“rut”

The rut is here, so perhaps it’s time to throw caution to the wind. Deer don’t act normal, and neither should you.

During the rut, the bucks themselves may not always know where they will be next, so how can you expect to know? Luck will always play a role in your success, but when you play the odds and focus on those things that are predictable, luck will find you a whole lot sooner.

Deer hunters know the rut produces unpredictable behavior in bucks. Acknowledge that, and you’ll understand why November is not the month to remain conservative. Instead “open the throttle” and hunt hard.

Maybe you have a sure-thing rut stand, a place of your own where pleasant memories of big bucks tagged play in your head like a deer-hunting show marathon. Good for you. Now go away; this is for the rest of us who must constantly scout, look for new properties and put in the time for our dream bucks.

Bowhunters who concentrate only on the peak of the rut pass up some of the best elk hunting of the season.

To have the best chance at seeing a buck, you must stay in step with the rut's three basic phases when choosing where to place your stands and which days to hunt them.

It may be the easiest time of the year to take a big buck, but let’s face it, you can still screw it up. Here’s how Michael Waddell approaches the rut.

Pre-rut whitetails can be as fickle as the early-fall weather. When your hot spots are too hot to touch, try these strategies to wallop warm-weather bucks.

Bucks can turn up in the most darnedest place during the rut—but it's not often that you see something like this.