{"id":1706,"date":"2023-10-19T22:27:35","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T22:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/?p=1706"},"modified":"2023-10-19T22:27:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T22:27:35","slug":"aaron-warbritton-on-how-to-hunt-the-rut-on-public-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/?p=1706","title":{"rendered":"Aaron Warbritton on How to Hunt the Rut on Public Land"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"incArticle\">\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">The most important factor impacting whitetail rutting activity isn\u2019t the weather or moon phase. It\u2019s not barometric pressure. It\u2019s not even photoperiod. The biggest factor that dictates where deer move and how they behave is, in fact, hunting pressure.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s at least the case if you hunt busy public lands or pressured private lands, which most hunters do. It\u2019s not like deer change their rut timing because of hunting pressure, but they will quickly adapt to avoid hunters\u2014even in the heart of the rut.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Aaron Warbritton and the rest of the crew from <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/TheHuntingPublic\" rel=\"noopener\">The Hunting Public<\/a> know this well. Each deer season they travel the country hunting public ground in a variety of states. Over the years they\u2019ve developed strategies and learned lessons that can help any deer hunter on pressured land. You can listen to the full podcast interview with Warbritton below.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=RECU6432361208\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-don-t-underestimate-the-last-week-of-october-nbsp\">Don\u2019t Underestimate the Last Week of October\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>Everyone loves to hunt the first and second weeks of November, because that\u2019s when it\u2019s common to see hot rut activity. But because those two weeks are so popular, hunting pressure spikes. That\u2019s why the THP crew\u2019s favorite time to hunt is the last week of October: There\u2019s less hunting pressure.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor example, in Iowa, the first week of November gets talked up a lot in all different sorts of outdoor media\u2014you know, November third through the seventh,\u201d Warbritton says. \u201cAnd that is an awesome time to be in the woods especially if you\u2019re on a piece of private ground or public land that\u2019s not getting pressured. The rub there is though, that on public land that\u2019s when the majority of the hunters take their vacation. So yes, the deer are starting to rut but at the same time they are experiencing this giant influx of people that they have not seen for months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Plus, during late October bucks are getting more active but they\u2019re not traveling as far yet. So the scouting and trail cam data you acquired during the month is still useful. When the rut ramps up and there\u2019s lots of pressure in the area, however, many of the deer patterns you witnessed in mid-October go out the window.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce the rut rolls around and does are actually coming into a heat, it throws things into a blender,\u201d Warbritton says. \u201cBut man, late October bucks are still pretty predictable\u2026 We\u2019ve killed the majority of our Iowa bucks in October.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p><div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"np8EYvasaoE\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Rattling for BUCKS in late OCTOBER! (Nice 8 Pointer at 10 yards!)\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/np8EYvasaoE?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-find-the-rut-activity-pockets\">Find the Rut Activity Pockets<\/h2>\n<p>Regardless of when you hunt, you\u2019ve got to find the key areas that deer will funnel to in order to avoid other hunters. Bucks will absolutely still chase and breed does, but they might not do it in an open hardwoods that has easy access and is loaded with a ton of hunters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are just so good at finding the place where there is no human scent and no human presence,\u201d Warbritton says. So he spends a lot of time patterning other hunters, not just focusing on where deer might be moving. Warbritton\u2019s philosophy is that if there\u2019s an area where people aren\u2019t, that\u2019s where the deer will be.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I go to an area that\u2019s getting pounded with pressure, I may not even go out and hunt first thing,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ll just drive around and look for trucks and look for people. And when I find a place where there\u2019s no people, I\u2019ll go in there and sometimes it\u2019s a complete rut frenzy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Think of it this way: If you\u2019re able to access a secluded or overlooked spot without blowing out deer, you\u2019ll have other hunters sending deer to you. That concentrates the deer in the area you\u2019re hunting.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt can be ridiculous action [when that happens],\u201d Warbritton says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stay-mobile-nbsp\">Stay Mobile\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/gear\/guide-to-mobile-hunting-gear\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mobile hunting tactics<\/a> and speed scouting are key to Warbritton\u2019s success for hunting public land deer. The key to hunting this way is to find with a lot of fresh buck sign while not spooking bucks\u2014or at least not spooking them too badly.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p><div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"RVQIfUgM0AU\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"MOBILE HUNTING GEAR - What we take with US to the woods!!!\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RVQIfUgM0AU?