So first night in the woods and I set up on a combination of a couple goodish runs on the side of a ravine so I thought it would be pretty good. Thought wrong but anyway, I walked out a little early because of being new to the woods. I saw an old rub on a small sapling that was just absolutely destroyed but it's old. I made a mock scrape to see if I could drawl that buck back in thinking it's the second rut and all. My question is what is the likelihood of that buck coming back to the general area and smelling the estrous and coming in? Thanks and good luck hunting.
Old Rubs
- Thread starter jtenhundfeld
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I wish I had a definite answer for you, but at this point, with the gun week just ended it's all a crap shoot. Let's put it this way... I have a camera over a scrape that was a source of all kinds of activity from late October until gun week. After checking the camera yesterday (one full week of running after gun week) I had two pics... both doe. Thats for the whole week.
So, although I think they are still visiting scrapes, I'd focus all my attention on food scources. That's where the doe are and that's where the bucks will be seeking second estrous doe. Just my opinion.
So, although I think they are still visiting scrapes, I'd focus all my attention on food scources. That's where the doe are and that's where the bucks will be seeking second estrous doe. Just my opinion.
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Having spent a good deal of time hunting late season, the one thing I can say for certain is that there is no telling when deer decide to get wild again. I have seen some of the most intense rutting action in January, but it is always short lived. You will not see chasing, sparring and all the fun stuff you do in November. Its as if the deer are happy living a secluded life, then a doe gets to smelling right and all heck breaks loose. The next day, you are back to staring at boring, snow covered fields, seemingly void of life. I know of one scrape that will be hit every year in January. I'll try to set a cam on it this year. I suspect it will be visited a time or two by every buck that still has hormones to perform, but it will likely only be for a day or two.
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I guess I should have actually tried to make a point with all that babble...If you want to consistently kill deer late in the year, find the food and pray for miserable cold and deep snow. Big, mature bucks are more killable in January than any other time of year IMO, but you have to base your hunting on food, not the hope of another rut.
I agree....Many of our buck come out of hiding when the food gets scarce. Been telling Diane to be patient....round 2 is coming fast!