What is your favorite rut set up in a tree?

They caught on to you.

 

For the main property that I hunt, I set up on the edge of a 60 acre field on an inside corner. There is a low swag about 35 yards inside the woods that bucks run to check trails the whole length of the field. It seems that if they decide to come to the field that they always end up coming somewhere close to that corner. I've had pretty good success on shot opportunities like this.

 

One of my best public land spots is within sight of my truck

 

I will be primarily bowhunting some new pieces of land this year.

I will likely hunt near bedding areas during the rut... I have a few places in mind for now and one of them has a very large bedding area but it will have to be an all day hunt so i will have to play the wind right and have the weather in my favor in terms of heat.

I will also hunt the same place i have hunted the last few years and will be in the swamp right near a large bedding area, but it has to be a biggen to take a shot there.


This is also just my plan for now, still want to see what i can find on the trail camera proir to the season... It might change and i might go hunt the land im use to becuase the deer herd is much more abundant and the bigger bucks are alos there...

 

The setup that produces the most big buck sightings for me during the rut is a pinch point bench on a big ridge that sits between several bedding areas and the crop fields down in the bottoms. The bench narrows down to 50 yards wide on top. It is a mixed thicket of cedar, green briar, small sapplings, a few large popular trees, and has a loggine road running through the middle of it. It also has a saddle below it on southeast side that is another funnel due to the steep slope. The deer Deer move through it all day long during the rut. Last year I saw 9 different buck chasing a doe there with the biggest being in the mid 50's. This stand has produced 6 of the buck I have on the wall over the last 10 years. I have nick named one tree on it the killing tree, because at last count 42 deer have been killed out of it by my family memebers and myself.

Last year my brother shot this 10 point out of it.

 

transition areas

 

Between two bedding areas or between a bedding/feeding area with the wind in my face.

 

travel routes, funnels, near known doe bedding areas, still being cognizant of the wind however

 

Pinch points that bridge main trails to either feeding or bedding. I'm 2/2 on this setup once November hits.

2012:


2011:

 

I think it would be a wheat or rye food plot.On a cold morning where does would come in and feed thats where the bucks would come to.

 

I've always had good luck hunting cut overs during the rut. Especially when hunting on public land during rifle season. The rut in north Ms is usually pretty late in the season. So by the time the rut roles around all the deer have moved to super thick cover and not a whole lot of people will walk the 2miles plus to get to the back side of them. This is really true when its a 15 minute boat ride in 15-20 degree weather, climber on your back, plus your pack and your rifle that's a long hump back in there but thats where i seem to find the biggest and the most buck activity.

 

My first choice is always the tip of a dropper ridge overlooking a creek-bottom. Bucks love to cruise creek bottoms during the rut and that keeps me up out of the swirling wind. I rattle or grunt them up and they almost always will come up because they can not see the top of the ridge. Normally they will walk straight up the end of the ridge and stop near the top to look around. I have killed many good bucks this way.

 

My go to rut stand is a funnel between two thick bedding areas.