Best Deer Hunting Stands and Locations for the Rut

Not all of us can travel from state to state filling one tag after another during the peak of the whitetail season. Most hunters lead busy lives with work, family, and other personal responsibilities that just don’t allow us to hit the “pause button” on life and spend countless days in a deer blind. However, the true die-hards have found a way to shutoff the outside world and be at piece for an extended period of time by cashing in all of their personal time and vacation days for the almighty “Rutcation”. The Rutcation that I refer to doesn’t have to involve traveling across the country for an out-of-state hunt. Heck, if you have the luxury to own a decent size chunk of land, you could just spend your entire Rutcation in your backyard. Whichever way you decide to break away from the everyday grind to hunt the most exciting time in the Whitetail woods (a.k.a The Rut), you want to ensure you are taking advantage of every single minute in the stand. You’ve marked off your calendar, sent all your calls to voicemail, and have waited the entire year for this moment. Here are the best 3 setups to nearly guarantee yourself a shot at a buck during the rut.

Location #1 – Doe Bedding Areas

During the rut, bucks will be constantly looking for love and cruising for a hot doe. So what better place to look than where they bed down? When you hunt doe bedding areas during the rut, you want to pay very close attention to the wind and place your stand downwind from those beds. The objective is to position yourself at a distance where bucks will circle downwind of the bedding area, but not you. In other words, place your setup far enough away to allow the bucks to scent check the area in between you and the doe’s. Doe’s tend to bed in thicker areas with taller grasses and shrubbery, so you’ll need find a good mature tree downwind to hang a stand and wait for cruising bucks. Again, the wind direction is very important in this type of setup because one wrong gust could blow out the entire bedding area sending doe’s scattering every which way. The best tip for avoiding getting stuck sitting in a stand with unfavorable wind conditions is to be somewhat mobile. Hang–on stands with a set of climbing sticks are perfect for adjusting on the fly. The last thing you want on your Rutcation is to be stuck hunting suboptimal stands because you don’t have the right winds for your best spots. The Muddy Vantage Point is light weight and can be moved with minimal effort. If you are looking for a more comfortable option for those all day sits, the Muddy Boss Elite AL is another great choice. The Flex-Tek Zero-Gravity flip up seat on the Muddy Boss Elite AL makes it easy to sit from dawn to dusk. Pair either one of those options with a set of Aerolite Climbing Sticks and you will have the perfect system for avoiding detection while waiting for that bruiser to come cruising in.

Location #2 – Food & Water Sources

Depending on where you are hunting, the temperatures during the whitetail rut can vary. Temps in Northern Minnesota could drop below freezing while South Texas hunters could be out hunting in t-shirts. However, the fact remains that whitetails across all regions need food and water to survive. If you have the ability to hunt either an established food source, such as a food plot or agricultural field, or a reliable water source, such as a small pond or stream, you can take advantage of the higher population densities of deer at these locations. Outside of the rut, mature bucks tend to wait until dark before exposing themselves in open areas to feed or hydrate themselves. During the rut, all those survival instincts go away and they have only one thing on their mind; love. These locations are fantastic gathering points and social hubs for whitetail rutting activity. Bucks will target areas that have a high concentration of doe’s to check if any are coming into estrus. These areas also provide a canvas for bucks to spread their scent and posture for dominance using scrap trees, licking branches, and rub lines. Bucks are playing the odds and so should you by setting up on these highly active whitetail meeting grounds. Muddy offers several options for this type of setup. If you have the means to invest in a tower box bind such as the Muddy Bull box blind, you can ensure you’ll have a solid reliable place to hunt year after year. For the price conscious hunter, a ground blind works just as well and is light enough to carry in and out with ease. The Muddy Bale Blind is perfect for placing in those open ag fields, but if you find yourself in a thicker environment the Muddy VS360 ground blind blends into the surrounding vegetation while still providing 360 degrees of shooting options.

