Throughout most of the whitetail’s range, the frenzied craziness of the rut and all its big-buck sightings in broad daylight — especially midday — have now passed. If you’re questioning if that’s a good or bad thing, know that opportunities for success are actually about to climb, especially for hunters with a solid plan.
Confused? Don’t be. The rut, of course, is a time when big bucks can show up most anywhere at any time in daylight, but that comes with the big bugaboo of unpredictably.
As many of us have just experienced, because those buck appearances can occur most anywhere, sitting in the right place for an ambush can be a guessing game. But in the post rut, however, the pendulum swings back to more predictability. Here’s how to experience some of your best post-rut chances.
FIND THE VITTLES
From early December through the end of the season, both bucks and does are focused on primary food sources. All deer are run down from the rut and need to pack on calories quickly. The colder and more extreme the weather in December, the harder deer move to and from the feed, and the more visible they will be in daylight. Finding food in big-woods areas can be challenging, but recent clearcuts and oak stands near swamps can be consistently good.
BEDDING AREAS REMAIN STRONG
All through the rut, bucks cruise the edges of doe bedding areas looking for the scent of a hot doe. And that continues to some extent through early December. The reason is that bucks continue to search out the last remaining receptive does, including does not bred during the primary rut. This activity constitutes what many consider the “second rut” period. Regardless, sticking where the does are hanging in daylight remains a solid tactic.
CIRCLE BACK ON RUT CORRIDORS
Back in late October you likely hunted over fresh scrapes and rub lines before bucks abandoned those as the breeding kicked in and bucks’ daily doe-seeking mileage increased. But now, with bucks mostly done traveling, those rut corridors are a good bet to ambush bucks back in their core areas. And, of course, keep your eye out for fresh rubs and scrapes that signal a mature buck is back in the area and still aggressive/rutty enough to be on its feet in daylight.