Braxton Taylor
When you think about the rut, still-hunting probably doesn’t pop into your head. All-day sits, setting up downwind of doe bedding, or hanging in a funnel usually top the list of rut-hunting tactics. If you’ve done your homework and put the time in, you’ll probably have a decent shot at shooting a buck.
But what if all-day sits just don’t interest you, or you’re hunting somewhere new? Those all-day sits won’t do you any good if you’re hunting a deer desert. Success during the rut usually comes down to finding the deer, and still-hunting can help you do that.
I’m not suggesting that you should completely abandon your treestands or saddles, but a day or two on the ground can help you finetune your setup if you’re struggling to locate deer. If you’re new to still-hunting, you can read a deeper dive here. Otherwise, here are a few approaches to still-hunting during the rut
Find the Freshest Sign
Even the best plans can fall apart when the rut hits. Sure, there might be a few spots you hunt that lend themselves to annual success, but that’s not always the case. If you’ve burned a day or two on a spot where you’ve seen minimal action, it’s time to change course. Rather than waste any more of your rutcation, your best bet is to scout until you find the deer. Still-hunting is one of the best ways to do this. After all, it’s the rut, and anything can happen.
If you’re starting from scratch, start with a large chunk of public and work through it with the wind in your face. I’d also look for a piece of ground that didn’t have a ton of cars crowding the parking lot. I wouldn’t worry about keying on big rubs, and I would only set up near a community scrape if it had been worked within the last twenty-four hours.
Instead, look for fresh tracks or listen for deer running through the woods. During this part of the rut, deer are so focused on chasing, covering ground, etc., that they let their guards down, making it easier to slip through the woods undetected.
Bucks travel downwind of doe bedding during the rut, which is why most whitetail content out there tells you to set up accordingly. It’s a proven tactic, and you can take the same approach with still-hunting. If you can, find a large bedding area and still-hunt, glacier-slow, the downwind side of it. If you spot obvious entry/exit trails from the bedding. Setup, and give the spots a little more time before moving on.
Change It Up
All-day sits suck, which is why most hunters don’t do them. If you’ve spent a few dark-to-dark sits without much luck, try switching it up. Instead of getting in the woods before sunrise, sleep in and plan to still-hunt that magical 10 to 2 window. Not only will it give you a change of scenery, but it can be a great way to recharge your batteries, especially if you’re not seeing deer.
Nothing will give you a morale boost like seeing a pile of deer while you slip through the woods. It’s a good break from the grind of sitting in a stand, and you’ll have more confidence when you return to the saddle.
Numbers Game
Research shows that bucks can cover multiple miles per day during the rut. This means they’re traveling a lot in daylight. Hunting is already a numbers game, but even more so during the rut. You could sit one spot for five days in a row before getting a crack at a good buck, or you might just still-hunt your way to one.
Every year during the rut, I try to devote a few days to still-hunting. It’s a great change-up that keeps me from going crazy, but it also allows me to cover new ground and scout my way through an area if the action is slow. More times than not, I typically run into deer (sometimes they run into me), and I actually killed a buck from the ground last season while still-hunting.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d happily shoot a buck from a tree, but there’s something exhilarating about shooting one at eye level when you least expect it.
Feature image via Matt Hansen.
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