Location #3 – Pinch Points and Funnels

If you’ve studied deer movement or scouted your hunting property you’ve probably noticed a few areas with heavier deer sign than others. These heavily used zones often correlate with features in the terrain and topography called pinch points or funnels. The high traffic is a result of deer being compressed into a smaller area in order to get from one place to another. During the Pre-Rut and Rut phases, you can increase your odds of laying eyes on a mature buck during daylight hours by setting up on these locations. A great first step is to look at a satellite map of your property to identify these dense travel corridors and target those areas for stand placement. You’ll want to avoid overhunting these spots, so that you minimize pressure to keep your scent out during most of the year. Save these stands for your prime rutting activity to ambush that target buck with the element of surprise. Ladder stands are a wonderful option here since they can be left up all year-round and don’t require a whole lot of shifting around. Muddy’s Boss Hawg ladder stand is quiet, reliable, and low maintenance for either bow or gun hunter. If you have a buddy or family member you’d like to hunt with, the Nexus and Nexus XTL double ladder stands have plenty of room for two with some elbow room to spare. No matter what type of stand you choose, be ready for things to happen fast in these locations and don’t get caught off guard by cruising bucks.

The bottom line is, a Rutcation taken at the right time of year can be your best and only chance of seeing mature bucks on their feet during shooting hours. When you put life on hold and dedicate yourself to hunting whitetails, make sure you maximize your time in the field. Give yourself options, plan your hunting locations ahead of time, and put yourself in the best possible position to get a big one on the ground before you head back to your daily grind. These 3 locations can payoff year after year if hunted properly and you never know, you just might find yourself tagged out and back to work early with a few extra vacation days in your pocket.

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4 of the Best Fall Food Plots for Deer Hunting

As most hunters figure out, hunting mature Whitetails is a game of chess. Hunters are constantly strategizing, analyzing, and scheming to be one step ahead of these sly creatures. One of the best ways to gain that upper hand is to learn how to be a better hunter; i.e. become a better chess player. But what if you took it one step further? What if you could actually create your own chess board? Essentially, you could then predict their next move and know where that buck is going to be at certain times of the season. Some of the very best fall food plots for deer can do just that…provide a chess board that nearly guarantee’s a win!

Food plots do a lot more than just providing a healthy source of food for your deer herd. They also shape travel patterns, create hubs for social activity, and recruit neighboring deer. These are all great benefits of planting food plots, but what most hunters overlook is how to effectively hunt those plots and maximize the output of that resource.

How many times have you sat in your tree stand with a proud grin on your face as you’re overlooking the plush green vegetation that you’ve worked endlessly to create during those summer months? It’s a rewarding feeling, no doubt. Now imagine seeing your target buck walk out into your plot 15 minutes before dark. You’ve only seen nighttime trail camera photos of him and thought he was virtually unhuntable. Now he is broadside at 20 yards and has no idea you are there. That proud grin just turned into a full ear-to-ear smile. Give yourself this ultimate advantage by following these top 4 food plot setups to bring in mature bucks.

Food Plot #1 – Early Bird Buffet

This is an early season plot that can be a dependable location for that first sit of the year. It’s purposely designed so that it’s not too invasive and you should try to use the taller grasses and foliage as a screen when accessing your stand in these warmer months. Play your cards right and you could be first in line at the taxidermist.

Where: Ideally you would like to hug tight to a water source such as a creek or pond, but not too far from bedding areas in order to draw in mature bucks from their bed in daylight.

Seed: Soybeans and sorghum are rich in protein, green during this time of year, and the deer can’t stay off it.

Shape: Wrap this plot around the water source so the deer can’t skirt around when traveling through. If you can, design a pinch point as the entry into the plot from the nearest bedding area.

Trail Camera: Set the Pro-Cam 20 on time-lapse mode to capture those entry and exit points.

Stand: Avoid working too hard and getting hot and sweaty when climbing into your early season stand. The Odyssey XTL ladder stand is reliable, comfortable, and easy to access with minimal effort on big plots like this.

Food Plot #2 – Temptation Island

The Temptation Island plot is a staging kill plot that needs to be planted early to minimize intrusion in the months approaching hunting season. The goal of this food plot is to position this island plot in a way that bucks do not have far to travel when getting up from their beds to satisfy their famished bellies. Hunting this close to bedded bucks will result in a higher number of daytime sightings and shooting opportunities.

Where: Placed in between buck bedding and communal food sources.

