Whitetail Deer: How To Avoid Rut Panic

Every time you check Facebook you see another huge buck killed by your friend, or your boss, or your ex-girlfriend’s new man and it stresses you out. Everyone else is killing bucks, seeing chasing and having fun. Why not me?

Rut envy seems to be a common ailment this time of year, and that’s understandable, the danger though is in letting this worry translate into panic and poor hunting decisions.

If the hunting has been slower than you’d like so far, don’t freak out and throw your rut-hunting plan to the wind. The rut is just one of those things that’s hot and cold, hit or miss, on and then off. You simply need to weather the lows in order to get to the highs. The most important thing to remember is sticking to the basics and executing on your plan.

Hunting the rut isn’t rocket science, when it comes right down to it, bucks at this time of year are either near does or traveling to get near to does. As a hunter, your basic plan always needs to revolve around either being near the does as well or being on those pinch points or travel routes that bucks will use to get to them. It’s that simple.

So next time you feel that familiar tightening of your gut when you see another grab-and-grin, big-buck hero shot on Facebook, just give it a “Like” and stop your worrying. Eventually, if you stick to the plan and avoid panic, it’ll be you inspiring envy with your own big deer selfie.