buckslayer20657

Its the rut here in MD Ive scouted a spot that is producing a lot of does (2 weeks prior to rut ) Ive also found a spot about one hundred yards away that has rubs and scrapes. Which do you think would be a better stand site?

Invented

I' m in VA, and I this past week, on my trail I have walking through my land there are a few small pines here and there, they were not rubbed tuesday, but when I went wednesday three of those pines had been rubbed, I then jumped the same herd of deer both days along that path, after seeing the scrapes I have concluded that atleast one of those deer is a buck. I' m going out there today and plan on going in the woods a different way and try to hunt that area. I killed a 8 pointer about 100 yards down the path on November 3rd, and a small doe this past monday in that area, the deer keep coming back and the shots don' t seem to scare them at all. Infact once the deer see me, they run to the bottom of the hill and stop, and a few minutes later they end up grazing in the woods looking for acorns to eat. Thats how I harvested the small doe. I could have killed a doe every day this week but I don' t have anyone to give the meat to and my freezer is full.

Anyhow, my path that I use to hunt goes around the top of creeks and bottoms so that I can look down into bedding areas and creek beds. Thats where I like to hunt

skeeter 7MM

I concentrate on rublines vs scrapes as a possible place to set up. IME scrapes are mostly hit during nighttime and have become more nice to see but I don' t get to excited. When I locate a rubline from a dominant buck I start to look at the area and sides he is rubbing, then translate that to his bedding area. Once I have determined when he is rubbing on route to bed or vice versa, I then look for directional travel and structure such as funnels, ridgelines, etc. I will set up in the funnel closer to the bedding area 9 out of 10 times. I have always preferred deep transition areas vs open areas, I feel success and sightings are dramatically higher the closer you get to the bedrooms of deer. Saftey zones mean deer are comfortable moving under daylight which just translates to more opportunities.

As far as hunting does for a buck is always a good bet. However in your case the does are not that far away from the sign and my educated guess is he is moving through this transition area on route to where these does are hanging. Again assuming this activity is in fact in the bush and not on food.

Basically try to isolate areas that you know the deer move through and think would allow deer to feel safe to move during hunting hours. Then directionally figure out how they would travel in different times through that area in association with the wind direction, always set up with the wind in your favor. The tough part is waiting them out but finding a good spot will often provide action which makes the day go by quickly. You can also try rattling and calling these areas to lure buck out, just watch your back door as they will often cirlce downwind when coming into these situations. A little doe or buck scent set up may halp in buying you a shot opp. in these case if you add the calling/rattling to your list.

Good Luck!

121553

Its the rut and you have does? The does maybe not comeing to estrus yet, but by the end of November they will and these bucks will be chequeing on the girls daily. Forget the rub lines and the scrapes, they don' t mean crapola when you can get the real thing, I say persue the does and the big boys will come. Good Luck, Bobby