Seed: Clover is your best choice since its reliable, browse tolerant for small plots, and low maintenance.

Shape: This plot doesn’t have to be large in size. Just big enough to entice mature bucks to stop for an appetizer on their way to the main course.

Trail Camera: Make sure your Pro-Cam 14 or 20 is setup close to your tree stand. You don’t want to be dropping your scent when pulling cards on the opposite side of the food plot. Try placing a mock scrape in front of the camera on the edge of the plot, which adds something a buck will have to check if working through the area.

Stand: Shifting winds on a small plot can ruin your hunt real fast. Use a Muddy Vantage Point stand with Aerolite climbing sticks to allow for ample mobility.

Food Plot #3 – The Show Time Plot

This is where all the magic happens. The purpose of the Show Time plot is to create a stage for rutting activity. You want to focus on attracting does to this food source, which will lead to bucks cruising through with their noses on the ground looking for a girlfriend. Love is in the air, so take advantage of those testosterone filled bucks who let their guard down.

Where: Best locations are pinch points, funnels, and downwind of doe bedding areas.

Seed: Oats and peas, even combined with winter wheat and rye work really well here since they are highly resistant to early season grazing, ensuring your plot won’t be picked clean before the rut begins.

Shape: Shapes can vary depending on the landscape, however, you want to create a wide view for yourself so you don’t get surprised by bucks chasing at high speeds. Multiple fingers like a turkey foot food plot design could work wonders if you’re hunting with a rifle.

Trail Camera: Pro-Cams are best placed in front of scrap trees and rub lines where you will typically see a lot of activity in and out of the plot. If the plot is not designed with multiple fingers like a turkey foot, you can simply set the Pro-Cam high and on time-lapse to gather general daytime feeding intel.

Stand: The Nexus XTL provides the height and the large platform to maneuver around for a better position when that rutted up hit list buck comes within range.

Food Plot #4 – The Binger Plot

As the late season begins, bucks are worn out from the rut and have shed a lot of weight. In order to survive the winter, they need to pack the pounds back on and indulge on as many sugars and carbs as possible. This is where you can really take advantage of shooter bucks that typically spend their home range on neighboring properties. If those surrounding areas do not have a late season option to help sustain those deer populations, you can bet they will travel to your Binger plot to bulk back up. Bottom line…. If you have food, they will come.

Where: Plant this plot in the interior sections of your property. You will find bucks adjusting their core areas and a main food source will allow you to inhale neighboring deer.

Seed: Brassica’s, such as turnips, generate an elevated level of glucose when hit by a cold frost. This can be combined with a strategy earlier in the year for standing grain, buy planting early maturing soybeans (turn faster for brassica planting). You can also mix brassicas with winter wheat, rye, and even oats to provide more tonnage and draw deer in before the brassicas become attractive. Bucks will hammer this type of fall food plot to get energy for recovery, as well as scent check remaining does and fawns feeding in the plot.

Shape: Planting in long rows to create shooting lanes for firearms, muzzleloaders, and crossbows can be extremely effective during this time period.

Trail Camera: Positioning Pro-Cams on field edges overlooking the food plot will fill up your SD cards with quality intel. Don’t be surprised if you have a few bucks show up that you have not seen before. The Muddy Pro-Cam features the hybrid mode, allowing time lapse cameras to also catch any movement, so set the camera up overlooking the field and a potential funnel to tighten your hunting setup.

Stand: Investing in a Muddy Bull or Penthouse blind provides different window options depending on your weapon of choice and keeps you nice and warm during these frigid winter months.

Conclusion

Food plots aren’t just a means of generating food on your property. Besides helping to sustain a balanced and healthy deer herd, food plots can (and should) be used as a tool when planning out your hunting strategies. Invest your time and energy in the offseason and you will capitalize on your sweat equity if you utilize these food plot setups. Procrastination only leads to excuses and frustration during the season. Well procrastination ends now. Take that next step. Creating environments that make mature bucks more predictable, placing yourself in those areas during the right time of the year, and investing in quality equipment will ultimately produce consistent opportunities at trophy bucks year over year.

Box Blind Food Plot Strategy

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Planning Your “Rutcation”