HOW TO HUNT DURING THE FULL RUT

EDITOR'S NOTE: Preston Pittman of Pickens, Mississippi, hunts every day he can during deer season. A longtime, avid deer hunter, Pittman has carefully studied deer and their characteristics.

QUESTION: How will you hunt during the full rut, Preston?

ANSWER: Where I live in Madison County, Mississippi, the buck-to-doe ratio is about 2.3 does to one buck, which is an excellent buck-to-doe ratio for Mississippi. Once the full rut begins, and the does really start coming in, I like to hunt more open terrain like sage grass fields or young pine tree plantations where I've been during the pre-rut. I may see a number of nighttime scrapes around the edges of the open terrain. During the full rut, bucks will get out in the open, chase does and become a little more responsive to grunt calls. They will respond to grunt calls during the pre-rut, too, if you catch a buck in the right mood or position. But I'll move more in open terrain during the rut, expecting the chase to be on.

QUESTION: How do you predict where you'll see that buck? If deer are running in every direction, how do you know exactly where to set up your stand?

ANSWER: You should set up wherever you have seen does beginning October 1, which is the opening day of bow season in Mississippi. I can promise you that the buck knows where the does are. When the does start coming into heat, he'll be hanging around close by.

QUESTION: So you'll hunt does more than you will bucks when the rut is on?

ANSWER: I hunt the does during bow season until muzzleloader season arrives, not necessarily to shoot the does in bow season, but to find them. Once I locate a concentration of does, I know that when the rut kicks in, the bucks will move into that area.

QUESTION: So when the full rut starts, the bucks will move where you've seen nothing but does until that time?

ANSWER: Wouldn't you be that way if you'd waited all year to be able to breed? You'd go where the women were.

TOMORROW: HOW TO HUNT DURING THE POST-RUT

Check back each day this week for more from Preston Pittman...

Day 1 - Secrets To Taking Deer During The Pre-Rut And The Rut
Day 2 - What Kind Of Scrapes Make A Good Hunt
Day 3 - How To Hunt During The Full Rut
Day 4 - How To Hunt During The Post-Rut
Day 5 - How To Take A Buck On The Last Day Of Deer Season

John's Journal