Hunters should always hunt from an elevated position. One very important factor to consider when hunting along a roadway is that hunters should remember that people travel roads. Either way, knowing where these heavy crossings are located will help reduce search time and bring hunters closer to making an accurate shot when Bullwinkle steps out for a brief moment. Hunters can mark them by breaking off branches, scratching a place on the ground, or even a small piece of flagging ribbon. When setting up stands to watch roads, hunters need to walk down the roads within their field of view to look for heavy crossings. Stand placement and having some intelligence on the location of the existing crossings in crucial. Logging or other woods roads can be great spots to see rutting bucks travelling though the November woods. Regardless, when hunters are hunting on private roadways, whether a 14-foot logging trail or a 50-foot gravel road with drainage ditches and a shoulder, hunters need to be prepared to shoot quickly, because deer will usually not stay long. This is how many bucks get killed on the highway when their inhibitions are masked by the need to breed. However, if a buck is on a hot doe trail, they may hit the road and cross without even stopping at all. If they pick up a whiff of a doe in season, they may even walk down the road in the direction of the scent. And bucks will almost always stop and smell to see if they can pick up any scents traveling down the road. Deer are curious animals and generally take a few steps in the road first and look both ways before they cross. Deer will readily cross roads, but they appear to look both ways like a group of students crossing a busy highway. They are fantastic places to set up stands, and one of the best places is where two roads intersect. Deer will never let a woods road stop them from entering into an adjacent woodlot. Most hunting properties have extensive road systems that bisect prime habitat. Clear-cuts are prime places to hunt during the rut and should never be avoided. They will eventually create new travel routes through these areas, but it usually takes a while before they alter their travel patterns. In fact, deer will often use the same travel trails they used before the timber was cut. Bucks will not think twice about using these areas to cross and search for available mates. Smart hunters will make changes, too.Ĭlear-cuts of any age are acceptable, including the brand-new clear-cuts that were most-recently logged. Big bucks change their habits when the peak of the rut arrives. If the fields are cut corn or another potential food source, bucks will be in the area anyway, because there is a high probability does are close by. Scents will carry further in an open area than an area covered with obstructions. Not only can hunters see a long way, deer are able to smell a doe in heat from a very long distance. Some of the best places to hunt during the rut are large clear-cuts and fields sandwiched between large woodland areas. Anywhere hunters can see long distances and cover a large area are great places to sit during the rut. They are searching for does by sight and smell, but a buck can smell much better than they can see, so places they can pick up scents from a distance are always good places for them to look. The bottom line is, bucks are on the move and looking for receptive does anywhere in their immediate or extended home range. While these are great places to see does and possibly encounter a trophy buck, an unconventional approach can put hunters in a sweet spot. Most hunters rely on their own normal hunting routines and stand setups around a consistent food source. A buck can show up in the most-unusual places and at any time of the day. When the rut is in full swing, nothing is normal.Īs the rutting activity increases and approaches its peak, there is nothing ordinary about big-buck travels. Generally, does will try to maintain a normal daily routine, but bucks show up and disrupt anything that could be perceived as a normal travel pattern. The rut changes everything, and bucks and will do just about anything to participate in mating activities. Regardless of where they live, deer are one of the most-predictable animals on Earth, except during the mating season. And it is never too late to switch gears when the rut is still in full swing. While most hunters rely on traditional stand setups, an unorthodox approach may provide a better vehicle to get that trophy buck into lethal range.
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