BOYWONDER

I am going up to the deer woods a week before the Minnesota Gun season. Is there and thing I can do to help my chances at a wall hanger?

pat

solocamcan

Find the bedding area used by the Doe's, but DO NOT enter them, hunt on the edges, or find the travel route which they take to and from, and ambush them. This is the time of year the bucks will be cruising the bedding areas in search of those first Doe's that come into estrus.

Another option is find the evening food source (corn or bean field perhaps), chances are you'd get busted trying to sneak in there before first light, so plan on only hunting that in theevening, but give yourself plenty of time to get set-up and settled in, you don't want to be rushed.

The Outdoorsman

-Spend as much time in the woods as possible.
-Stay scent free
-Find the does, once the rut kicks in, he will be chasing them
-Bedding areas are good, but hunt the outside edges of them
-Any good rub line or scrape line is a good sign too

BOYWONDER

Any sents I should try, how about a dripper over a scrap?
pat

WildlifePhoto

Pattern a buck. Look for a rubline, then walk it backwards (with the rubs behind you) until you get intoits daytimecore area (which is often in thick cover, possibly on the downwind side of a hill), where you should find several rubs on smallsaplings and several large beds. There may be large clumps of deer scat in thearea too.

Then set up near the core area.

Jimmy S

This time of year you should see a lot of evidence of bucks in those woods. If I hunt new areas, I speed hunt. I check out place and if I don't see any good sign, I keep moving. I am looking for two things. Rubs and scrapes left by bucks and also deer trails that show a lot of old/new droppings. This tells me the deer are still using that area. I then try to locate a place I can setup where I can hopefully see a buck working his area and also possibly see other deer, especially does that are still using main trails. Very soon the bucks will be checking out places that they know the does use.

I also remind myself that any deer that knows he's being hunted will be almost impossible to shoot. Try to be as scent free as possible but also understand it is impossible to be 100% scent free. IMO, the biggest mistake hunters make is moving through the woods without wearing gloves and leaving their nasty, human, oily scent in the deer woods. It will take no time for those deer to realize humans have invaded their woods. Once that happens, the odds for success drops.

Select a spot that you feel gives you a good advantage and hunt it smart. Play the wind, get high (treestand) if possible and stay focused. All this may be easier said than done but at least give yourself a fighting chance. My main focus is not shooting a deer but putting myself in a good position to shoot a deer. The best way for that to happen is for me to see the deer before he ever knows he's being hunted.

Good luck to you and have fun. That's what it's all about.

Otsdawa_Game_Hunter

Question...Do bucks walk their rub lines as much or is it "all bets off" once he starts chasing does all over creation? Man it always seems like I set up in a good spot until I see the slammer chasing a doe nowhere near his rubs or doe beds. I hear what you guys are saying about the bedding areas and such but they always seem to come out or show up in different places each day. My spots usually look like the Ho Chi Min Trail where they have been running thru. I try to hunt the intersections as much as possible and this seems to pay off more than anything for me atleast. I do know one thing they smarten up right quick after the first 2 days. I find quite a few trails going into some real thick stuff days after the opener where I saw no signs of travel a few days prior. They really hit the thick stuff and go nocturnal seems like. I caught my 6pt last year walking out of this spot right as it was almost dark. A snow squall blew over for about 5 minutes and stopped. I looked up and there he was coming out of some pretty heavy stuff. Nose to the ground trotting when I let him have it with the 30-30. Lord the 15th of November cant get here quick enough. Its all I can think about! LOL