does are tired of being chased so they also don’t travel far and stay in thick cover. Bucks will be cruising the shortest distances between bedding areas and will run the downwind side of them.