A lot of people are gearing up for the rut and are moving some stands. You'll hear a lot of people say they are moving locations and commonly refer to them as their rut stands. Let's talk about what "rut stands" are and how they differ from early season stand locations. What constitutes a good "Rut stand" location and why move from the previous locations used earlier in the season?
In my opinion, rut stands are locations that bucks will use more this time of the year where they can get from point A to point B the quickest. Maybe from doe bedding to doe bedding, or doe bedding to scrape line, doe bedding to kill plot, and so on.
Truthfully, every stand I hunt out of is a rut stand. When I say rut stand I might as well say favorite stand as it's where I have seen the.most buck movement in the past. Any stand set up to take does I would consider a rut stand. One set up on a certain bucks bedroom, not so much.
Most of my rut stands are either in a bedding area or on trails between bedding areas. I also have a couple stands which are on trails/staging areas leading to ag fields which I occasionally hunt in the evenings. These stands are all put up in August. I don't move stands at this time of the season.
I'll set up my rut stands downwind of food sources in cover for scent checking bucks. I place them in April or May and don't hunt them until the rut.
It seems like the opinion for this varies substantially from one person to the next. Some say travel routes, some bedding areas, and others food sources. To the newbie hunter, if you tell them to set up on "staging" areas, they would be lost. When you look for "Staging" areas, what do you look for?
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I guess my "rut stands" are the stands in and around a big thicket where deer bed that I consider off limits the rest of the year. I have different stands there for different wind directions.
Find thick doe bedding areas. Hunt funnels whether that be edge lines created by cover/water and or a combination cover/water and terrain features. Hunt them with the right wind and keeping hunt them if they are hot. If they go cold, pull the stand and repeat.
My opinion on this is as followed. He other stands are better in the rut than early season or late season but these stands need to be hung well be for the rut deer do notice your tree stand and do notice when u move them and in some.cases will avoid the area for awhile. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