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Focus on hot windy days for scouting into the wind. The goal is to learn the area, locate fresh sign, and pinpoint good access routes without bumping deer. Around Oct. 25 and 26, you can find super fresh buck sign like scrapes and rubs, Warbritton says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnytime you\u2019re running into dominant aggressive bucks that are leaving a lot of sign, those are the easiest ones to get on,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But if you do bump a buck, that\u2019s not necessarily a bad thing. Obviously there are situations where you don\u2019t want to bump a buck, Warbrittons says. For example, if you\u2019re hunting private land and there\u2019s a buck using a known bedding area on that property, you don\u2019t want to charge in there and bump him. However, gently bumping a buck on a large public land tract can give you valuable intel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they don\u2019t smell you and you just startle them a little bit while you\u2019re walking into the wind, it\u2019s not a big deal,\u201d Warbritton says. \u201cThat deer is most likely going to see or hear you and bound off over the ridge and go to the next available cover. Because it\u2019s the middle of the day, he doesn\u2019t want to make any big moves. That\u2019s what we see nine times out of ten with big bucks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read Next: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/gear\/best-deer-hunting-gear\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Best Deer Hunting Gear<\/a><\/p>\n<p>When you bump a deer, stop and crouch to conceal yourself. Pay attention to where the buck goes and make sure you don\u2019t bump him twice. Now you know where a good buck is spending time, and the direction that he feels comfortable escaping toward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve tagged multiple bucks by bumping them and then killing them later that day or in the next two or three days,\u201d Warbritton says. \u201cWe often end up killing the buck within 300 yards of where we initially bumped them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bumping a buck by sight or sound is OK, but Warbritton cautions that if bucks smell you, \u201cthey got you.\u201d Those bucks will often not return to the area. So always scout into the wind.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p><div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"dVsR1c6KmM0\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Bumped a BIG BUCK!! - What Now??\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dVsR1c6KmM0?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-understand-how-to-utilize-scrapes\">Understand How to Utilize Scrapes<\/h2>\n<p>Bucks commonly hit scrapes at night, but that doesn\u2019t mean you shouldn\u2019t pay attention to them. Warbritton will often hang cameras on scrapes that are easy to spot from trails or field edges simply as a way to identify shooter bucks in the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone and their dog is seeing these scrapes because they\u2019re walking past them and it\u2019s easy access,\u201d Warbritton says. \u201cWe\u2019ll often catch the buck that\u2019s working that scrape at 3 or 4 a.m. and then we\u2019ll back track him into the bedding area.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He uses digital mapping and scouting to identify the likely bedding area. Sometimes that bedding area could be within 300 yards of the scrape or a half mile away. It all depends on the scenario. Once he\u2019s got a good read on the likely bedding area, he might plan a hunt or hang more cameras\u2014or both.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Scrapes are also great for bowhunting because they gets the buck to stop in a predictable location. This doesn\u2019t mean that you should hunt over any random scrape you see in the woods. But if there\u2019s a scrape near your target spot, you should set up to shoot it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe killing opportunities on big bucks is really good over a scrape, just because you\u2019re putting them in a specific spot,\u201d Warbritton says.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read Next: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/hunting\/make-hunt-mock-scrapes-deer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Make and Hunt Mock Scrapes<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-don-t-let-pressure-ruin-your-hunt\">Don\u2019t Let Pressure Ruin Your Hunt<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s easy to get discouraged when you pull up to a spot you hoped to hunt and find a parking lot full of trucks. When hunters see pressure, they often quit or mail in their hunt. But that\u2019s the wrong attitude, Warbritton says. The key is to stay positive, scout harder, and find the spots where people aren\u2019t. Plus, always remember the point of deer hunting in the first place.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf your goal is to have success, that\u2019s great, but manage your expectations,\u201d Warbritton says. \u201cYou\u2019re going to deal with other people, it\u2019s public land. You\u2019re just going out there to get away from the grind of your everyday life and have a good experience hunting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Keeping a good perspective isn\u2019t just feel-good advice. It will actually keep you hunting harder and longer than if you were to let a few busted hunts get you down.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>No matter where you\u2019re hunting, focus on learning and gaining experience so that if your one good spot gets burned, you can go to your back up spots, or just investigate some new ground. The harder and longer you hunt, the more you\u2019ll learn, and the easier time you\u2019ll have avoiding hunting pressure. And remember, in some ways hunting pressure isn\u2019t a bad thing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re hunting a big tract of public land, other hunters help you narrow down likely spots. Simply go where they\u2019re not, Warbritton says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe quickest way to get on deer is to look at the people and see what they\u2019re doing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" async src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&#038;version=v3.2\" id='facebook-js-js'><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/hunting\/how-to-hunt-the-rut-public-land\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The most important factor impacting whitetail rutting activity isn\u2019t the weather or moon phase. It\u2019s not barometric pressure. It\u2019s not even photoperiod. The biggest factor that dictates where deer move and how they behave is, in fact, hunting pressure.\u00a0 That\u2019s at least the case if you hunt busy public lands or pressured private lands, which [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1706","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gun-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}