09 • 2019
then move to location 2 at midday,
carrying a stand in with you. Don’t
make a special trip to put it up
during this part of the season; that
will create too much impact.
If this were my hunting area, lo-
cation 2 would likely be my favor-
ite stand. It’s located at the head of
a ditch that separates two ridges
that are likely bedding areas used
by does. Bucks will travel between
these bedding areas as the rut starts
to peak, and the ditch will funnel
them. You can access this spot easi-
ly for a morning hunt by using the
creek, walking in the ditch itself for
cover. If the wind was right (south-
erly), I wouldn’t be afraid to sit in
location 2 several times during a
weeklong hunt.
Day Three: Again, if your stands
are up, move on. If not, hunt location
2 in the morning and carry a stand
to location 3 at midday. Now, you’re
edging a little closer to the hotspot.
Location 3 is in a creek bottom over-
looking a heavy trail. You can up
your odds a little by also finding a
creek crossing that brings in a sec-
ond funnel — funnels are the key to
bowhunting the rut. Again, access
this stand by walking in the creek
(if it’s shallow enough) or hug the
water’s edge while staying below
the creek bank.
Day Four: Location 4 is only an
evening spot, as getting into a feed-
ing area like this in the morning is
too risky. Does will be coming to the
isolated field, and bucks will follow
them. Carry your stand in and pick
the spot that offers two things: a
wind advantage and a way out at the
end of legal shooting time. Getting
back to your vehicle will be tough,
but do what you have to do. (Having
someone drive in and bump the deer
out might be the best exit strategy.)
In this hypothetical case, I would
probably favor the southeast cor-
ner of the field (assuming a north-
westerly wind) and stay just far
enough back from the edge that I
could slip out to the southeast after
shooting hours.
Day Five: You need to have this
stand up in advance of the season,as it’s a morning spot. Location 5 is
great because bucks will come to the
bedding area looking for does for
the better part of the morning. Find
a low-impact access route, probably
coming in through the timber from
the north after walking up the creek
to avoid bumping into deer that are
leaving the nearby crop fields in the
morning. Take advantage of ditch-
es or ravines to avoid being seen or
heard when approaching this stand.
Day Six: This is the day you’ve
been dreaming of all summer. You’re
finally hunting the stand that over-
looks the best sign. By now, you real-
ize that there’s nothing magical about
this spot. It’s not a whole lot better
than the others you’ve already hunt-
ed, but your impact here is greater.
That’s why we’ve saved it for the end
of your hunt. Like location 5, location
6 is a morning spot.
Come in from the north to avoid
the feeding areas. Plan on getting
in early to beat the deer back to the
bedding area. The wind is liable to
be a problem here — the swirling
will kill you. It’s a one-shot deal, but
it’s worth taking more risk now be-
cause the hunt is almost over.
Day Seven: This is a free day.
What locations showed the most
promise earlier? You don’t have to be
nearly as conservative now because
it’s the last gasp. You don’t want to
hunt a bad wind, of course, but all of
the stands are in play. Go with your
instincts and pull from what you’ve
learned in the past six days.
The Wind: The only unknown is
wind direction. It may not cooperate,
so don’t get too hung up on sticking
to the “letter of the law.” However,
don’t deviate from its spirit, either
— don’t hunt sensitive, high-activity
areas until the end of the week, re-
gardless of wind direction.
Putting it all together, a gradual
increase in pressure is the key to suc-
cess when you only have a limited
amount of land to hunt and an en-
tire week to hunt it. You don’t want
to burn the area out right away, but
then again, you have nothing to lose
by the end of the hunt. That’s when
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